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Buying siblings half of bequeathed house.

My wife and sister-in-law together own their late father's bungalow, probate is over and done with our house is sold subject to contract and half the market value for the bungalow has been agreed by both parties. We have now been told by our solicitor that my sister-in-law must get their own solicitor to deal with the selling of this bungalow to us and not do an "assent" as first thought. Is this right and fair. Please advise as two lots of conveyancing for a house they both own sounds ludicrous.

Comments

  • davidmcn
    davidmcn Posts: 23,596 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper
    She doesn't need to use a solicitor at all, but you can't insist on one solicitor acting for both parties if they're uncomfortable with the potential conflict of interest.
  • getmore4less
    getmore4less Posts: 46,882 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper I've helped Parliament
    Do you need a mortgage?

    If not neither of you need a solicitor
  • Tom99
    Tom99 Posts: 5,371 Forumite
    1,000 Posts Second Anniversary
    Englandj3 wrote: »
    My wife and sister-in-law together own their late father's bungalow, probate is over and done with our house is sold subject to contract and half the market value for the bungalow has been agreed by both parties. We have now been told by our solicitor that my sister-in-law must get their own solicitor to deal with the selling of this bungalow to us and not do an "assent" as first thought. Is this right and fair. Please advise as two lots of conveyancing for a house they both own sounds ludicrous.

    Has the property been legally transferred to them or is it still owned by the father's estate?
  • da_rule
    da_rule Posts: 3,618 Forumite
    Sixth Anniversary 1,000 Posts
    If the property has been transferred to your wife and her sister then this should have been done by assent. Any subsequent transfers, that are not directly a result of a gift in a will or under the intestacy rules, will be carried out by using a transfer deed.
  • G_M
    G_M Posts: 51,977 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    edited 23 December 2018 at 10:37AM
    As above:


    * is property still in the name of deceased (it sounds like it is not)? If so the Administrators can use AS1 (assent) to transfer it into your name (I assume it is you that is buying? "our house is sold subject to contract")

    * If the Administrators have, for some inconceivable reason, already transfered it into the names of the Beneficiaries (via an asent), then it now needs to be sold/transferred via a TR1. I doubt a solicitor would agree to act for both buyer and seller

    * if there is no mortgage, the solution is to not use a solicitor at all. Simply complete the TR1 (and ID1 and AP1) and send to the Land Registry. I assume the seller trusts the buyer enough that the agreed money will be paid without the need for a contract?

    * A SDLT return would need to be sent to HMRC first.

    * if the property has increased in value since probate, Capital Gain Tax may be payable by the seller.

    * if a mortgage is involved, solicitors will be required to act for the lender(s).
  • Probate is finished, the bungalow is owned by both sisters.
  • Tom99
    Tom99 Posts: 5,371 Forumite
    1,000 Posts Second Anniversary
    Englandj3 wrote: »
    Probate is finished, the bungalow is owned by both sisters.
    [FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]That's a vague answer - Has the property been legally assented/transferred to them?[/FONT]
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