Free Advice Column - 08/04/2009
08 Apr 2009
Temporary diversion
Q. I have left my house to my sister in my will. However because of her debts she has entered into an Individual Voluntary Arrangement (IVA) to pay them off over five years. If I die within the five-year period, will my house be taken into account and used to pay off my sister's debts? In that case should I leave it to my niece on the proviso that my sister can live in it for the rest of her life?
A. While the IVA is in force, the insolvency practitioner will periodically review your sister's ability to pay her debts. Any change in your sister's circumstances – for better or worse – would be taken into account, and if she inherited money or property during the five-year period it would almost certainly be used to clear her debts. So altering your will would be sensible. You should discuss your options with your solicitor. Assuming you survive the five years you can always destroy the will in favour of your niece and make a will which benefits your sister.
Sister's gift ruled out?
Q. My sister committed suicide five weeks ago, having nominated me to receive her works pension. She worked for the local authority and I stand to receive a lump sum of around £8,000. However there are rumours that, because of the nature of her death, I may not receive it. This would be tantamount to theft: is it something I could take legal action on?
A. Each pension scheme has its own rules, which represent a contract. Although I cannot see anything in the Local Government Pension Scheme rules that suggest you will not receive this money, you are ultimately bound by the terms of the contract your sister entered into. From a legal point of view you can potentially argue that the terms of a contract are unfair. But you are unlikely to be the first person to find yourself in this position; you could discuss the issue with the public service union Unison in case of difficulty.
Paying a visit
Q. My neighbour and I are OAPs who live either side of a young man whose large dog keeps getting in to our gardens. In my case the dog jumps over the fence, and in my neighbour's case it gets through a gap; but either way it leaves a mess which we have to clear up. The owner is not interested in anything we have to say to him. Is there any law we can quote to prevent this happening in future?
A. Persistent invasion of your property would technically amount to trespass, and if you wanted to spend a lot of money you could ask the court for an injunction ordering the dog owner to keep his animal off your property. If the order was ignored the owner would be in contempt of court, and so be liable to a fine or imprisonment. But it would be much cheaper, and probably more effective, for you to raise the height of your fence with chicken wire and for your neighbour to block the gap in her fence.
No danger
Q. I have a very large, healthy tree in my garden next to the public road and footpath. If it were to be blown down in a gale and damage a car, or injure someone, would I be held responsible? I do not at the moment have house insurance cover.
A. If the tree is healthy and showing no signs of weakness you would not be liable for any damage it caused if it was blown down. The damage would have been something you could not have foreseen, and over which you had no control, in other words an “Act of God.” If on the other hand you had been warned that the tree was in poor condition and you did nothing you would be liable. I think it's a mistake not to have household, and especially buildings, insurance, which ought to include public liability cover, since large sums are often at stake.
Q. I have left my house to my sister in my will. However because of her debts she has entered into an Individual Voluntary Arrangement (IVA) to pay them off over five years. If I die within the five-year period, will my house be taken into account and used to pay off my sister's debts? In that case should I leave it to my niece on the proviso that my sister can live in it for the rest of her life?
A. While the IVA is in force, the insolvency practitioner will periodically review your sister's ability to pay her debts. Any change in your sister's circumstances – for better or worse – would be taken into account, and if she inherited money or property during the five-year period it would almost certainly be used to clear her debts. So altering your will would be sensible. You should discuss your options with your solicitor. Assuming you survive the five years you can always destroy the will in favour of your niece and make a will which benefits your sister.
Avoiding action
Q. We have been offered the freehold of our property for £800 plus £40 Land Registry fees. The house has three bedrooms, a garage and a conservatory. We are retired with two daughters, and with the ground rent at only £12 per annum we wondered what the advantage would be, if any?
A. If you have added the conservatory without asking your landlord's permission (this is very common) you could face a retrospective charge. Although the law on leasehold property has changed in your favour you may still have the expense of fighting off a demand for an exorbitant sum. If you were to buy the freehold you could avoid this situation, so that may influence your decision! Beyond that it partly depends on whether you have the money to hand. You should also factor in the cost of engaging a solicitor to ensure that the transaction is carried out correctly, since buying your freehold is much the same as buying the property all over again. However it's likely that your house will be worth more freehold than it is currently leasehold, so you or your family will probably recoup the outlay in the long term; you could ask local estate agents about this.
Sister's gift ruled out?
Q. My sister committed suicide five weeks ago, having nominated me to receive her works pension. She worked for the local authority and I stand to receive a lump sum of around £8,000. However there are rumours that, because of the nature of her death, I may not receive it. This would be tantamount to theft: is it something I could take legal action on?
A. Each pension scheme has its own rules, which represent a contract. Although I cannot see anything in the Local Government Pension Scheme rules that suggest you will not receive this money, you are ultimately bound by the terms of the contract your sister entered into. From a legal point of view you can potentially argue that the terms of a contract are unfair. But you are unlikely to be the first person to find yourself in this position; you could discuss the issue with the public service union Unison in case of difficulty.
Paying a visit
Q. My neighbour and I are OAPs who live either side of a young man whose large dog keeps getting in to our gardens. In my case the dog jumps over the fence, and in my neighbour's case it gets through a gap; but either way it leaves a mess which we have to clear up. The owner is not interested in anything we have to say to him. Is there any law we can quote to prevent this happening in future?
A. Persistent invasion of your property would technically amount to trespass, and if you wanted to spend a lot of money you could ask the court for an injunction ordering the dog owner to keep his animal off your property. If the order was ignored the owner would be in contempt of court, and so be liable to a fine or imprisonment. But it would be much cheaper, and probably more effective, for you to raise the height of your fence with chicken wire and for your neighbour to block the gap in her fence.
No danger
Q. I have a very large, healthy tree in my garden next to the public road and footpath. If it were to be blown down in a gale and damage a car, or injure someone, would I be held responsible? I do not at the moment have house insurance cover.
A. If the tree is healthy and showing no signs of weakness you would not be liable for any damage it caused if it was blown down. The damage would have been something you could not have foreseen, and over which you had no control, in other words an “Act of God.” If on the other hand you had been warned that the tree was in poor condition and you did nothing you would be liable. I think it's a mistake not to have household, and especially buildings, insurance, which ought to include public liability cover, since large sums are often at stake.
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