How to find tenants in common % split?

Brighty

Hi all

Any idea how someone who is not an executor can find out the % split of a tenants in common property? I've downloaded the title register and there's nothing on there.

MIL passed recently, she owned her house as tenants in common with her husband, my wifes step dad.

MIL had a will leaving her share of the house to her 2 kids, but will was unsigned, so under intestacy rules, step dad gets everything, maybe.

There is a chance though, if MIL owned the house at more than 50% (it was her property before step dad came along, so it's a possibility), then her estate is over the £250k limit, therefore the kids may get a little something.

Step dad will be administering the estate, so we'll never know the value of the estate and whether he should be giving the kids anything or not.

Thanks

Brighty

Yorkshireman99

Brighty wrote: »

Hi all

Any idea how someone who is not an executor can find out the % split of a tenants in common property? I've downloaded the title register and there's nothing on there.

MIL passed recently, she owned her house as tenants in common with her husband, my wifes step dad.

MIL had a will leaving her share of the house to her 2 kids, but will was unsigned, so under intestacy rules, step dad gets everything, maybe.

There is a chance though, if MIL owned the house at more than 50% (it was her property before step dad came along, so it's a possibility), then her estate is over the £250k limit, therefore the kids may get a little something.

Step dad will be administering the estate, so we'll never know the value of the estate and whether he should be giving the kids anything or not.

Thanks

Brighty

If there is no will then the step dad may have to apply for letters of administration. Unless there is evidence then the split will be considered 50 50. Are you sure the will is not just a copy and that the original is still with the solicitor?

Brighty

Apparently, solicitor that came to the house and wrote the will has no copy, MIL had the original to sign, but never did.
Where would the split usually be documented? I thought the land registry would have it, no?

Brighty

Yorkshireman99

Brighty wrote: »

Apparently, solicitor that came to the house and wrote the will has no copy, MIL had the original to sign, but never did.
Where would the split usually be documented? I thought the land registry would have it, no?

Brighty

If thesplit was not 50 50 then the Land Registry entry should show it/ That is not definitive so there could be a document somewhere but from what you say it is unlikely. Sounds as though you don't have a case.

Land_Registry

We don't record the % split on the register. Such details may be provided when the split occurs for example but it relates to the beneficial ownership and not the legal ownership so the details do not form part of what we register.

The register is not even the definitive detail re how it is held either as joint tenants or tenants in common as such details can be included in a will or declaration of trust.

Owners may then register a form A restriction on the register to reflect their position re the joint ownership.

So it may be worth checking to see how the form A restriction was registered and what details were provided at the time - that may include additional details or it may simply confirm that they ticked a box to say held as tenants in common and no more. And even then they may have changed the % at a later date, new will, declaration etc and we would not have those details.

Mojisola

Brighty wrote: »

Apparently, solicitor that came to the house and wrote the will has no copy, MIL had the original to sign, but never did.

Was the will written in pre-computer days?

Or was this a rubbish 'will writer' rather than a solicitor?

Our solicitor has our wills on the computer - it means changes can be made easily and reasonably cheaply. He also has all the notes he made during our appointments which expand on the reasons behind our choices in the will.

He has mentioned one case where the executor destroyed the will but their file notes were sufficient for the court to insist on the estate being distributed according to the deceased's wishes and not the intestate rules.

getmore4less

You will probably need to go back to when the hubby was added to the deeds and see if anything was done then, usually by trust deed.

Was/is there a mortgage?

Yorkshireman99

Land_Registry_representative wrote: »

We don't record the % split on the register. Such details may be provided when the split occurs for example but it relates to the beneficial ownership and not the legal ownership so the details do not form part of what we register.

The register is not even the definitive detail re how it is held either as joint tenants or tenants in common as such details can be included in a will or declaration of trust.

Owners may then register a form A restriction on the register to reflect their position re the joint ownership.

So it may be worth checking to see how the form A restriction was registered and what details were provided at the time - that may include additional details or it may simply confirm that they ticked a box to say held as tenants in common and no more. And even then they may have changed the % at a later date, new will, declaration etc and we would not have those details.

Which illustrates a serious shortcoming in the usefulness of the Land Registry records. It would be a fairly easy change to make non obvious, in other words other than dividing by the number of co owners, to be registered by a certain date say three years, after which the split would be deemed equal between owners.