PROPERTY LAW

TEMPTING OFFER

I LIVE in a large house in a nice area but the property needs considerable modernisation. I would like to sell, and have been offered a deal by a developer who says he will give me £10,000 less than the valuation. Does that sound reasonable? Who does the valuation? YOU certainly shouldn’t accept a valuation provided by the developer. I recommend you contact two or three reputable estate agents who will be able to give you an idea of what your house is worth. The value they put on the property will obviously reflect the fact that it needs modernising. If the developer is prepared to make you the same offer based on their valuation you will have to decide whether what you will save in estate agents’ fees, plus the convenience of a quick sale, is worth £10,000 to you.

QUESTION OF INTENT

DON’T solicitors have a responsibility to make sure that beneficiaries are correctly identified when drawing up a will? An elderly relative changed her will to leave everything to her grandchildren instead of to her daughter. Unfortunately there was another daughter who had been adopted by another family, and her children won’t get anything. IT’S very common for solicitors to refer to ‘grandchildren’ and the like when drawing up a will: if they were mentioned by name a new will would have to be made each time a new grandchild came on the scene, raising the possibility that the latest addition could be left out. Additionally, when a child is adopted then legally they are no longer related to the blood family and so would not inherit. It’s likely that the solicitor was instructed to omit the other daughter’s children. Legally they are now considered to be blood relations of the adoptive family.

SINKING SHIP

I SEPARATED from my husband a year ago but we are not divorced. We have joint debts of £40,000 and in addition he owes an enormous amount of money for which I have no responsibility. My husband intends to declare himself bankrupt, but I would prefer to avoid this myself if possible. If he goes it alone would I then be responsible for the full £40,000 we jointly owe? I’M afraid it’s more than likely that the whole burden of the £40,000 debt will fall on you if your husband declares himself bankrupt. Creditors can usually attempt to recover their money from either party to a joint debt. You should take a solicitor’s advice to see what options are open to you, as it may be possible to reach an agreement with your creditors to avoid bankruptcy. But in the absence of creditor support bankruptcy may be your only course too.

TAKING IT WITH YOU

MY wife and I are both in our 70s. We are aware that our money could be swallowed up if we are admitted to a nursing home for any length of time. Could we prevent this by transferring our house into our daughter’s name and giving her the bulk of our capital? TRANSFERRING your house into your daughter’s name is unlikely to achieve what you are aiming for and is in any case a very serious step to take. The local authority is likely to view the transfer of the property as a deliberate deprivation of assets. Also, if your daughter has a home of her own she may end up paying capital gains tax. Bear in mind that if you have no money to pay nursing home fees you may end up in a home that’s not of your choosing! Your solicitor should be able to give you advice that is best suited to your circumstances. »»Call SAS Daniels LLP Solicitors on 0161 475 7676 or 01625 442 100. Visit www.sasdaniels.co.uk If you have any legal questions, write to Weekly Law and You, MEN Media, Mitchell Henry House, Hollinwood Avenue, Chadderton OL9 8EF, or email mail@lawQs.co.uk