Probate , wills & inheritance

[Jacob55]

I have inherited my mothers house as the sole beneficiary through her will & have obtained probate . Her unmarried partner of 30 years is refusing to accept the will & contesting it on basis of beneficial interest & common law husband, after 6 months things are progressing slowly. I understand common law is not legally recognised & to add insult to injury it turns out he has been homosexual for at least the last 15 years . I fail to understand why he cannot be immediately evicted & why he thinks he has an legitimate claim . Can you help please .

[Amethyst]

Re: Probate , wills & inheritance

Did you mother and her partner own the property jointly or was it always solely in her name?

Did her partner contribute to the property over the time he resided there with your mother? ( guessing so if he is claiming beneficial interest )

Has he actually filed a formal dispute against the will ? and in that does he actually state common law husband ? ( in which case I'd guess he doesn't have formal legal advice )

Presumably you don't get on with him.

[Openlaw15]

Re: Probate , wills & inheritance

Did you mother and her partner own the property jointly or was it always solely in her name?

Did her partner contribute to the property over the time he resided there with your mother? ( guessing so if he is claiming beneficial interest )

Has he actually filed a formal dispute against the will ? and in that does he actually state common law husband ? ( in which case I'd guess he doesn't have formal legal advice )

Presumably you don't get on with him.

Nice questions, amethyst. Important: If it's a joint tenancy between the testatrix (female will maker) and the unmarried partner, the survivor rules will apply, meaning the partner's JT defeats a will so the house passes to the partner. Tip: look at the property land register for 'restriction' immediately underneath proprietor part of the property's register. It will say absolute ownership but if there is no restriction under it it's a joint tenancy so the will cannot apply. If there is a restriction under the proprietors' title then it's a tenancy in common, which means the will applies and the property by passes the partner's interest. These are the rules for owning property and wills.

NB Common law is mythical...it's as Amethyst said, a beneficial interest if anything.