www.iva.co.uk

Hi,
I have posted before about my Grandmother's house which I should inherit part of.
In 2000 my father and his sister (my aunt) had a trust agreement drawn up about their mother's house (my grandmother) this stated something like each had a 50% share which on her death could be sold for them to inherit. My father died 10 years ago and his half was due to come to me and my sister so I would have 25% share in the house. My grandmother died nearly 2 years ago and until this year I knew nothing about this trust as my Aunt kept it secret from both me and my sister and there was no trace of paperwork when my fathers papers were sorted out after his death. I took out an IVA for approx £90K paying 22p/£ in November 2010, after my fathers death but before my grandmother death.
So if you're still following this at what point did I inherit this house? I think after my father's death. I am so cross with my Aunt as she kept it secret from me, I feel that my share worth 20-24K could have been used to do a F&F and now I think that I will have to hand it all over to the IVA. She won't let me have a copy of the trust to see and I have no spare money to seek legal advice. The house is currently on the market and to keep my sister and mother happy (this is causing serious stress) I feel I will have to sign any paperwork relating to the sale of the house.
I haven't communicated with my Aunt for a number of years and she's very cross with me (I think for finding out about the existance of this trust). The hoiuse is still in my grandmother, father and Aunt's name.
What do you think?
Should I just sign anything or do you think that I could try and use it to offer a F&F? I'm with GT and I've told them that I might have this property but they didn't really seem much more interested than that really.
When I get handed over a cheque from the sale I think I'll just have to hand it over...

I would be loathe to speculate given the suns of money involved. However, I would say that even had you received the money beforehand a one off may not have been an option anyway if you still had a surplus income. You may have grounds for an action against your aunt but what would it achieve? There is also the possibility that you do not inherit until your aunt dies so you probably need to take legal advice.

Ask your IP for a payment break to fund this as creditors would benefit anyway.

Thanks for your comments
My husband and I have our own retail shop and are struggling to pay ourselves so I feel that the IVA might have been able to be settled as the total from the sale would approximate to the amount we'll pay over 5 years. But it should've been my descision to make not taken away by my Aunt keeping us in the dark, she doesn't live in the house and on the surface looks financially OK. When my sister saw my aunt (as they are still speaking) she was upset that I couldn't've spoken to her about this, however I have limited sympathy for her as she had 18 months to let us know about our shares in the house, long enough to mention it. Now she's also saying that there are bills to pay with regards to council tax etc, she however just left these in my late father's name not telling my mother about this. When she missed paying a bill a reminder was sent to my father's address, upsetting for my mother but then we started to wonder why this bill had been sent, after speaking to the solicitor of the trust we then had reason to question the ownership of the house!!

Perhaps your creditors would accept the funds as full and final settlement given your financial situation. It would certainly be worth a try especially if you can produce books and records to show a decline in the business.

Trusts can be so complicated...I hope you get to the bottom of this soon so you know where you stand in terms of ownership and a possible conclusion to your iva. I can only agree with Michael that legal advice sounds necessary here. Good luck x

Good luck brokemum - let us know how you get on.

The inheritance became an asset of yours upon your grandmother's death, as this was the event which crysallised the trust. As one of the beneficiaries in your father's estate, the asset fell into that estate upon your grandmother's death, at which time you inherited - so your declaration as part of your own IVA was flawed - through the fault of your aunt and not you I hasten to add - as the asset should have been declared at that time.

Given that this is a windfall which the IVA creditors will benefit from, I suggest that you approach your IP to see if they will fund some legal advice on this position. I know a very good firm of solicitors who would be prepared to act for you, and GT also use them as well. Your case has certain similarities to a bankruptcy case I am Trustee of, which said solicitors are dealing with for me, so the expertise is there to hand and your IP ought to support getting a firm view on this.

Hindsight can often be a good thing, but you cannot turn the clock back - and it would be awful if something like this caused a deeprooted family rift just because you feel your options have been supressed by your aunt witholding the details from you. Creditors will always consider sensible offers of settlement, particularly if you can demonstrate that you are struggling to meet the repayments.

Contact me off line if I can be of any assistance, but your own IP needs to be the first port of call.