PROPERTY LAW

BORN TOO LATE

MY husband had the house put into his name only because at the time I wasn’t old enough to sign the legal documents. As we’re getting older I wondered what my position would be if anything happened to my husband. Would I still be able to keep the house? ALMOST certainly, since as a spouse you are entitled to most of your husband’s estate on his death. If your husband hasn’t made a will you will inherit everything he owns if you have no children. The doubt comes in if you have a large house and you do have children; under the intestacy rules (where your husband hasn’t made a will) you will only receive the first £250,000 and half of anything above that sum. So your husband should certainly make a will and at the same time you can consider becoming joint owners of your property.

FINDING THE LANDLORD

I RENT my house but I can never get the landlord to carry out repairs. I never get a reply when I write to the agent. I don’t know the name of my landlord, but I would like to find out so I can contact him direct. How would I go about it? YOU should have received notification of the name of your landlord when you moved into the house. If the agent won’t give you this information and you’re determined to find out who your landlord is you could consider withholding your rent until it’s supplied. The landlord can’t take you to court for non-payment until he has given you his name and address. Once you have his details you must pay off the arrears and resume payments, but you can then serve notice of any defects and demand that he makes the necessary repairs.

NO RUSH

MY sister-in-law died in a nursing home in London last year. Her house had been sold before she died, and the will is fairly straightforward, so we are concerned at the length of time it is taking to wind up her estate. My wife and I are joint executors together with a solicitor in London. AS executors you are entitled to take a hand in administering the estate, subject to the terms of the will. It sounds as though you should make an appointment to see the solicitor concerned and find out what still needs to be done. There may be valid reasons for the delay: it’s possible, for instance, that the local authority will have a claim on the estate for nursing home fees incurred. If you aren’t satisfied ask the firm about its complaints procedure: under Law Society rules, all solicitors must have one. Bear in mind the ‘Executor’s year’ which provides that a personal representative is not bound to distribute the estate until a year after the death.

OPEN PLAN

WE have bought a new kitchen from a big manufacturer. The units were fitted in July but two doors still haven’t turned up, despite numerous letters and phone calls. IF you still owe the company some money you should obviously withhold this until your kitchen is finally finished. If you are paying by instalments make sure the payments don’t start until you have the goods. Write to the credit firm explaining the reason for the delay. In the meantime write to the kitchen people one more time giving them, say, 28 days in which to fit your doors. Tell them that after this date you will get another firm in to fit a whole new set of matching doors at their expense.

»»Call Bromleys Solicitors LLP on 0161 330 6821 or visit www.bromleys.co.uk If you have any legal questions, write to Property Law, MEN Media, Mitchell Henry House, Hollinwood Avenue, Chadderton OL9 8EF, or email mail@ lawQs.co.uk