My mother passed away nearly 17 years ago when I was 16 and I was left half of the house in trust at the time but I am now a full owner.
My father and I now own half each and we are tennants in common.
My father has announced he is getting married.
The house we own is worth about £750,000 and the house she owns is only worth about £160,000 so she is not in a position to buy my half.
My queries are:
Do I have to formally inform her I own half of the house?.
I know my father could will his half of the house to her. Would she have a right to stay in the house in the event of Dad passing away before her?.
In the event of a divorce is there any danger of me losing my part of the house.
I am no expert but I don't think there can be any legal reason that you have to tell her you own half of the house. Your father getting married again can not alter that. I also can not see that if your father divorces you can lose any thing , the divorce can not take into account something he did not own.
I think the main question here is how you and the new wife get on, can you see her sharing the house with you and your father or is it going to cause problems? Something about the tone of your question tells me that you do not approve of the remarriage.
I do not live in the house now as I am married and we have our own house.
The hard fact is I will want my money at some point and I do not want her to get any of it.
I would not be prepared to let her stay in the house without receiving my share in cash if my father passes way before her. She could for example outlive my father by many years.
Also it could be difficult if this does happen as she could re marry and bring a new man into the house and I may never see my inheritance.
You have no legal obligation to inform your father’s friend that you own 50% of the property though it may be a good idea to let her know.
If your Father left his 50% share to his friend rather than you she would be able to live there.
There should be no chance of you losing your 50% share, though co-operation with whoever inherits the other 50% of the property, if it is not you, may be required.