I read the letter from Mr Kneeves twice, and then again. Jake had responded to my statement of what I owned and said I’d omitted the house. And he was demanding half of it. Mr Kneeves wanted me to make an appointment to see him and discuss the matter. I was to take anything I had relating to the house with me.
“It’s my house,” I insisted. “My Granny left it in trust for me until I was thirty. Jake never paid a penny towards the upkeep. He never helped with the decorating I did, and never contributed to it either. He can’t have half, can he?” I was pleading my case. If I had to give him half, I’d have to sell it, or take a mortgage to buy him out. Patiently Mr Kneeves explained that if I did own it, Jake would indeed be entitled to half. I felt like crying.
I had said Granny Wise had left it in trust for me. Did I have a copy of the trust documents? I handed the single sheet of paper to him. It was very short and hand written. It said:
I am Winifred May Wise and I own 3 Homer Close. Caroline May Pitt is my granddaughter. I am putting the house into a trust for her until she is thirty. Until then she can live rent free.
Signed W M Wise
It was a surprisingly long time before he spoke again. “Is this all there is?” he asked. I told him it was. “I’m not a specialist in trust law. I’d like my colleague to take a look at it. May I keep it for a while?” A few minutes later he asked if the change of property had been registered with the land registry. I didn’t even know what a land registry was. Never mind, he would find out. We arranged to meet again the same day and time the next week.
“Firstly,” he said, “the house is still registered in the name of Mrs Winifred May Wise, so it hasn’t been officially transferred. However, the fact that the property has not been transferred to you would make no difference. In matrimonial law, a valid trust is deemed to have been executed if the intention is clear.” My spirits sank. He continued. “My colleague, however, has doubts that this is a valid deed for several reasons. One, there is no actual definition of what the trust is or who the trustees are. Two, there is no certainty of the objects being placed in trust. What was to happen after you reached 30? Would the property revert to your grandmother or was it to be transferred to you? It could be the intention was to let you live rent free so you could save to buy your own property rather than to pass the property to you? Or maybe you could buy it from her when you reached that age.
“My colleague also feels the deed has not been properly constituted as it is not dated and no actual transfer of the ownership to the trustees had taken place.” The puzzled look on my face stopped him. Hadn’t he just said the fact that the property had not been transferred to me did not make any difference? And now he was saying the opposite. I needed him to clarify the matter. Apparently he was talking about two separate transfers. If there had been a valid trust, the property should have been transferred into the trust. It was the absence of that transfer that put the validity of the deed in doubt. “Because of all these factors, my colleague is certain the deed is not valid. If your grandmother is still alive, the property is still hers.”
This news thrilled me. I mentioned that at Christmas a couple of years ago, Granny Wise had said she’d never liked Jake living in her house. Surely that proved she considered she still owned the property. In response to his next question, I told him Granny Wise was indeed still alive, but that she lived in a nursing home and was suffering from Alzheimer’s disease. It was a pity, he said, because she could have written to confirm her intentions. No matter, he would reply to Jake’s solicitor with the information he had gathered and see how the other side responded.
Jane had told me he was a good solicitor and now I was beginning to be pleased I’d listened to her. I was beginning to believe this man would indeed be able to save my house from Jake’s clutches. I decided to celebrate by going to the Rainbow’s End for lunch.
The café was crowded as usual. Sean’s homemade fare was very popular and his easy charm with everyone kept people returning. I had to wait for a table and I had plenty of opportunity to witness him flirting with every woman there, irrespective of their age. He was in his element. It disturbed me a little. He had flirted with me every time I’d come in. I felt special and enjoyed flirting back to him. But now I wondered if it was all just part of his patter. Maybe I wasn’t special to him as I’d thought. As soon as a table was free, I sat down. “You’re as beautiful as the fuchsia-lined roads back home. And there is no more beautify sight,” he told me as he handed me the list of specials. “Now, I can really recommend the beef and ale pie today. I only have two portions left; that’s how popular it’s been. Or, if you want something a little lighter, why not try the haddock crumble?” I chose the crumble.
My spirits had been dampened a little by seeing how Sean flirted with everyone. Jane must have sensed it when I phoned to give her a potted update of the meeting I’d had with the solicitors. She immediately invited me to dinner that evening. Simon was on nights again and would be going out straight after dinner. We could have a good natter. It was a while since we’d had a night in alone. It was just what I needed