Inherited part of a house question

oldchap_2

Hi, My mother had 3 children. Mother & my sister own the house, Tenants in Common, that they live in. My mother has died intestate, so I believe half the house goes to my sister and the other half to my brother & myself(the 3rd sibling). There are no other relatives, etc. My question is about transfer of ownership. If my sister, who we are happy to leave residing there gets half, then I imagine the remaining half is divided between the 3 of us. The result is my sister owns (1/2+1/6=2/3), and myself & my brother 1/6th each. My question is: Is the above how it works and is it simply a Land Registry title change showing each percentage ownership & is it possible for me as executor to deal with this or does it have to be a solicitor? There is no IHT, no other relatives & so far we havent needed to employ a solicitor. Thanks for any help

rosyw

Firstly, sorry for your loss.

You can get some useful info here :http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Governmentcitizensandrights/Death/Preparation/DG_10029802

I would imagine you will need to obtain probate before ownership of the property can be transferred, might be best to see a solicitor.

zzzLazyDaisy

Re the shares in the house....

Assuming your mother and sister held the house as tenants in common in equal shares, your sister keeps her half of the house, and your mother's half is divided equally between you and your brother and sister.

So the three of you will own the house as tenants in common, with your sister owning the largest share.

As someone else has said, because property is involved, you will need to obtain probate. This is fairly easy to do and the staff at the probate registry are used to helping bereaved relatives through the formalities.

As far as whether you need a solicitor to register the land - I'd give the land registry a ring and ask them to send you the forms, and then you can see for yourself. The only thing I would say is, if you are in any doubt at all, you should ask a solicitor to deal with this, because if you make a mistake with the land registration it can be complicated and costly to correct.

oldchap_2

THank you both. I have probate and am the executor so that hurdle is done. It sounds as though it works as per my words above so I guess I will have to do as you say and ring the Land Registry

Richard_Webster

LR will not be interested directly in your percentage shares.

Property will simply be transferred to the three of you to hold as tenants in common . The transfer can set out the shares but the LR will not record them on the register because buyers are not concerned with at level of detail. When a sale occurs in the future as long as the three signatures are on the transfer deed a buyer isn't going to be bothered about how much each gets.

oldchap_2

Richard_Webster wrote: »

.... but the LR will not record them on the register because buyers are not concerned with at level of detail.

So how in the future, perhaps when we have died, does anyone prove what percentage we each own?

rosyw

A solicitor would soon sort that out for you.

purple_haze

I asked my husband who is a lawyer and he says




Contrary to what has been posted, there is no need for a grant of probate in this situation (although it appears the poster has the grant in any event).


The sister as the sole surviving holder of the legal title simply needs to transfer the legal title to herself and her two siblings by way of Land Registry form TR1. In box 10 of form TR1 they can set out the different beneficial interest of the siblings. This should then be submitted to the Land Registry with the relevant fee and a copy of the mother's death certificate (along with Land Registry form AP1 and various proofs of identity). A copy of the TR1 should be retained as evidence in future of the beneficial ownership.


Although not essential, a deed of trust could be executed to record the beneficial ownership. This could also give the residing sister the right to occupy the house, which would mean principle private residence relief from Capital Gains Tax would be available on the eventual sale.




Hope this helps.

Richard_Webster

uote:
Originally Posted by Richard Webster
.... but the LR will not record them on the register because buyers are not concerned with at level of detail.
So how in the future, perhaps when we have died, does anyone prove what percentage we each own?

A copy of the TR1 should be retained as evidence in future of the beneficial ownership.

That's the answer.

oldchap_2

thanks everyone, that has been most helpful, am on my way !:j

zzzLazyDaisy

purple_haze wrote: »

I asked my husband who is a lawyer and he says

The sister as the sole surviving holder of the legal title simply needs to transfer the legal title to herself and her two siblings

Hope this helps.

This would be the case if the mother and the sister were joint tenants, but in this case, because they were tenants in common, the sister does not have title to the late mother's half of the property - that now vests in the OP as administrator of the estate so both the sister and the OP will need to sign the transfer documents.