Tenants in common

Savvy_Sue

I don't believe there's any legal requirement to update the Land Registry, except when a property changes hands. 

Is your and your brother's interest in the property noted?

Vibgirl

Yes, myself and my brother interest in the property is noted on my late fathers Will and on the land registry under Heading PROPRIETORSHIP register, says restriction, no disposition by the proprietors of the registered estate is to be registered unless they make a statutory declaration, or their conveyancer gives a certificate, that the disposition is in accordance with the terms of the Will of (my late father's name)

xylophone

The friend has died and your father's Trustee/executor has died.

I would suggest that you contact a solicitor (perhaps at the firm responsible for drafting your late father's will) with a view to claiming your and your brother's inheritance,

Vibgirl

Will do, thankyou so much for your help and advice, very appreciated.

Savvy_Sue

Vibgirl said:

Yes, myself and my brother interest in the property is noted on my late fathers Will and on the land registry under Heading PROPRIETORSHIP register, says restriction, no disposition by the proprietors of the registered estate is to be registered unless they make a statutory declaration, or their conveyancer gives a certificate, that the disposition is in accordance with the terms of the Will of (my late father's name)

That is good news: it would be difficult to sell the property behind your back, but taking action to claim your inheritance now would be sensible. 

Whoever is living in the property now may wish to buy out you and your brother, and it is worth bearing in mind that even if they make an offer which is below market value, such an offer may be worth serious consideration. As well as consulting a solicitor as suggested by xylophone, you could do some research into recent property sales in that area. Bear in mind that you don't know what state the property is in, and that a property is worth what someone is willing to pay for it: an estate agent's valuation is little more than a finger stuck in the air ... and what with Covid, the end of the stamp duty holiday, and the general uncertainty of life, money on the table may be worth more than the potential of possibly more on the table in some ideal world. 

I'm not saying you should accept a ridiculously low offer, just that you might want to work out how low you'd be prepared to go to bring this to an end and get what you should. 

getmore4less

What order did they die?

xylophone

One does wonder what is going on with the property.

The OP's father's will left her and her brother his equitable share of the property but  created an interest in possession trust in favour of the friend.

The friend's brother-in-law was named as the OP's father's executor and Trustee and was recorded as a proprietor at the Land Registry in that capacity.

A (Form L?) restriction was also recorded at the Land Registry
 no disposition by the proprietors of the registered estate is to be registered unless they make a statutory declaration, or their conveyancer gives a certificate, that the disposition is in accordance with the terms of the Will of (my late father's name)

The OP has discovered that both the friend and  the  brother-in-law have died but that no changes have been made to the proprietorship register.

I presume that if the BIL died first, his Personal Representative had the power to take over the Trusteeship?

This does not appear to have happened.

The friend's equitable interest would have passed by will or intestacy but it appears that there has been no effort to obtain a Grant of Probate or Letters of Administration.

It is not clear whether or not the property is occupied - the whole business certainly requires clarification.