My father died seven years ago and left no will. He left money in the bank for my mam but she has never received a penny because it wasn’t a joint account and no will was made. The solicitor told her she can buy anything and he can pay for it but mam can’t touch it. There is a large number of us in the family. We signed our share of the house over to our mam except for two of us. Can you advise me please of what to do? My mam is in her 80s. – Ms TD
Seven years is a shocking long time to sort this out but your mother’s story has very important lessons for others.
Having had no will, sorting your father’s estate on his death was always going to be more complicated than if he had taken the time to put pen to paper. Some people assume they do not need to make a will because they “don’t really have anything to leave”. But most of us own a home and that is a sizeable asset in itself.
Others think that they are okay just to put in place informal arrangements such as appears to have happened here when your father left money in a bank account for your mum, told her so but did nothing to ensure such a wish was legally underpinned.
The clear assumption must be that he always expected his wife to continue living in “their” home and to enjoy the use of the money set aside “for her”. But he’s not around to clarify that and that means the law takes over. And this always means that things become very black and white.
Without a will, his estate is managed under intestacy. And under the Succession Act, the law that governs the distribution of assets in intestacy, your mother is entitled to two-thirds of the value of his estate, with the remaining third divided equally between all of the children.
That includes the family home. He could and, assuming he wanted her to live on there, should have put the property in both their names during his lifetime. In that case, it would have passed to her automatically under something called survivorship – ie, as the surviving owner, she would automatically assume full ownership – when he died. If he had, even without a will, she would at least have had the security of full ownership of the house. As it is, she could be forced to sell it to ensure others in the family get their inheritance.
But all that aside, what is taking seven years? On intestacy, any next of kin could have applied to administer the estate. And on one, such as this, which sounds reasonably straightforward, that should only have taken a matter of months – or a year, tops. The only thing you can do short of a legal challenge is to press whoever is administering the estate for some clarity.
I am not clear what the solicitor is doing in telling your mum that she can “buy anything she wants and he will pay for it”. I assume he is keeping a tab on expenses so that it can be reconciled on the eventual distribution of the estate, but does she know this for a fact?
The bank is quite correct – in the absence of a will – in freezing the account as it was not a joint account, which is something else for couples to consider. If it were a joint account, she might have had easier access.
Two final things. Please make sure your mum has a will as there is now going to be more than two-thirds of a property to sort out – some of which has been signed over to her from your own “inheritances” – plus whatever savings she gets from the estate eventually. Second, while she is still in good health, draw up an enduring power of attorney so that someone she trusts can help her out if she finds it difficult to manage her affairs down the line.
Please send your queries to Dominic Coyle, Q&A, The Irish Times, 24-28 Tara Street Dublin 2, or by email to dominic.coyle@irishtimes.com. This column is a reader service and is not intended to replace professional advice
