What Kind of Lawyer Does My Friend Need in This Situation - Family Law?

Aerith-Waifu on 27/08/2024 - 21:59
Last edited 28/08/2024 - 09:38 by 1 other user

Hi my friend recently become widowed, he is 66 year old and living in a large 5 bedroom house owned by his former partner and himself.

Sadly his partner past last month and the house title is currently held under Tenants in common which means he is entitled to 50% of the share if the house sells. Due to the fact his partner's 2 kids aren't communicating with him, he can't get them to agree to sell the house without going to the court.

What types of lawyer does he need, Family law?

And if anyone also knows what types of court order is this called? I did some research but all I can find are partition order to seeking sell. What kind of costs are we talking about here? He says he has $38k in the bank, is this enough to cover the costs?

Thanks many

Financial

Comments

  • jv on 27/08/2024 - 22:10
    +2

    Wills & Estate Planning Lawyers

    • Aerith-Waifu on 27/08/2024 - 23:32
      -1

      Isn’t this before the death of a partner? Or do they handle all kinds of estate related stuffs?

      • Baysew on 28/08/2024 - 12:01
        +1

        They handle all kinds of estate related stuffs

  • alvian on 27/08/2024 - 22:39

    https://lawsocietywa.asn.au/community/the-law-society-in-the…

    Category: Deceased Estates

    Changing sub-categories will give slight changes to the results. A law firm that can handle one kind of dispute will usually be capable of handling all kinds of disputes, unless you are disputing a multi-million estate.

  • bargaino on 27/08/2024 - 23:24

    He could start with Citizens Advice in Perth, if he can get an appointment. They are cheap, will give an overview, and a list of suitable lawyers.
    Does he not inherit a share of the partner's 50%?

    • Aerith-Waifu on 27/08/2024 - 23:31
      -1

      No I think her wishes before she past was to give the 50% of her shares to her kids despite the fact they are estranged. (So I would think this must be in her will?)

      He is going to respect her wishes in doing so. The issue is her kids are not responding to anything, no reply to emails phones sms.

  • resubaehtgnolhcs on 27/08/2024 - 23:50
    -1

    What Kind of Lawyer Does My Friend Needs

    Your friend needs a really good lawyer

  • randomusername2017 on 28/08/2024 - 00:18
    -1

    $38k in the bank,

    Maybe enough to buy you a verb🤔

    • Aerith-Waifu on 28/08/2024 - 00:23
      -1

      What does his situation have anything to do with my curve?

  • djkelly69 on 28/08/2024 - 06:46

    They are usually referred to as estate lawyers.

    Also, in theory a tenant in common can sell their share of the property, and also mortgage their share. In practice, such buyers or lenders would be difficult to find.

    • Aerith-Waifu on 28/08/2024 - 07:39

      I think so too, who wants to share a house with a person unknown

  • JIMB0 on 28/08/2024 - 07:30

    If there's no will it would pass onto a partner. Are you sure the will hasn't been lost?

    • Aerith-Waifu on 28/08/2024 - 07:38
      -1

      I will find out.

    • morse on 28/08/2024 - 07:40

      Highly likely since they were separated that partners kids will contest the estate even if that was the default.

      • Aerith-Waifu on 28/08/2024 - 07:43

        At the moment my friend isn’t trying to take her kids part of the share, rather simply wants to get out and move on with his life once he gets his half of the house.

  • morse on 28/08/2024 - 07:38
    +1

    Probate lawyer. Search here under ‘deceased estates’ then ‘probate’. Some specialise in this field and have extra credentials. https://lawsocietywa.asn.au/community/the-law-society-in-the…

    The lawyer will charge a deposit but they won’t need pay the full fees until the end. It’s worth getting an outline of their fees in advance though. They’ll charge a percentage of what the estate is worth and hourly rates. The family side of things is likely to complicate it and make it more expensive.

    • Aerith-Waifu on 28/08/2024 - 07:40
      -1

      Thanks for that. How would make it complicated when there is no response from any of them you think? If this goes to court can the family simply reject the proposal to sell once contract are made?

      • morse on 28/08/2024 - 07:44
        +1

        I’ve only done this in NSW but it’s probably the same/similar in WA. They’ll need to file for probate and then it’s publicly listed and the partners kids can make a claim on the estate. If there is any disagreement it would need to go through a process to determine who the beneficiaries are. Good probate lawyer is key here. They go through all the options and know the processes to ensure paperwork is submitted correctly and on time.

        • Aerith-Waifu on 28/08/2024 - 07:51
          -1

          When you said they will need to file a probate. Who is this they? The partners kids? Or my friends lawyer? In this case isn’t the beneficiary has already been determined? 50% to my friend and 50% to the kids? Unless you are saying the kids can also claim my friend’s 50% of the share?

          The value of the property is around 750k so 375k if breaking down to half each. Wonder how much lawyer is going to take out of this $375k?

