please help

[diane118]

Hi please could some one help me my dear mum passed away 3 months ago as far as I no she didn’t make a will my brother never married and always live with my mum he cared for her for 7 years before she died with my help with washing house work ect and also carers who came in to wash change her.
My mum only had her house to leave us but she wanted my brother to live there when she died and I feel I would want to stand by her wishes but would like my brother to have to give me the £16.000 he promised me.
During the 7 years my brother cared for her he saved up £40.000 out of her pensions that was left over after the household bills and food was paid for but he put it in his saving book in his name he told me that I could have £16.000 of it when mum died as he was having the house.
Now he says he wont pay me it so I feel cheated by him please what do I do about this please?
How do I go about going to probate how long have I got to do this? And will I have to pay any money out to go to probate as I have not got much money to spare. Thanks Diane.

[Eve]

Hopefully someone like Barmaid can confirm the exact legal position, how much it costs etc... but I'd imagine the most important first step is whether there is a will.

If not then the estate will need to be dealt with through intestacy rules.

The £40k would need to be looked into if he has the savings in his own name though as if that just leaves the house to be dealt with from the estate then, even if you own half the house, it would be difficult if he is still living there and continues to do so, especially as you want to abide by your mother's wishes.

Maybe he would be more amenable to acting as previously agreed if he knows how the legal system works.

I would get legal advice asap as to the best way to go about everything to try and avoid a fight if possible.

I don't suppose the agreement to give you £16k was written down anywhere?

[buildersmate]

If your mum died without making a will, she died intestate and her estate will have to be dealt with under the rules that govern intestacy.
That means, without a surviving spouse, the whole of the estate is split equally between the blood relatives according to set rules. In your case, that will be equally between you and your brother - including the house.
So, far from your brother denying you a sum that you say was promised, he is going to find PDQ that you are actually entitled to rather more than that £16k anyway.
It may well be possible for you to vary the terms of the split such that you gift part of it back to him - of that is your wish.
In any event, you really need to see a solicitor.

[poodicat]

buildersmate is right

[maclarencat]

When my husbands Mum died his sister claimed that Mum had said she should have the house (this is not what Mum said to us). As there was no will the estate was split 50/50 and My husband wanted to do the right thing by his sister and give his share of the house to her She had no children and had said that if we agreed to this then when she died she would of course leave the house to my husband but the solicitor advised against this so a trust deed was then drawn up allowing his sister to live in the house until her death Allowing him to retain his 50% share. . When she died she left her share to a penfriend in America and we then had to buy it back from them in order to keep the house! If he had made his share of the house over to her he would have ended up with nothing So you could retain a 50% share while allowing him to live there because it sounds as if he is not going to honour the £16000 .I suspect he wouldnt be generous with the house . See a solicitor, Im sure your Mum would have wanted you to have something.