Urgent help needed! House being sold before will read

Gingernm01

Hi all,  

Need all your advice!  Will be speaking with solicitor/family lawyer first thing in the morning.

Father in law has passed away due to Covid in April.   Funeral has taken place, but company holding the will won’t release until executor contacts them.   They have been provided with the death cert, but we’re getting nowhere.

Stepmother-in-law has taken various steps already to move funds from potential inheritance.   This includes moving funds via online banking from his own (not joint account) within hours of his death, selling car which he is owner of (V5 etc in his name) and now we’ve discovered the house is up for sale (on right move)

we’re estranged from stepmother, just to add further problems, and believe she could be the executor, but do not know 100%.

What do we need to do to get everything halted and the will read?

Very confused right now, how can an estate agent list a property the supposed seller doesn’t have the right to sell?

Any information or suggestions for legal people to speak to would be much appreciated.

We’re based close to Coventry if that helps.

for now anonymous! 

pphillips

You can do a simple Land Registry search to see if they jointly own the property. If they do, what the will says won't apply to the property, she will only need to provide the death certificate to sell up and pocket the cash. But if the house is in the sole name of the father in law, she simply won't be able to sell without getting probate. Also, look to see if there is a tenants and common restriction on the property register: “No disposition by a sole proprietor of the registered estate (except a trust corporation)".

HHarry

The Estate Agent doesn’t check the ownership, their job is just to sell the property.

The Conveyancers sort out the legal transfer, and if you can’t prove you have the right to sell it, it won’t go through.

You seem fairly sure there’s a will - but there is no ‘reading’ of a will.  Broadly it is for the Executors eyes only until Probate is applied for (if needed) when it becomes publicly available.

Gingernm01

pphilips / HHarry,
Thankyou both for your responses, we will contact a local family solicitor today to get further info.
believe the house will be jointly owned, so need to get this sorted ASAP.   

Will Update later once we have more details.

xylophone

You need to check the ownership of the property.
Has your FiL's bank been advised of his death?

Browntoa

Land registry details are £3 

Simple search and download

https://eservices.landregistry.gov.uk/eservices/FindAProperty/view/QuickEnquiryInit.do?_ga=2.166084024.785646929.1592409805-195018610.1591615251

Am I right in thinking that the company are will writers and not a solicitor

getmore4less

If the person is legal owner of the property, joint or tenant in common(TIC) they can go ahead and sell the property without a grant(probate)
The TIC  restriction  is useless at stopping a sale where there is a surviving owner

Marcon

Gingernm01 said:

Hi all,  

Need all your advice!  Will be speaking with solicitor/family lawyer first thing in the morning.

Father in law has passed away due to Covid in April.   Funeral has taken place, but company holding the will won’t release until executor contacts them.   They have been provided with the death cert, but we’re getting nowhere.

Stepmother-in-law has taken various steps already to move funds from potential inheritance.   This includes moving funds via online banking from his own (not joint account) within hours of his death, selling car which he is owner of (V5 etc in his name) and now we’ve discovered the house is up for sale (on right move)

we’re estranged from stepmother, just to add further problems, and believe she could be the executor, but do not know 100%.

What do we need to do to get everything halted and the will read?

Very confused right now, how can an estate agent list a property the supposed seller doesn’t have the right to sell?

Any information or suggestions for legal people to speak to would be much appreciated.

We’re based close to Coventry if that helps.

for now anonymous! 

If you're speaking to your solicitor, why post here? Much better to get advice based on a fuller understanding of the picture, especially house ownership.

Nothing at all to stop someone putting a property on the market before probate has been granted (or indeed even applied for), and probably very sensible in today's grim market. Completion can't take place until the buyer's solicitors are comfortable that the seller has the right to sell, but if they are prepared to do so, a buyer can always exchange contracts on a conditional basis, the condition usually being that completion takes place once probate has been granted and that probate must be granted by [longstop date].

xylophone

If the person is legal owner of the property, joint or tenant in common(TIC) they can go ahead and sell the property without a grant(probate)
The TIC  restriction  is useless at stopping a sale where there is a surviving owner

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/70654796/#Comment_70654796

If  a surviving TIC chose to sell the property (or mortgage it) then the Form A restriction would come into play as 'capital monies' (the purchase price/loan) are involved. It  would not stop her selling/mortgaging the property as such but she would not be able to do it on her own and would have to appoint someone to act with her as a co-trustee to take receipt of the monies.

https://www.land-registry-documents.co.uk/information/joint-ownership-tennants/

Malthusian

Gingernm01 said:

pphilips / HHarry,
Thankyou both for your responses, we will contact a local family solicitor today to get further info.
believe the house will be jointly owned, so need to get this sorted ASAP.   

Will Update later once we have more details.

If by that you mean they owned it as joint tenants, the house is hers 100% and the Will is irrelevant. Are there any assets in the estate that are actually worth fighting over? The car almost certainly won't be unless it's very very expensive.

This includes moving funds via online banking from his own (not joint account) within hours of his death.

How did you get hold of your father's bank records?

If the stepmother is executor and the amount in the account was small enough, she may have been able to withdraw the funds by presenting the death certificate and signing an indemnity, without the need for probate.

Gingernm01

Little update, we’ve spoken with solicitor (first 1/2 hour free).  They are supposed to be calling back today and we will instruct to take up case.   Another local firm have been contacted and they’re getting back to us.

its a strange affair, basically dad died from Covid (so wasn’t a expected death), he died in early hours:

3rd hand info: step-mil, same day of death, cleared dads current account and some ISA’s (believed to be 3, each set up for daughters inheritance).  This has not been confirmed, step-mil will not answer any correspondence (calls, texts) and refuses to speak with dad side of family.  So this is could well be complete horse poo!   Wouldn’t expect banks to do anything unless she has access via knowing online login details.

Other than the above, for certain, there is a will, with a will writing Co.  We have in hand the reference for this.  But they want contact from executor to extract will from storage.  No idea who executor are, other than a suspicion that it is step-mil.  We have specifically asked them if wife is one.  So waiting for this to progress.  They have been given death certificate.

So the house is on the market, step-mil’s sons house has also been put on market, same day, same estate agents!

this situation stinks, although with what has been commented, the will could be as worthless as toilet paper (so about £5 a sheet in the current climate). 

Once we have some solid Information I will update.  

 Sorry for the long post.