Charge on property and wills

[SharonWR11]

Hi. I wonder if someone could help? My mother in law is 91 and has been contacted by a solicitor who is trying to remove a charge on his client's property. My m-i-l was the beneficiary and executor of her sister's estate (sister died 2012), hence the contact from this solicitor. It transpires that the sister loaned £50,000 to friends, putting a charge for that amount on their property (we can only assume that this was done with the friend's consent and we're not sure of the date at this stage, but assume it was at least 12 years ago or more). The friend is now trying to sell their property and cannot do so while the charge is in place. The question is really whether the charge still stands. My m-i-l is the only person who can remove it (so the solicitor said) but as her sister is no longer alive, does the debt still stand or is such a debt written off on death? Is the charge still valid and payable to the sister's estate? This £50,000 (what about interest?) would go a LONG way to meeting my m-i-l's care needs.

The solicitor is claiming that the charge is no longer valid owing to the length of time that has passed. Looking online, I believe there is a 12 year period in Scotland, but not in England.

We are considering hiring a Barrister, but would like to clarify this before doing so.

If anyone can help - that would be fantastic. Thank you

[des8]

Well if the charge is no longer valid why does the solicitor want it removed?

There is no time limit on settling an estate, but repayment of this amount to the estate might have tax implications.
Amended account will have to be prepared.

A single fixed fee consultation might be the way forward to consider the options, rather than a full hiring.

[SharonWR11]

Thanks for taking the time to reply - and wow- that was quick! So you think this has enough merit to proceed further?

[DE DOGS]

Thanks for taking the time to reply - and wow- that was quick! So you think this has enough merit to proceed further?

What DES8 is advising is this option will possibly save you more expense. "single fixed fee consultation might be the way forward to consider the options, rather than full hiring".