Probate Help Please

ThomasGeorge

Hi,
I'd like a little bit of advice if anyone can help please?
We're buying a house that was originally owned by a couple who had 2 sons, when the father passed away he left his half of the house to his sons, the mother then passed away who did likewise. After the mother passed away the house was put up for sale, however, before it was sold 1 of the sons passed away. I have since had an offer accepted but this was back in July and the deceased sons estate still has not been resolved. The other son has offered to arrange an AST with us so that we can move in while we wait. As the buyer of our house has threatened to pull out due to the time this has taken we're seriously considering doing this, however, we're not sure if the remaining son has the authority to rent it to us, can anyone advise?

Browntoa

Ask your solicitor ....

Thrugelmir

What capacity is the other son working in? Is he the executor of the late mothers estate?

davidmcn

Strictly speaking if they don't have authority to sell then they don't have authority to let it, but it's less of a risk and you don't have to e.g. persuade the Land Registry about it. And allowing buyers to move in early is much more of a risk for the vendors than for the buyers. However, it could all be messy if you have no idea how long before you're the owners (or if you ever will!).

getmore4less

You need to establish the executor chain and who the legal owners of the house are.

If the legal ownership stayed with the parent(s) for sale after the mother died then the sons death should not be causing delays based on ownership.

Who took probate for the mother if there is someone to still deal with the mothers estate they can sell the house.

If the deseased son was the only executor then their executor takes over, if there is non(no will) then someone may need to apply again for the mums estate.

If ownership did change that changes the scenario.

G_M

getmore4less wrote: »

You need to establish the executor chain and who the legal owners of the house are.

If the legal ownership stayed with the parent(s) for sale after the mother died then the sons death should not be causing delays based on ownership.

Who took probate for the mother if there is someone to still deal with the mothers estate they can sell the house.

If the deseased son was the only executor then their executor takes over, if there is non(no will) then someone may need to apply again for the mums estate.

If ownership did change that changes the scenario.

All of which your solicitor should establish for you.


Please tell us you are not doing the conveyancing yourself.......

ThomasGeorge

The living brother is the sole executor of his mother's estate. The executor of the deceased brother's estate hasn't been decided yet, apparently it should be the mother of his children but she is undecided over whether she is going to claim on the estate (he didn't leave a will), if she does then that too will be the living brother.

I believe the issue is with the 25% left by the father to the deceased brother.

I do have a solicitor but the living son's solicitor is dreadful, the only information we have had through the whole process has been directly from the living son to us. I believe the solicitor dealing with the house sale were allocated by the estate agents rather than being the living son's regular sol.

AnotherJoe

I would take the AST. The risk is all on them and you get your house sold.

getmore4less

ThomasGeorge wrote: »

The living brother is the sole executor of his mother's estate. The executor of the deceased brother's estate hasn't been decided yet, apparently it should be the mother of his children but she is undecided over whether she is going to claim on the estate (he didn't leave a will), if she does then that too will be the living brother.

I believe the issue is with the 25% left by the father to the deceased brother.

I do have a solicitor but the living son's solicitor is dreadful, the only information we have had through the whole process has been directly from the living son to us. I believe the solicitor dealing with the house sale were allocated by the estate agents rather than being the living son's regular sol.

Find out who the legal owners of the property are.

Do you know if the fathers share was absolute or life interest trust?
If a trust who are the trustees.


As there was no will for the son then there is no executor there will be an administrator.

ThomasGeorge

I don't know regarding the father's share, I'll ask my solicitor to find out.

Yes the deceased son's estate needs an administrator I believe when they decide who that will be it'll take 6-12 weeks to obtain the letter of administration. This is why my only option if I want to keep my buyer and continue with this property is to rent somewhere until competition.

Tom99

AnotherJoe wrote: »

I would take the AST. The risk is all on them and you get your house sold.

I would agree with that, make it a 1yr min term if you like and make sure it is the surviving son who grants you the lease.