Reasons for considering a right of occupation in your Will may be where you have an adult child or elderly parent still living and occupying your home either on a temporary or permanent basis at the date of death.
Sometimes you may wish simply to give your occupier a period of time following your death, to raise sufficient funds to buy other beneficiaries out or to find another place to live.
In this instance you would need to consider such factors as:
how long you wish their right of occupation to last
who will pay for any repair/ insurance/ other utilities
if there is a mortgage, how that will be dealt with
what rights and abilities to enter/ inspect the house do you wish the other siblings to have where this is relevant
who will be responsible for any legal fees on the sale/ transfer/ purchase by one or more of the children
Where the situation is different and you wish to give a right of occupation for instance to an elderly relative, the above factors do need to be considered but this can then be complicated further where you would also wish to appoint them to be Guardian for any minor children. The feasibility of them staying in the house needs to be considered carefully particularly in terms of affordability and their ability to do so.
It is not as straightforward as simply giving someone a simply right of occupation Additional legal advice will always be needed in such instances and our legal team can refer you to one of our partner law firms where that is appropriate.