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Land Registry questions following death of intestate owner and his son...

Ol_Jay
Ol_Jay Posts: 66 Forumite
edited 15 July 2014 at 2:33AM in House buying, renting & selling
Hi.

Question has arisen out of one aspect of a long running intestacy of which I'm a beneficiary with my sister and uncle (who is also the Administrator). I have started a thread on the probate board on here but re a certain aspect have been directed over here :)

A little background :

The deceased relative died intestate over 12 years ago, in the meantime not much has happened. The property the deceased lived in, all his life, is unregistered with deeds still in his dads name, who died intestate many years before. My uncle (the Administrator) has these deeds.
From what I can gather he (uncle) applied to have the house registered (in his name? :eek:) a few years ago but was only "offered" possessory title so left it ! He is talking about applying again maybe.

Worried that he could go the adverse possession route and have it reg. in his name alone rather than officially as admin with letters of admin.

How could I safeguard my interests and my sisters as beneficiaries?

Thanks for reading.
Any advice or comments most appreciated
«1

Comments

  • Ol_Jay
    Ol_Jay Posts: 66 Forumite
    edited 11 July 2014 at 1:29AM
    From what i've seen in previous posts here, it seems that it's quite common to have property in an estate still in the name of a long deceased parent etc. Especially where they died intestate.

    So a few more questions please.

    In this ,not too unusual, situation should it be fairly straightforward for the Administrator to (1st time) register the property?

    Surely only possessory title would be given at this time?, and no chance of absolute until later?

    If done properly would/ should the ownership record state ? : The Administrator of the late xxxxxxxx / The beneficiaries of the estate of xxxxxxxxx or similar. ?

    Is it possible for him to try for squatters rights,adverse possession, in this situation?
    Any danger of him being successful ?
    (bearing in mind he's the admin of deceased who lived there all his life)

    And last but def. not least

    Is there anything that i could ask to be entered onto the Land Registry record for the property? To safeguard against the Administrator acting improperly (self-dealing?)

    Thanks in advance.
  • agrinnall
    agrinnall Posts: 23,344 Forumite
    10,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    You are surely consulting a solicitor already about this, what is their advice?
  • Annie1960
    Annie1960 Posts: 3,009 Forumite
    Tenth Anniversary 1,000 Posts Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    Are you saying the estate has taken over 12 years to administer, and it still not sorted out?

    What on earth has the solicitor been up to? If no solicitor has been used, then I suggest you get one immediately.

    Your uncle appears to be either unable or unwilling to complete matters.

    I'm also confused by why both you and your uncle are beneficiaries - I didn't think this would happen under the intestacy rules. Which country are you in? What relationship did you have to the deceased?
  • RAS
    RAS Posts: 36,033 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper
    It might help if people read the OP's other thread https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5012692

    as this explains the background
    If you've have not made a mistake, you've made nothing
  • Annie1960
    Annie1960 Posts: 3,009 Forumite
    Tenth Anniversary 1,000 Posts Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    RAS wrote: »
    It might help if people read the OP's other thread https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5012692

    as this explains the background

    Thanks, what a bizarre situation!

    OP, as far as I recall, more than one person can apply for letters of administration.

    In your position I would get a solicitor (jointly with your sister) and both of you apply for letters of administration (I'm not sure if there is a maximum of 2 people who can have LOA, but you could check).

    Then you could take control of the situation and be assertive with your uncle. He has behaved outrageously, whatever his motives.
  • Ol_Jay
    Ol_Jay Posts: 66 Forumite
    edited 11 July 2014 at 4:20PM
    RAS wrote: »
    It might help if people read the OP's other thread https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5012692

    as this explains the background

    Thanks RAS, I should of explained more.
    Annie1960 wrote: »
    Thanks, what a bizarre situation!

    OP, as far as I recall, more than one person can apply for letters of administration.

    In your position I would get a solicitor (jointly with your sister) and both of you apply for letters of administration (I'm not sure if there is a maximum of 2 people who can have LOA, but you could check).

    Then you could take control of the situation and be assertive with your uncle. He has behaved outrageously, whatever his motives.

    Thanks Annie

    Definitely a strange one. Though I feel lucky that i have this (potential) inheritance from an unlikely source, more than 12 years has passed, actually it's nearly 14 years. :wall: :shocked:

    Uncle Admin is prob out of his depth a bit and seems to bury his head in the sand. :(

    Have received lots of replies and good advice on the other thread and now here too. Thanks to everyone.

    My sister is seeing her solicitor very soon.

    Edit: The solicitor advises the informal letter approach at this stage, in line with what RAS advised in the other thread. He didn't really advise on anything else specifically, it was only the first meeting i guess.
  • Ol_Jay
    Ol_Jay Posts: 66 Forumite
    edited 14 July 2014 at 5:59PM
    Thanks again for the replies with advice, thoughts and best wishes both here and on the probate board.

    As the edit in my previous post: solicitor has now been seen and advised an informal letter initially

    I am still curious as to how my Uncle (Admin) should go about the first time registering of the land? Should this be fairly straightforward? Is there any wisdom in waiting nearly 14 years?
    The deeds are still in the name of my relatives fathers name who died many years ago, also intestate! My deceased intestate relative lived there all his life.

    Have read through lots of posts on here and guides on Land Reg but still can't really find the answer, though i'm sure my sisters solicitor will go into this aspect later on.

    Appreciate this is probably just a "probate" issue and so apologies for posting here too.

    Thanks.
  • RAS
    RAS Posts: 36,033 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper
    This particular aspect is a registration, therefore property issue.

    Will post on the other thread re other issues.
    If you've have not made a mistake, you've made nothing
  • Ol_Jay
    Ol_Jay Posts: 66 Forumite
    RAS wrote: »
    This particular aspect is a registration, therefore property issue.

    Thanks, I wasn't sure which it would be viewed as.
    RAS wrote: »

    Will post on the other thread re other issues.

    See you there :beer:
  • Ol_Jay
    Ol_Jay Posts: 66 Forumite
    As followers of my other thread on the Probate board will know:

    Currently, our solicitor has advised informal letter for Uncle Admin. Will have to wait on response in time.

    Personally I am trying to learn still about the various aspects and have questions please re: Land Registry and the registration process for my deceased relatives property?

    Thanks.
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