2 Land Registry Questions

tacpot12

I am helping a family friend complete the administration of her parent's estates. Both parents died within a year of each other, and due to the time the friend spent caring for her mother, dealing with her father's estate did not start in earnest until her mother died. 

Her father owned the family home outright (no mortgage) as sole owner, and the title is registered with the Land Registry, Her father also owned a property that was let out for a number of years, but has not had tenants for the last year or so. The title of the rental property is unregistered; the friend has the deeds at home. Her father owned this property as sole owner as well. 

Her father's will left both properties to the friend's mother (or her, if her mother had predeceased him), and her mother's will left all her property to her daughter (my friend). My friend is an only child. 

My questions relate to the process of transferring these two properties from her father's ownership to her ownership: 

1. Do we have to transfer ownership of the registered title to her mother first (due to her father's will) and then to my friend (due to her mother's will) in two separate applications, or will the Land Registry accept copies of both wills, both death certificates and both grants of probate, but just one Form requesting the transfer from her Father to her as this is effect of the two wills taken together?

2. Similarly for the property that does not have a registered title, do we need to complete this is two stages, e.g. register the title and transfer ownership to her mother first (due to her father's will), and then complete a second application to transfer the registered title to her, or can we do everything in one application?   

Many thanks

davidmcn

You only need a LR application for the ultimate owner, everything else is just used as links in title.

greatcrested

As David says, but you'll need Probate granted for both Estates, as well as having dealt with any Inheritance Tax due.

Who is/were the Executers of each will?

There is a dedicated forum for deaths and probate (as well as plenty of online websites both gov and private):

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/categories/deaths-funerals-probate

tacpot12

Thank you davidmcn and greatcrested.

My friend is the executor for both wills. Her parents had named each other as executors in addition to my friend (their daughter), but as her mother was gravely ill when her father died, her mother wasn't able to do anything in respect of administering the estate.
We are working on the Probate applications at the moment, and have completed the estate reports to HMRC. 

Mickey666

If the father left everything to his wife, is there any need for probate for his estate?

tacpot12

Mickey666 said:

If the father left everything to his wife, is there any need for probate for his estate?

We think so because her father was the sole owner of the two properties, although no IHT is due on his estate, and won't be on her mother's estate because none of her father's NRB was used. 

Land_Registry

tacpot12 said:

I am helping a family friend complete the administration of her parent's estates. Both parents died within a year of each other, and due to the time the friend spent caring for her mother, dealing with her father's estate did not start in earnest until her mother died. 

Her father owned the family home outright (no mortgage) as sole owner, and the title is registered with the Land Registry, Her father also owned a property that was let out for a number of years, but has not had tenants for the last year or so. The title of the rental property is unregistered; the friend has the deeds at home. Her father owned this property as sole owner as well. 

Her father's will left both properties to the friend's mother (or her, if her mother had predeceased him), and her mother's will left all her property to her daughter (my friend). My friend is an only child. 

My questions relate to the process of transferring these two properties from her father's ownership to her ownership: 

1. Do we have to transfer ownership of the registered title to her mother first (due to her father's will) and then to my friend (due to her mother's will) in two separate applications, or will the Land Registry accept copies of both wills, both death certificates and both grants of probate, but just one Form requesting the transfer from her Father to her as this is effect of the two wills taken together?

2. Similarly for the property that does not have a registered title, do we need to complete this is two stages, e.g. register the title and transfer ownership to her mother first (due to her father's will), and then complete a second application to transfer the registered title to her, or can we do everything in one application?   

Many thanks

The key here is who was the legal owner of both properties, registered and unregistered. 

So if the Father is the sole registered owner the registered property forms part of his estate and probate for him is needed. We do not deal with wills. 

So before doing anything else can you confirm whether probate has been obtained already for him and if so who is named as the executor? 

Or if probate has not been obtained for him as yet, which I think is what you are suggesting?