Selling inherited house. Sibling making it difficult.

[Guest]

My sister and I are executors of my mum's will. She died in Aug 2023 and left 1/3 of her estate equally to me, my sister and my son. I have done all the paperwork myself (inheritance tax and probate) and all the other admin. I have now received probate and need to sell the house to pay the 110k inheritance tax bill.

My sister moved into mum's house the day she died and has been living there free for 6 months. She has used utilities which the estate is paying for. She has her own house but is not wanting to leave. She is very emotionally attached to the house but cannot afford to buy us out.

I managed to get her to speak with the estate agent and we agreed to spend 2 weeks getting the house ready for the photographer etc. She has done nothing and the house is a mess and the garage is full to the ceiling with her stuff. I stupidly gave her £1500 because she said she needed it for a skip and to take time off work to clear the rubbish. She has done nothing. As far as I know she has not signed the estate agent agreement that was sent to her. I have. The photographer is due in a week. What do I do? She has been rather unpleasant to me. I tried to sort through mum's things as she has done nothing and got told I was being disrespectful.

I'm at my wits end. We need to sell the house. What do I do next?

[atticus]

Consider going to court under the Trusts of Land and Appointment of Trustees Act 1996 for an order requiring the property to be sold. Tell her that is what you will do if she does not cooperate.

[PallasAthena]

As you've come to a legal advice forum I guess you are looking at it as a legal problem and I'm sure someone will come along and advise what the legal solutions might ultimately be. But they will not work within the timescale you want to meet. As you and your sister are joint executors the best solution is for the two of you to agree on what to do next.

I think the issue at the root of this is that your sister is grieving and until she can move forward emotionally this will not easily be resolved. She doesn't want to let go of her (your) mother. I am not competent to give grief counselling advice other than to suggest that you approach it from that direction rather than reach for the law.

Is there an alternative way of raising money to pay the IHT bill to give her more time?

[Guest]

As you've come to a legal advice forum I guess you are looking at it as a legal problem and I'm sure someone will come along and advise what the legal solutions might ultimately be. But they will not work within the timescale you want to meet. As you and your sister are joint executors the best solution is for the two of you to agree on what to do next.

I think the issue at the root of this is that your sister is grieving and until she can move forward emotionally this will not easily be resolved. She doesn't want to let go of her (your) mother. I am not competent to give grief counselling advice other than to suggest that you approach it from that direction rather than reach for the law.

Is there an alternative way of raising money to pay the IHT bill to give her more time?

I have savings but I'm not prepared to bankrupt myself.

She moved in before while mum was alive and mum had to ask her to leave. It's not totally due to grieve. She still sees the house as her home even though she left it 30 years ago.

I do sympathize with her but she is being unpleasant and deceitful.

My son would like his inheritance to fund university at

[Pezza54]

If you haven't paid the IHT due on the estate, HMRC are now charging interest at 7.75% on the £110k IHT (6 months after the date of death- 1 March 2024)
You kindly gave your sister £1500 for skips and time off work to clear her rubbish. If she has her own house, why is she dumping her rubbish in the estate property?
You stated you needed to sell the house to pay £110k inheritance tax so the house must be worth quite a lot. It sounds as if your sister wants to move in Perhaps the house is bigger and worth more than her own house?
Atticus is right. It may require court action or the threat of court action by the way of a solicitor's letter for your sister to start complying with her executor duties

[Guest]

I've paid one installment of around 10k. I've done everything. Sister has literally done nothing except sign the probate form and IHT forms.

My mental health is rock bottom. I ended up in A&E this week with chest pains after she said some unpleasant things.

[Pezza54]

Very sorry to read this. Your health is more important than money
You should get a local contentious probate solicitor involved. Ask the solicitor to provide a quotation for services that is broken down into the various tasks, warning letter, eviction notice etc
Once your sister has moved out and the property is sold, the rest of the executor's work should be less stressful

[Guest]

Would someone be able to point me in the direction of an example "letter before action" I could send her before I engage a solicitor?

It's 6 months since mum died, am I being unreasonable to insist we get on with selling the house now? She messaged me to say she couldn't afford to buy us out due to her own lack of finances? So there is no other way.

[Pezza54]

Under "Shortcuts" on the righthand side of this page is "pre-action letters" where there are examples.
A solicitor's letter will carry more weight and the cost of the letter can be deducted from the estate

[atticus]

It is possible that the cost of the letter may in due course be paid by the estate.

[Guest]

Yes I understand the estate money could be used but that is unfair on the other beneficiaries surely?

[atticus]

Indeed.

In these cases all siblings need to understand that they all benefit from the estate and that none can impose their preferences to the extent that others do not receive the benefit that was intended for them.

It is possible that receiving a solicitor's letter and taking advice on it will be sufficient to bring your sister to change her mind. That is surely worth some relatively small investment..

[Pezza54]

You are an executor and your son is a main beneficiary. You must take his interest into account. A delay in selling the property is preventing him investing the proceeds of the sale that he is due to inherit.
If your sister decides to defend your claim in court and you win the case, you should be awarded legal costs and your sister ordered to pay them

[Guest]

Thank you. It's an awful situation. I love my sister but I can't let this drag on

[atticus]

You need to get your sister to take good legal advice. That could well cut things short, in making her see that her position is not tenable and could end up making things worse for her.