PROPERTY LAW
NO LONGER DES RES
I’VE just put my house on the market but I’m not happy with the way the estate agent is going about selling it. He won’t describe the property as being well-maintained, which I think it is, and he refuses to point out the attractive views from the back of the house. THE Property Misdescriptions Act 1991 requires property details to be factual and objective. Estate agents who fail to comply could face criminal proceedings. Descriptions such as ‘desirable residence’, ‘wellmaintained’ and ‘fully modernised’ are matters of opinion and an agent puts himself at risk with such comments in case they could be considered misleading. As a result, descriptions of houses for sale are much shorter these days. It’s a good idea when choosing your agent to discuss how they propose to describe your house.
RELATIVE VALUES
MY brother hadn’t seen his real parents or family for over 50 years – since he was ‘adopted’ by my own parents when he came to us in his early teens. He never married, and now he’s died apparently without making a will, it seems his money will go to relatives he never even knew. THAT’S unfortunately true. I take it your parents didn’t go through the legal process of formally adopting him – in which case of course he isn’t officially your brother – but just took him under their wing. In which case, if there’s no will, and he didn’t have any children of his own, his blood relatives stand to inherit. Having said that, if there was anyone, including members of your family, who relied on your brother for financial support, they may be able to apply for reasonable financial provision from his estate under the Inheritance Act 1975.
WHOSE GARDEN?
WE live in the middle cottage of three in a terraced row with long gardens at the rear. However, when we put our house on the market the local vicar told the estate agent that the last 15 yards of the garden actually belonged to the church. The couple next door say the cottages had the use of the land for the last 30 years to their knowledge – but the boundaries aren’t marked on the title deeds. BOUNDARIES round older properties are often the cause of disputes. If that part of your garden is not included in your title deeds it may be that you can claim ownership of the land if you can show that either you, or you together with the previous owners of the house, have had ‘exclusive and quiet possession’ of the church land for more than 12 years. However the law on adverse possession has changed, and in any case this could well hold up the sale of your property, so I suggest you discuss it with your solicitor.
LEAVE IT TO ME
MY wife and I have separate bank accounts. I have made a will leaving everything to her, but she hasn’t made a will. Would I be entitled to what was in her bank account if she died first? UNDER the intestacy rules – for people who die without leaving a will – you as her husband would be entitled to inherit your wife’s entire estate if you have no children. If you do have children you would receive everything up to £250,000 plus half of anything above that sum. Your wife should still make a will though to determine what will happen to her money and assets if she does outlive you.
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 leave your query on the legal advice line 0117 964 4794.