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My husband's mother and stepdad had a property owned as tenants in common so when they both passed the house would go to my husband, who was their carer.

However, my husband's mother passed away in 2013 and after 15 years the stepdad's son turned up out of the woodwork.

The stepdad then sold the house but put his son on the deeds with him so that he would get his half.

This wasn’t a problem for us as both he and my husband would have 50 per cent each.

My husband doesn’t talk to the stepbrother for certain reasons. However, the dad died at the beginning of this year and the stepbrother is refusing to have any contact with us or let us know about the house.

We asked a solicitor to send a letter which he did but neither the stepbrother or his solicitor contacted us back.

For all I know he could be renting the house out for money.

Inherited share of house: Stepbrother is ignoring any contact about next steps (Stock image)

My husband is a beneficiary in the will and on the Land Registry the new house has a restriction referring back to his mother's will.

I have registered with the Land Registry for any activity on the property, but we don’t have money for a solicitor so how do we stand?

Tanya Jefferies, of This is Money, replies: It's unfortunate that your husband's stepbrother is so far not willing to communicate even indirectly via lawyers about this shared property.

If as you say the two of them jointly own this property then you understandably do not want to leave matters at the present stalemate.

It seems that to get his share your husband is going to have to continue to pursue this legally, if necessary always at arm's length via lawyers, which of course only runs up the legal bill that you cannot afford anyway.

We asked a lawyer who is experienced in this particular area to explain the usual steps that would be followed to resolve this for you successfully.

And we also asked him to explain the options open to you if you would struggle to pay the legal costs as things currently stand.

Luckily, if it is clear that your husband owns half a property that will eventually be sold, there is a way to defer paying the bill until it can be met out of the eventual sale proceeds.

The details are gone into below, and it certainly sounds worth exploring, especially if the alternative is your husband not inheriting the share of the house as his mother intended.

You have already found a solicitor to write a letter, and if their services were satisfactory you could ask whether they would keep pursuing your case on a 'deferred fee arrangement' basis.

If that firm is unwilling, or if it wasn't up to much in the first place, you can find others in your area on the Law Society's useful Find a Solicitor search tool.

It is always best to get a word of mouth recommendation if you can though, so it is worth asking friends and family members whom you trust if they know about or have used a reputable and competent lawyer lately.

Even if it was over another kind of legal matter entirely, that firm might have solicitors who cover the right area who are also good.

Stuart Parris, senior associate and solicitor in the dispute resolution team at law firm Nelsons, replies: It appears as though your husband and his stepbrother own 50 per cent of the property each.

First, you would need to confirm that your husband’s mother and stepdad's wills bequeath their share of the property absolutely and that there are no provisions allowing the other, or their successors, to remain in occupation.

Assuming this is the case and the tenants in common ownership approach was adopted, both your husband and his stepbrother now hold the property absolutely and effectively on trust for the benefit of them both.

This means your husband now has the legal right to pursue the sale of the property.

What happens if the property is being rented out?

When it comes to the property being rented out, your husband is also able to claim an account of any rental income and receive his 50 per cent share.

Alternatively, if his stepbrother is living in the property, rather than renting it, your husband may have a claim of occupation rent.

This would most likely be 50 per cent of the market rent from the point his stepbrother was living in the property following his stepfather's passing.

However, I’d strongly recommend your husband seeks legal advice on this point, as the requirements of an occupation rent claim can be complex.

You should obtain the wills to confirm there is no provision in either that allows your husband’s stepbrother to remain in occupation or possession

Could you make any additional claims?

It depends on if any other facts are uncovered. In some scenarios, your husband could have a claim for 'estoppel'.

This is a legal term that essentially means your husband's stepbrother could be prevented from going back on something his father or your husband’s mother originally said or promised.

For example, if his stepbrother attempts to claim he has a right to remain in the house, that the house should be his absolutely or disputes their respective shares, your husband may have a claim of estoppel.

However, he would need to have evidence and prove several points for such a claim to succeed.

Going on the facts you have given here, it might not be possible to claim for estoppel.

Nonetheless, this might be a claim or defence you will want to consider depending on how things progress.

What action should you take now?

The first step should be obtaining the wills to confirm there is no provision in either that allows your husband’s stepbrother to remain in occupation or possession of the property.

Assuming there is no restriction, your husband should issue a formal ‘letter before action’ setting out his claim for the property to be sold and for an account of the rent or occupation rent claim, if the stepbrother has either been renting out or living in the property.

Ideally, this would open correspondence with his stepbrother as they narrow the issues and, hopefully, reach an agreed way forward.

If solicitors are involved, then at this stage they would encourage your husband and his stepbrother to enter into negotiations.

If there is no response or an insufficient one to conclude the matter, then your husband should proceed with issuing his claim with the court.

The court will set several directions for the parties to comply with, providing the claim is defended by his stepbrother.

If the claim reaches trial, the likely outcome will be an order for sale of the property with each party receiving their respective share.

What if you can't afford the legal costs?

If you can’t afford the upfront legal costs to proceed, option one is completing the above steps as a 'litigant in person' – this means without legal representation.

However, I would caution against this as in the worst case scenario, if your husband gets this wrong, he may be liable for his stepbrother's legal costs.

A second option is a 'deferred fee arrangement'.

Ideally this would allow your husband’s legal costs to be paid on conclusion of the matter from his share of the property sale proceeds.

This requires your husband to grant a form of security over his share and confirm there is sufficient equity within that share to meet the potential legal costs.

Or, a third option is that your husband might find a law firm willing to take this matter on in a 'conditional fee agreement'.

This is essentially a 'no win, no fee' arrangement. However, to obtain that kind of an arrangement for this type of claim is rare.

Conditional Fee Agreements can end up costing far more than privately funding the legal fees to pursue the case.