Wording of Will

[Buckey]

Hello,

My father recently passed and left his estate to me and my brother. He appointed a firm of solicitors as his executors.

As the 2 beneficiaries my brother and I agreed to have the house transferred to us as joint owners. It is our childhood home and we are undecided as to what we would like to do with it at the moment.The solicitors originally agreed to this but have now stated that this cannot be done and are insisting it is sold.

I think the relevant bit of the will is this:

i give all my real and personal estate not effectually disposed of by this my will or any other codicil here to my trustees to stand possession thereof upon trust to sell the same or any part thereof which may not.consist of any money or to retain the same or any part thereof in the same condition or state of investment as it was at the time of my death so long as my trustees shall in their absolute discretion decide without being liable for loss

What does this mean in simpleton terms?

Any advice would be gratefuly received as other things have gone on and I question the solicitor competence.

Thanks

[atticus]

A good starting point will be to understand the executors' reasons. Have you asked what they are?

[Buckey]

They are saying that the will states assets are to be sold.

[Pezza54]

The solicitor/executor originally said you and your brother could keep the house. A bit concerning that the solicitor considered they initially misunderstood the wording in the will.
Is it possible that the solicitor has discovered there isn't sufficient money in your father's estate to pay their executor fees without selling the house?

[Pezza54]

You and your brother are the beneficiaries, but who are the named trustees? The trustees have absolute discretion

[PallasAthena]

Is a Variation to the Will another possibility if the solicitors stick to their position? To remove the requirement to sell? {Just speculating, I don't know if it's possible in this case.)

[Pezza54]

Trustees have a duty to act to the benefit of the beneficiaries which may not be in accordance with the beneficiaries wishes.
In this case the trustees may have decided that the brothers owning the property as joint tenants is not in their best interest.
Buckey should study the rules of survivorship regarding joint ownership.
The surviving brother will become the sole owner of the property. The brother that died first may have wanted beneficiaries other than his brother to inherit his 50% share of the value of the house
There may be IHT to pay on 50% of the value of the house when ownership passes to his brother. This tax could diminish the remainder of his estate

[atticus]

I agree that a deed of variation may be a solution. The OP could discuss this with the solicitors.