In this BLOG we will go through one of our recent cases. It’s a case that reflects a scenario many are in so will hopefully answer many of the questions they may have. We have used aliases for the clients for confidentiality.
Scenario
Miss Smith owns a house in her sole name and lives at that home with her partner, Mr Jones. The property is valued at around £350’000 and has an outstanding mortgage of £90’000. Both Miss Smith and Mr Jones maintain the property and pay all outgoings jointly however Miss Smith owned the property well before she met Mr Jones.
Miss Smith and Mr Jones have been in a relationship for over 25 years but have decided not to marry.
Miss Smith works full-time and Mr Jones retired recently as he had been working for the same employer for a long time and was offered a very generous redundancy package.
Miss Smith and Mr Jones have a son together who is 20 years old and Mr Jones also has another child from a previous relationship with whom he has no relationship or contact.
Miss Smith and Mr Jones both want to ensure all their assets go to the son they share after their deaths and are concerned by the potential challenge by Mr Jones’ son.
Considerations and advice
From an advisory standpoint, we as a legal services firm must ensure we have considered every aspect of the case before advising on a solution.
We must ensure all of the individuals involved are protected at all times as well as the assets.
Baring this in mind, we have listed below the considerations for this case;
- The property is owned solely in Miss Smiths name and would not automatically pass to her partner of many years automatically even though Mr Jones pays towards the upkeep.
- Miss Smith and Mr Jones are not married thereby My Jones would not have the same rights afforded to him as a husband would on the death of Miss smith
- Mr Jones’ son from a previous relationship would have no realistic claim on the estate of Miss Smith but would on the estate of Mr Jones
- We could consider advising Mr Jones be added to the deeds of the property as a joint owner but this would mean a new mortgage would have to be arranged and this is not something either client wants to do
- Adding Mr Jones to the property may also cause issues regards to challenges in the future by his son from the previous relationship.
Solutions
Typically, there is more than one solution we find for our clients depending on the nature of the case and the requirements of the clients. We make the clients aware of all avenues open to them with all the associated pro’s and con’s for each potential solution. We will make suggestions and recommendations but ultimately, at this stage we need the clients to decide which avenue they would like to proceed upon based on the advice given.
In this case, Miss Smith and Mr Jones decided to go with the following solution:
- We drafted a will for Miss Smith where she left her property to her son but left a Right to Occupy the property for Mr Jones for the rest of his life. This means the property would belong to their son on the death of Miss Smith but Mr Jones would be allowed to live there till he passed.
- Miss Smith left all the monetary value of her estate to Mr Jones on her death. If Mr Jones had passed before Miss Smith then her son would be the beneficiary of all her assets.
- Mr Jones left his estate to his partner, Miss Smith. This could be challenged by his son from the previous relationship however it would require a legal challenge which could be very costly for the son that is being disinherited. Also, as the will is a legally binding document, it would not be straight forward to have overturned and any challenge could easily be rejected by a court.
- As Mr Jones would never be the owner of the property, it would most likely mean the property could not be used by the local authority if Mr Jones ever needed long-term care.
Conclusion
- Miss Smith is content that her son will benefit from her property when she passes
- Mr Jones is content he has a place to live and that is security for him
- Both Miss Smith and Mr Jones are content the risk of challenge from his son from the previous relationship will has been mitigated.
If you have a question or query then get in touch today with our experienced and very knowledgeable team of experts! Remember, RRK Legal LTD are not your typical legal services firm and do not charge for a consultation so the only time you pay for anything is if we actually do some work for you.
Web: www.rrklegal.co.uk
Email: info@rrklegal.co.uk
Tel: 01215460771
