Proof of who I am.

Carpetman

Or of my wife who I have been married to for 42 years. Confused? because I am.
My father-in-law, unfortunately, passed away a few months ago and left everything including his house to his three daughters.
Everything was going fine - Solicitor appointed - Probate in the middle of being sorted (Solicitor says that's going to be straightforward).

HOWEVER

As soon as the Estate Agents became involved it all went pear-shaped. Because the 3 daughters are now going to be the owners they have to prove they can sell it. And that is the problem: to prove that they are the rightful sellers they have to provide 3 proofs to who they are.

Acceptable proofs are:
Driving Licence - tick
Passport - Haven't had one for years
Both a Bank statement & a credit card statement - got the former doesn't have a credit card (sorry uses mine!)
A utility bill in her name - I pay all the bills.

Can anyone see any way around this?
She's on the electoral register, and has been for the 40 years we've lived here,
She works for a school and has had and passed all the DBS (the old CRB) checks.
She owns and insures her own car.

But still, it's not enough. Are they just being difficult?

It's almost as if they think my wife doesn't exist even though they were quite happy for her to sign the paperwork so they could get paid.

Red-Squirrel_2

Applying for a passport would seem to be the simplest

A birth certificate is usually acceptable too, I assume she has one of those?

ashe

put a bill into her name and wait a few days to get the bill?

AdrianC

No, they're not "just being difficult". Proof of identity and address is non-negotiable. It's a legal requirement that businesses such as EAs and solicitors satisfy themselves that their clients are who they claim they are, for fairly obvious reasons. This is not new - the current legislation is a decade old.

What a company requires is up to them. The government publish a list of what they accept - which is at least two proofs, one for ID, one for address. A DL will prove ID, and a bank statement should prove address.
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/proof-of-identity-checklist/proof-of-identity-checklist
So the absolute bare minimum acceptable standard has been reached - just...

Comms69

Carpetman wrote: »

Or of my wife who I have been married to for 42 years. Confused? because I am.
My father-in-law, unfortunately, passed away a few months ago and left everything including his house to his three daughters.
Everything was going fine - Solicitor appointed - Probate in the middle of being sorted (Solicitor says that's going to be straightforward).

HOWEVER

As soon as the Estate Agents became involved it all went pear-shaped. Because the 3 daughters are now going to be the owners they have to prove they can sell it. And that is the problem: to prove that they are the rightful sellers they have to provide 3 proofs to who they are.

Acceptable proofs are:
Driving Licence - tick
Passport - Haven't had one for years
Both a Bank statement & a credit card statement - got the former doesn't have a credit card (sorry uses mine!)
A utility bill in her name - I pay all the bills.

Can anyone see any way around this?
She's on the electoral register, and has been for the 40 years we've lived here,
She works for a school and has had and passed all the DBS (the old CRB) checks.
She owns and insures her own car.

But still, it's not enough. Are they just being difficult?

It's almost as if they think my wife doesn't exist even though they were quite happy for her to sign the paperwork so they could get paid.

Whilst estate agents should ask for ID, the sale will actually be done by the solicitor. Only 1 party needs to sign up with the agent.

benten69

Carpetman wrote: »

She owns and insures her own car.

Have you asked if they will accept her insurance paperwork as proof? Surely that comes under the same category as "utility bill", no?

That way you will have 3 forms for them (driving licence, bank statement & insurance docs if they accept it).

silvercar

as soon as the Estate Agents became involved it all went pear-shaped. Because the 3 daughters are now going to be the owners they have to prove they can sell it.

To be clear, are the daughter inheriting the house and then deciding to sell or is the house being sold as the property of the deceased and the property being split.

to prove that they are the rightful sellers they have to provide 3 proofs to who they are.

If they were acting for the estate it would be a lot easier. It amuses me that they have cleary provided enough information to the solicitor to prove who they are but this is not enough for some pesky estate agent. Can't the solicitor confirm their identity.

Surrey_EA

Comms69 wrote: »

Whilst estate agents should ask for ID, the sale will actually be done by the solicitor. Only 1 party needs to sign up with the agent.

If three people are joint owners, most EAs will require joint instructions from all three, and that includes all three complying with AML checks.

xylophone

She could get a credit card in her own name?

This might be advisable anyway - suppose you predecease her?

kingstreet

I'm with silvercar.

If probate hasn't yet been granted, the Executor of the Estate is marketing the property, not the potential beneficiaries.

Therefore there should be no requirement for ID etc on the part of individuals whose only role here is to receive some of the future estate proceeds.

davidmcn

I'm also baffled why the EA is asking. Their client is the executor. Not the EA 's business who the executor passes the proceeds to.