Probate & transferring ownership of property

Santino_2

Hi, lost both my parents in a short space of time earlier this year. 

They owned the house outright and didn't have any debts and didn't own any other property, I have retrieved the money that was left in their accounts and that has been shared out between myself, sisters and brother.

Parents wishes were that the house stays with the family so me and my sister will continue to live here and everyone is ok with this.

So all that is left to do is to get the house ownership moved from my parents names to our names. Do we need probate for this (if so we will be sorting that ourselves as it's cheaper) and what is the process and cost of transferring ownership?

The house is worth about 100k.

SevenOfNine

Land Registry is best place to find out about transfer process, this link may not be exactly the right area, but it's easy to stumble into "Land Registry" sites that are not where you need to be!
https://www.gov.uk/registering-land-or-property-with-land-registry/transfer-ownership-of-your-property

Afraid I've only dealt with probate/Letter of Administration (Will/no Will) properties that were being sold, so can't help with whether Land Registry would change the title with only a death certificate, I'd guess not, but it is a guess.

The do occasionally pop up on MSE answering questions, & are very helpful on the phone though. Quick search here might find them so you can ask. 

My condolences, I'm glad to see ot sounds like you & siblings are dealing with this amicably, so 2 of you can stay in the home. 

RAS

Presuming that your parents died without wills, you need to follow the rules of intestacy and get letters of administration. You may actually need to do so for both parents, depending on how the property was registered. Get the title deeds and check whether it was a joint tenancy or tenants in common.

 
The cost of doing this should have come from the estate but since you have already distributed the funds, you may have to pay for this; legally you would probably be considered to have intermeddled so it's now you responsibility.

The rules of intestacy mean that the property is left you you and your siblings in equal shares. You can effectively vary this but if any of your siblings is on benefits doing that could cause problems. You may also want to discuss the possibility that your siblings "loan" you their share, which reverts to them if you sell the house or die.

Keep_pedalling

You will need probate. If the house was owned as joint tenants and automatically passed into sole ownership of the surviving spouse on the first death then you should only need probate for the second death.

You will be able to transfer the ownership yourself, the process and fees involved can be found in the following link.

https://www.gov.uk/registering-land-or-property-with-land-registry/transfer-ownership-of-your-property

You  need to consider how you and siblings want hold the ownership, as joint tenants, or tenants in common. In the former ownership will pass to the surviving siblings, in the latter each sibling’s share will pass according to their will or intestacy rules where you don’t have one.

The other complication in this arrangement is what happens if any one of you wants to branch out and buy their own place? Ideally the remaining siblings would buy the leaving sibling our, but this is not always possible or something the others want to do, and as we have seen on this board before can lead to conflict.

Owning 1/3 of a house also looses your 1st time buyer status so if you have plans to buy your own place in the future you will not get the stamp duty exemption and if you have not managed to sell your share to your siblings you will also be hit with an addition 3% tax for buying a second house.

RAS

I think there are a minimum of 4 siblings, maybe more (sisters?)

It also has implications if any of them claims means-tested benefits, is made bankrupt or has a failed marriage. And of course the non-resident siblings could end up with a CGT liability in the future, although that depends on the value of the property.

And MSE hosts half a dozen threads about the complications of shared ownership of inherited property, or marital property after separation, at any time.

OP, you all need separate proper advice as to the implications of your proposal, financial, tax and regarding property.

Land_Registry

You will need probate. You can then transfer the property as the executor to the beneficiaries 
Our assisted guidance explains how and it reads as if you want an Assent rather than.a Transfer. Registration fee £40 on a £100K property. https://help.landregistry.gov.uk/app/contactus_bereavement?utm_medium=GOV.UK&utm_source=govuk&utm_campaign=death_contact_page_to_guide&utm_content=web_page_
You will need probate for the last parent to pass away and the death certificate for the other. 

Others refer to ‘shares’ and ‘tenants in common’ and whilst important to consider they relate primarily to the beneficial ownership. The legal ownership is what you are dealing with here so if you haven’t checked the register then do so online https://www.gov.uk/search-property-information-land-registry
How they held it may impact if there’s a form A restriction but that can stay in place if you and your sister are going to split your beneficial ownerships as well. 

So check the register and apply for probate. What else needs to be considered can then be assessed 

krysiatennis

Hello
my father passed away recently and has left his three children myself included equal shares in his property. 

It is low value ie below IHT threshold. 

I am executor. My siblings don’t want the property but I would like to live in it as sole main residence and buy them out. 

They are happy to do this.  Do we need to do deed of variation on will or just transfer property to my name and I pay buy their share. 

How do we go about transferring property to my name? We are happy with valuations received and have chosen mid value. 

We are concerned that if I given them the money for their share this will be classed a gift rather than inheritance and if I die within 7 years they would be liable for inheritance tax. 
thank you. 

Keep_pedalling

krysiatennis said:

Hello
my father passed away recently and has left his three children myself included equal shares in his property. 

It is low value ie below IHT threshold. 

I am executor. My siblings don’t want the property but I would like to live in it as sole main residence and buy them out. 

They are happy to do this.  Do we need to do deed of variation on will or just transfer property to my name and I pay buy their share. 

How do we go about transferring property to my name? We are happy with valuations received and have chosen mid value. 

We are concerned that if I given them the money for their share this will be classed a gift rather than inheritance and if I die within 7 years they would be liable for inheritance tax. 
thank you. 

How you do it depends on the other assets in the estate, if for instance the house is worth £100k and the rest of the estate is made up of cash to the value of £200k then you get the house and they split the cash. At the other end of the extreme if the estate just consists of the house then you buy your siblings shares of the house from the estate and the estate pays that amount out to your siblings.

You are not making any gifts you are buying their shares, IHT is not of concern, although stamp duty might be.

krysiatennis

Thanks  Keep-Pedalling   There is just the property. I would like to know the correct way to buy them out. 

Once probate granted is it ok to just transfer property to my name and then pay them their share. Or is there a special process to buy them out to ensure this mis not seen as a gift but inheritance under the Will. 

xylophone

Once probate granted is it ok to just transfer property to my name and then pay them their share. Or is there a special process to buy them out to ensure this mis not seen as a gift but inheritance under the Will. 

You and your sisters are the beneficiaries of your mother's property in equal shares.


You have valued the property for probate and know the amount each of your sisters is due.

You buy the property from the estate at probate value less your third.

You might feel reassured if you were to have the conveyancing formalities completed by a solicitor?