The Facts

Jake and Molly were a devoted couple who’d lived together for 15 years. Molly had cancer and she and Jake had obtained a special licence to get married but tragically she passed away on the eve of their wedding day. Their daughter Pippa was 13 years old when her mother died.

The devastation to this little family was terrible but the legal position was chaotic because Molly had died intestate as she had not written a legal Will. Jake came to me for help and I was privileged to get involved and use my experience and legal knowledge to advise him about the relevant law and the steps to take to resolve matters.

When a person dies intestate, the law determines who benefits from the estate. If a person is unmarried, his or her children are the statutory next of kin. Therefore, Pippa was the next of kin and stood to inherit the whole of her mother’s estate.

The family home was owned solely by Molly. Quite often the home is held in a sole name because of the availability of a mortgage. Jake was self employed and Molly had a steady job in a small business and this meant that the house was in her name, notwithstanding that Jake paid the deposit, mortgage and for structural improvements.

Jake could have made a claim against the estate for the house but the legal costs are very high, Molly had no cash assets and if the case was successful the claim would have been met from Pippa’s Inheritance. Jake would not countenance making a claim which would essentially be against his little girl.

Thankfully, Molly’s employer had arranged life insurance and thankfully she had nominated Jake to receive this lump sum.

I always start to build the relationship with my clients by spending time listening and talking about the issues which are important to them. People come to me for legal help and after listening and understanding the issues, I am then able to advise, inform and agree a plan of action.

The Next Steps to Take

The first step to administer Molly’s estate necessitated obtaining a Grant of Representation. This is the legal authority required to enable the personal representatives to deal with the house. Pippa is a minor child meaning that she cannot apply for the Grant and two adults must apply acting as her trustees. As her father, Jake can apply and he appoints another person to administer the assets on behalf of Pippa until she attains 18.

We discussed the situation and I advised about who Jake could nominate as the second trustee. It needed to be someone closely connected to Pippa and also a person Jake can work with for the benefit of his child. Pippa’s maternal grandfather was chosen as he represents Molly’s side of the family and he and Jake can get on together to act in Pippa’s best interests.

I prepared the legal documents and obtained the Grant of Representation.

At the same time, I contacted the insurance company to check that the lump sum would be paid to Jake and not form part of the estate, and I contacted the mortgage provider to inform them that Molly had passed away and payment of the mortgage instalments may be irregular. It is essential to keep the mortgage provider informed to prevent any nasty letters or possession proceedings. The mortgage needs to be repaid within a year of death.

Jake and I discussed his plans for himself and Pippa and where they would live. He thought that it would be in Pippa’s best interests to stay in the home and we talked about how the mortgage could be repaid.

As a solicitor, I need to advise clients, in a sensitive way, about the “what if...” and consider the consequences of people acting in certain ways. In Jake’s case, he wanted to simply use the life policy to repay the mortgage. He has bad health and his future earning capacity is uncertain. Jake expects that he will pay the mortgage and when Pippa inherits the house at 18, she will simply sign the house over to her dad. This may happen but I advise Jake that it may not happen. The consequence for Jake would be catastrophic because he would have used his money to buy the house he doesn’t own, he is ill with uncertain income, 5 years older and could be evicted from the home he shared with Molly.

I raised all of these issues with Jake in a straightforward but sympathetic way. It’s a balance and at all times, I am thinking about his terrible loss, the loss of his soul mate and future life as a single dad of a teenage daughter. My aim throughout the process is to help and support.

Using my knowledge and experience, I was able to advise Jake to use the life policy to repay the mortgage on the basis that his share (through the redemption of the mortgage) was defined and protected through a declaration of trust.

I explained the principle to Jake, the advantages to the arrangement and when I was satisfied that he understood everything and was happy to proceed, I prepared the legal documents for signature by the trustees, dealt with the redemption of the mortgage and Land Registry.

This action completed the administration of Molly’s estate and Jake is making a Will with me to appoint a guardian and trustees in case something happens to him before Pippa is 18.

I appreciate that clients worry about legal costs. As far as possible, I operate fixed fees and I discuss fees with clients in a straightforward and clear way. In this case, the fees for the first stage of obtaining the Grant of Representation were agreed and then the fees on relation to the house were agreed.  

I have great satisfaction from being able to help clients through my experience and legal knowledge.

The facts are based on one of my recent cases but of course, all names have been changed.