Lost Deed.

snipper

Hi All

I need advice. My father died in September this year.To our amasement the deeds to his house has been lost.
My mother died six years previously and therefore the the house was in sole name we think.
The family home was bought in 1963 and therefore, was'nt registered.
We have a couple of EX Building Socities to go on to find if the deeds are still with them.
If this proves inconclusive, where do I start to find them.

NAR

I would contact Land Registry and ask their advice, if no-one gives you better advice here.

jackyann

Did your parents have any dealings with a solicitor - when buying the house, or on your mother's death? Sometimes house deeds get lodged with them.

I would also talk to the Probate Office - it won't be the first time they will have come across this.

Good luck

Trapdoor

My mums deeds are lodged with the solicitor that holds her will. The original solicitor was 'absorbed' into another larger company who initially denied all knowledge of having her deeds, but we produced a letter from the original solicitor and they have now miraculously been 'found'.

My mums house also wasn't registered with the Land Registry and Solicitor is making a bit of a fuss about that for some reason ... Seeing him on Friday.

It's quite likely that the deeds are either at the building society who held their mortgage or at the solicitor who holds the wills.

Land_Registry

The loss of the deeds is clearly a problem but not an insurmountable one providing the right steps are taken to establish the exact circumstances re both the ownership and the whereabouts of the deeds themselves.

Clearly there is a process which needs to be followed and a greater degree of effort on your part to prove title etc.

Take a look at our online Guide which deals with the first registration of a property where the deeds have been lost. Please note that the guide is aimed at conveyancers and other property professionals in the way it is written but should help to point you in the right direction at least.

You are clearly on the right lines in trying to establish the sequence of events and who to contact etc but it is worth understanding the basic requirements to make the effort/search a logical process.

It is likely that you will require legal advice or assistance and this is often recommended as you are also dealing with other areas of the law and not simply the issue of title ownership.

snipper

Hi, and thanks for your repies.
It has been established that there had not been lodged with any solicitor.
We know that the mortgage was paid off in the late 70s or early 80s.
The mortgage would have been in both names therefore, with my mothers death nothing would have changed regarding the deeds I think?
So I now think that there have to be placed with a building/S.
Which one?????