Change to Title deeds?

Trout69

Hi All,

I'm posting on behalf of my Mum and Grandad here, hopefully to get some advice regarding what we need to do.

My Grandad owns a house outright in Glasgow, his sister is also on the Title deeds to the property however, she passed away quite some years ago. His sister did not have any children but left money to a nephew in her will. The nephew at the time tried to get ownership of her share of the house (he is not a very nice man to say the least) so at the time of her passing my grandad had to prove that it was himself who paid the mortgage, and not his sister. Which he did and the matter was dropped.

Move forward to the present day, my grandad and his sister are still on the title deeds to the house. My grandad wants to leave the house to my mum and has declared so in his will however, he has another daughter who is estranged, thus does not wish to leave the house to her in the will.

This is in Scotland, so I'm not sure whether different laws apply and if so what the difference is, but here are my questions:


If my Grandad passes with his name and his sisters name still on the land registry, does the greedy nephew still get a claim to it?

If my grandad passes with the deeds like this can his estranged daughter still put a claim into the house regardless of his will?

Can the deeds be changed into my Mum's name (both my Grandad and his Sisters name removed) legally without any tax implications?

Is there anything else that we need to take into consideration? My grandad is of sound mind, and these are his wishes due to some not very nice family history, so we want to make sure we cover all bases if possible.

If any one can point me in the direction of where to look to read up on this sort of thing or can offer any advice or similar situations that would be wonderful. Obviously we will seek legal advice, but this is my first step to try and figure out what needs to be done.

Thank in advance all and have a great day.

Donna

G_M

Trout69 wrote: »

My Grandad owns a house outright in Glasgow, his sister is also on the Title deeds to the property however, she passed away quite some years ago. His sister did not have any children but left money to a nephew in her will. The nephew at the time tried to get ownership of her share of the house (he is not a very nice man to say the least) so at the time of her passing my grandad had to prove that it was himself who paid the mortgage, and not his sister. Which he did and the matter was dropped.
'Dropped' as in the nephew ceased his claim at that time, or the matter was legally resolved and it was decided (by court or other legal process) that the nephew had no claim?

Move forward to the present day, my grandad and his sister are still on the title deeds to the house. My grandad wants to leave the house to my mum and has declared so in his will however, he has another daughter who is estranged, thus does not wish to leave the house to her in the will.
He can choose who to leave the property (or his share of the property) to (at least u=in England - Scotland may differ)

If my Grandad passes with his name and his sisters name still on the land registry, does the greedy nephew still get a claim to it?
If the nephew inherits from the sister (and nothing was legally resolved earlier) then yes, probobly.

If my grandad passes with the deeds like this can his estranged daughter still put a claim into the house regardless of his will?
I don't know Scottish law. Who drew up grandad's will? Why not ask that solicitor?

Can the deeds be changed into my Mum's name (both my Grandad and his Sisters name removed) legally without any tax implications?
If nephew has a claim on the property, then no, not without his consent.
If nephew has no claim, then yes, grandad could 'gift' the property to mum - but if grandad then died within 7 years the value of the gift (property value) would be included in grandad's estate for Inheritance Tax.

Is there anything else that we need to take into consideration? My grandad is of sound mind, and these are his wishes due to some not very nice family history, so we want to make sure we cover all bases if possible.
See a solicitor!

If any one can point me in the direction of where to look to read up on this sort of thing or can offer any advice or similar situations that would be wonderful. Obviously we will seek legal advice, but this is my first step to try and figure out what needs to be done.

Thank in advance all and have a great day.

Donna

Your local library will have books on Scottish inheritance rules, wills and probate.

edit : a quick google:

http://www.gov.scot/Publications/2005/12/05115128/51285

https://www.scotcourts.gov.uk/taking-action/dealing-with-a-deceased's-estate-in-scotland

http://www.scottishwills.com/wills/inheritance_tax.html

davidmcn

Trout69 wrote: »

My Grandad owns a house outright in Glasgow, his sister is also on the Title deeds to the property

With a survivorship destination? Or without? If the former then her share automatically passed to your granddad on her death. If not then her share would have been dealt with by her Will - so what did it say?

Trout69

davidmcn wrote: »

With a survivorship destination? Or without? If the former then her share automatically passed to your granddad on her death. If not then her share would have been dealt with by her Will - so what did it say?

I've never heard of this, i'll ask the question. Thank you for your response.

Regards
Donna

Gers

Under Scots Law legal rights are only applicable to 'movable property' and not 'inheritable property'.

THE DISTINCTION BETWEEN HERITABLE AND MOVEABLE PROPERTY

Succession law makes a distinction for various purposes between how it treats heritable property and moveable property.

Heritable property (sometimes also called immoveable property) is land and buildings. The family home is typically the deceased’s main asset and it falls into the category of heritable property. A family farm would also fall into this category.

Moveable property is everything else.
Common examples of movable property include money, cars, furniture, jewellery and shares in a company.

So, if you visualise turning a property upside down, everything which moved would be part of 'legal rights'.