Deceased vendor still on Land Registry

gunn67

We are buying a house that has 2 owners named on the Title Register at the Land Registry, but one of them died 3 years ago. The seller's solicitors and ours both claim that, as there are no restrictions in the deed against a sole survivor selling the property, there is nothing to worry about, and that a death certificate will be lodged with the LR when the new owner details are submitted.
Is this normal practice? We are not 100% comfortable with buying a house from a dead person... Should we be insisting that the seller has the LR updated prior to exchange? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

BitterAndTwisted

If two separate solicitors have given you the same advice why aren't you prepared to accept it?

chris_m

I would have thought this was quite a common occurrence, to which solicitors would be quite used.

gunn67

Thank you for the replies so far.
Do you not think that the Title Register should have been updated three years ago though?
Although we have been told by the vendor's solicitor that there are no descendants of the deceased party, if one unexpectedly popped up, would they have any claim on the house?

G_M

If you really don't trust either the seller's solicitor, or your own, why not ring the Land Registry and ask.

Flat_Eric

have a look at Land Registry Public Guide 9 Nov 2007 on the Land Registry website. This will probably explain things better than I can. (in particular refer to paragraph 4).

It is not an unusual situation for one seller to be deceased but still remain on the title. Speak with the Land Registry direct if you are still concerned - they will clarify what will need to be provided when your solicitor registers your purchase and you can ensure then that your solicitor asks for this information although i expect he has it on his/her file already.

sonastin

The entry for my Grandma's house still names my grandfather as an owner even though he died 25 years ago. My mother's house still lists my dad as an owner but he died 3 years ago. I'm pretty sure that the land registry is bottom of the list of organisations to update when dealing with the aftermath of someone dying. If the solicitors are going to get the paperwork in order during the transaction then what are you worried about?

Flat_Eric

gunn67 wrote: »

Thank you for the replies so far.
Do you not think that the Title Register should have been updated three years ago though? I don't think its unusual that the Title hasn't been updated. Its probably just been overlooked. It probably didn't even occur to the seller that they needed to do it and probably thought the deceased person's name came off the Title automatically.

Although we have been told by the vendor's solicitor that there are no descendants of the deceased party, if one unexpectedly popped up, would they have any claim on the house? I think this very unlikely but ask the solicitor who is dealing with the purchase conveyancing for you to confirm. Certainly if the Title Information document indicates that the property was held by the seller and the deceased seller as joint tenants then my answer to your question would be No but please do not take my word for it and seek the advice of your solicitor who will have seen the Title. QUOTE]

Moonface

This happens all the time. The solicitor lodging the application at Land Registry will just need to lodge a copy of the death certificate of the deceased proprietor. It's very common for people not to apply to get the register changed. Equally, some people do it within days of the death:eek:

timmyt

,,,so long as death certificate is not forged, then I'd agree with both lawyers, but lazy selling lawyer should change it and it would take no real effort

80schild

This is happening to us! Mr X's name is still on the deeds, yet in our fittings and fixtures it says Mr X died in 2009 and his share passed to his children. In our case there are restrictions about disposition by the sole survivor.
Looking at the contract it says the house is being sold by 'The representatives of Mr X' and by the Mrs X's attorney who is her daughter.
This is holding up the purchase. My solicitor says she is awaiting a document confirming that the vendors will deal with the restriction on the title. I have no idea what this document is or how long it is going to take, although the purchase has so far taken 5 months!!!