          • morse on 28/08/2024 - 10:51

            @Aerith-Waifu: They most likely won’t try and claim your friends 50% (stranger things have happened) but essentially probate has to be issued outlining who gets what and an executor appointed to facilitate this. In NSW it’s the high court that does it. Our lawyer filed it on our behalf, but I was an executor and a beneficiary. But essentially you apply to the relevant body. Where there are multiple interests at stake I would highly recommend using a lawyer. Yes, it’s a cost, but there would have been costs for legal fees if the partner hadn’t died and they wanted to divide the asset. Being not on speaking terms with the other beneficiaries would make a lawyer absolutely essential from my point of view. The lawyer will know all these processes and advise the best course of action.

            • Aerith-Waifu on 28/08/2024 - 17:37
              -1

              @morse: Thank you very much for that, are you able to pm me what the total costs will be in the end and whats the time frame it takes for all these to happen? thanks

      • Webber000 on 28/08/2024 - 18:25

        This happened in another country but you may find it is the same in Australia - once the 2 children start getting given bills for their 50% of the council tax/rates, building insurance bill, repairs and maintenance you may find that they suddenly start replying to the texts and emails and want to sell quickly!

        • Aerith-Waifu on 28/08/2024 - 20:35
          -1

          Are they liable for the 50% council rate and building insurance though? As my friend is the one living in this house at the moment? Do they still need to pay the 50% waterrates, insurance, council rates etc if they are not living in it?

  • shaybisc on 28/08/2024 - 07:42
    +1

    "When a Tenant in Common Wants to Sell the Whole Property

    A tenant in common may want to sell the property for a myriad of reasons, perhaps due to a breakdown in the relationship with their co-owner. They can sell the property in one of two ways — by partition or by sale. Both the partition and sale process involves the appointment of a statutory trustee.

    Whether they can do either depends on where the property is located, as each state and territory has different property laws. In New South Wales, for example, a tenant in common needs to apply to the Supreme Court of New South Wales requesting an order for the property to be partitioned or sold.

    Although there are similar provisions in other states and territories in Australia, if there are issues between the co-owners in a property and a sale cannot be agreed, it is important to consider obtaining legal advice to discuss your options."

    https://legalvision.com.au/tenant-in-common-force-sale/

    • Aerith-Waifu on 28/08/2024 - 07:48
      -1

      Sounds like my friend should be able to apply a partition regardless if the kids from the other side agree to sell or not. Gees sounds like there is no way out but to seek a court partition order. Issue is WA courts are filled with cases and my friends health isn’t the best since his partners passing. A lengthy legal case isn’t really in his best interests but guess there isn’t much choice when the other parties isn’t cooperating…..

      • sam-1966 on 28/08/2024 - 18:44

        I'm not being rude with correcting you, but I think it is petition, not partition.

        Just to make it easier to look things up.

  • shaybisc on 28/08/2024 - 08:47

    Why don't the children want to sell?

    • Aerith-Waifu on 28/08/2024 - 17:37
      -1

      I dont know, he cant even get them to respond at this stage

  • leiiv on 28/08/2024 - 08:56

    Maybe they should do investigation first to find the children? Can they confirm that the children still exist somewhere and they were just not responding to communication purposefully? What if there are no children anymore?

    • Aerith-Waifu on 28/08/2024 - 17:38
      -1

      Can confirm 2 girls are still alive and well, they both working in the same city too.

  • JimB on 28/08/2024 - 11:13
    +1

    Did she have a will?

    Is there any reason why he wants to sell?

    I'd just live in there until they come knocking.

    • Bdawg on 28/08/2024 - 16:21

      Like you, I see no reason to press the issue.

    • Aerith-Waifu on 28/08/2024 - 17:40
      -1

      He wants to move on and go back to his home country which is Malaysia, he is 66 turning 67 with bad health, he can not unfortunately afford the expensive care here. Back home in Malay, he still have family and friends. Hence the reason he wanted to sell. I just found out she did have a Will just then, which states clearly that the 50% goes to her 2 girls with a 25% share of each.

  • shaybisc on 28/08/2024 - 11:53

    I see a very simple solution unless OP has omitted something vital to the matter - Track down the children. 99.9% chance they want to sell. What's the alternative? Playing happy families with the friend - why on earth would they want to do that?

    • Aerith-Waifu on 28/08/2024 - 17:42
      -2

      The issue here is not the kids are not unreachable, they hated their mother so much they are not on speaking terms. Hence all communications are ignored.

      • sam-1966 on 28/08/2024 - 18:45

        I think they will answer pretty quickly if they get a letter from a solicitor.

        • Aerith-Waifu on 28/08/2024 - 20:38
          -2

          Whats gonna happen if they simply dont respond as well to a solicitor? Would this still goes to trail?

          • shaybisc on 29/08/2024 - 07:57

            @Aerith-Waifu: That's something you will need to ask a lawyer. Do you need their express consent in writing to proceed with the sale or only the lack of an objection to the sale?

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