Declaration of Trust

Mandyraff

30 years ago we paid for my in-laws council house for them. They lived there rent free but it was always our house when they died even though their names were on the deeds at the Land Registry. This was confirmed by a ‘declaration of trust’ and everyone’s will saying that the entire beneficial interest in the house would pass to us. Now, 30 years later my father-in-law has passed and the solicitors are saying that we need to pay £600 as a Grant of Probate is required. They are saying that this would always be the case where the sole remaining owner of a property dies and the ownership is transferred either to a beneficiary in their will or as the result of a sale but in our case it is neither.  Can someone please give us some advice to go back to the Solicitors with? They have been dragging their feet for eight months already with this. Many thanks in advance.  

xylophone

This was confirmed by a ‘declaration of trust’ 

 A bare trust? Like this?

https://www.gov.uk/hmrc-internal-manuals/trusts-settlements-and-estates-manual/tsem9520#:~:text=A declaration of trust is,be enforced by the courts.

Even if the parents  were holding the property as Trustee(s), they were still the registered legal (although not beneficial) owners.

With the death of the last legal owner and Bare Trustee,  it seems to me (no expert) that probate will be required to transfer title to the beneficial owners because  (as I understand it) on the death of a sole or last surviving trustee, the trust property devolves upon his personal representative(s).

 

Keep_pedalling

Surely 30 years ago you had no right to buy their council house, only tenants could purchase their house so technically you could not be the owners. 

I suppose after all this time that won’t be picked up, but your rouse will now result in a significant CG liability.

Land_Registry

Mandyraff said:

30 years ago we paid for my in-laws council house for them. They lived there rent free but it was always our house when they died even though their names were on the deeds at the Land Registry. This was confirmed by a ‘declaration of trust’ and everyone’s will saying that the entire beneficial interest in the house would pass to us. Now, 30 years later my father-in-law has passed and the solicitors are saying that we need to pay £600 as a Grant of Probate is required. They are saying that this would always be the case where the sole remaining owner of a property dies and the ownership is transferred either to a beneficiary in their will or as the result of a sale but in our case it is neither.  Can someone please give us some advice to go back to the Solicitors with? They have been dragging their feet for eight months already with this. Many thanks in advance.  

If both in laws are now deceased then probate is needed. The property forms part of his estate if MIL died first and now FIL has also died 
The legal ownership was registered in their names. The declaration of trust and wills relate to the beneficial ownership
Once probate is obtained the executor(s) can either transfer it to any beneficiaries or sell it as appropriate.

If MIL hasn’t died then the legal ownership has passed to her as the sole surviving registered legal owner and probate isn’t needed