Feel like I am being lied to by solicitors !!!!

rebecca410

Right where to start, we have had our mortgage offers through from ownhome and co-operative. All that is left to do is to exchange and complete. My solicitor is saying we cannot exchange due to the fact that the vendor has not got a grant of probate but her solicitor is saying she does not need this. The vendor mum passed over the house to her 5 years before she died. My solicitor is saying that on the title deeds it says her name but not in the land register.
The vendor says that she was the only executor of the will and that is enough.
Also both solicitors are saying completely different things such as the vendor was given a letter the other day stating that exchange would be next week and completion on 24th August but my solicitor has said he has not agreed to this as we are no where near to exchanging.
I am so worried as one of our mortgages was processed on the 11th of June and is only valid 90 days after that date, that means that we need to complete by 6th September.
The vendors are going on holiday for two weeks on Saturday.
So near yet so far. Luckily I have been communicating with the vendor and she is feeling exactly the same as me we don't know what to do.

If anyone knows of anything about grant of probate please help.

Thank you

SouthCoast

The vendor mum passed over the house to her 5 years before she died.

Inheritance Tax complications?

Take the advice of your solicitor.

clutton_2

if her name is not on the land registry then she does not legally own it yet - as soon as probate is granted she will be able to get LR to change the name/title into hers.

i did my mums probate - quite simple - compile a list of her debts and a list of her assets and the difference in the two - take the form you complete to your local probate office with a cheque and hey presto - probate granted. took me about 4 hours. but it was a simple will - i was sole beneficiary and sole executor.

JayZed

If it's her mother's house, then the situation is quite simple and your solicitor is correct. An executor cannot sell (i.e. exchange contracts on) a property in a deceased person's estate until probate has been granted.

However, there does seem to be a complication here. As I understand it, her mother signed over the property to her five years ago; the daughter's name is on the title deed; but this is not reflected in Land Registry records. [Is the house registered with the Land Registry? If so presumably it's the late mother's name on their records?].

It sounds to me as though someone screwed up five years ago and failed to register the change in ownership. If this is the case then her solicitor will need to sort this out, and contracts obviously can't be exchanged until this has been resolved. I would have thought that both this issue and the granting of probate could be sorted out reasonably quickly, but the vendor's holiday will certainly slow things down.

NB I am not a solicitor, the above is just my layman's understanding.