Change of House Name after death of joint owner

iyhr

A dear friend died 2 years ago.They were joint owners of their house. The house became her's alone and she plans
to pay off the mortgage in 4 about months time.
She wants to change thehouse owner to her name only.
It appears to be merely a form-filling exercise to the Land Registry but she has been advised to use a solicitor to do this.
She's obtained 2 quotes - both well in excess of £1,000.It seems a lot?
Any comments, advice would be greatly appeciated.
Thanks.
Yvonne

Keep_pedalling

She can do this herself although it does not matter if she leaves it as it is. It can be sorted the next rime the house changes hands.

diystarter7

Hi
She can DIY
but a few calls to land reg etc for help and they are good and a few posts here

Then there is getting papers witnessed - justice of the peace is free i thing - but when we gifted a property we did ourselves changed names etc and paid a solicitors office a couple of hundred quid, saved at least 800 I think  -it made me feel good
Can't recall why we did not use justice of peace/notary though - look them if if you wish as some charge i think but if unsrue call land reg or consult solicore we manged

Thanks

diystarter7

Btw, the prices seem ok and if in London etc, cheap for a straightforward, freehold house with no outstanding loadns etc - if laons etc then defo cheap
Thanks

EssexHebridean

Keep_pedalling said:

She can do this herself although it does not matter if she leaves it as it is. It can be sorted the next rime the house changes hands.

Exactly this - there is no need to do it and it doesn't give her any particular advantage TO do it. If she does decide to go ahead though it's a pretty straightforward process. 

It's one of those things that people often assume "should" be done, in most circumstances without any basis in fact! The quotes she has received seem extremely high - is she perhaps getting quotes from Central London firms, or looking for more than just the change of register to be done? No need IMO for anywhere to be charging a 4-figure sum for something that straightforward. 

Edit - if she is going to do it, she may as well wait until after the charge has been redeemed in any event.

BooJewels

Well, if you're supposed to use a Justice of the Peace or something, I've just done it wrong.  In my case, we were married joint owners, so I only filled in one 2 sided A4 form and sent a death certificate.   The complexity perhaps depends on the friends status with the other joint owner - but I doubt it needs a grands worth of solicitors fees.

I'm not really sure why I did do it - I think because it might make it a smidge easier for my executor in future when selling the house.  My father hadn't done it when Mum died, so we had to provide her will and death certificate when selling the house.  So just in case I go daft and lose the necessary paperwork in my dotage.

Bossyboots

BooJewels said:

Well, if you're supposed to use a Justice of the Peace or something, I've just done it wrong.  In my case, we were married joint owners, so I only filled in one 2 sided A4 form and sent a death certificate.   The complexity perhaps depends on the friends status with the other joint owner - but I doubt it needs a grands worth of solicitors fees.

I'm not really sure why I did do it - I think because it might make it a smidge easier for my executor in future when selling the house.  My father hadn't done it when Mum died, so we had to provide her will and death certificate when selling the house.  So just in case I go daft and lose the necessary paperwork in my dotage.

That is how it is done.  DJP1 and death certificate are all that are required provided the property was held as joint tenants.

EssexHebridean

BooJewels said:

Well, if you're supposed to use a Justice of the Peace or something, I've just done it wrong.  In my case, we were married joint owners, so I only filled in one 2 sided A4 form and sent a death certificate.   The complexity perhaps depends on the friends status with the other joint owner - but I doubt it needs a grands worth of solicitors fees.

I'm not really sure why I did do it - I think because it might make it a smidge easier for my executor in future when selling the house.  My father hadn't done it when Mum died, so we had to provide her will and death certificate when selling the house.  So just in case I go daft and lose the necessary paperwork in my dotage.

If it makes you feel better to have done it then all good - while there is no specific reason TO do it, there is no specific reason not to either. 

It doesn’t make a huge amount of odds when it comes to the property being sold after the other proprietor dies - it’s just a couple more documents to scan and include in the AP1 form, and those doing post completions work are used to it as it occurs pretty often.  

But no - not even close to a grand’s worth of costs, and definitely no JP involvement needed! 

BooJewels

Thanks @Bossyboots - I couldn't remember the form number and wasn't near it to check.  I'm sure that I've done it right, just commenting on the ridiculousness of some earlier comments.

I'm not sure that I feel better for doing it @EssexHebridean - I delayed posting it for a week or more.  I think I just felt it was a loose end to tie up and perhaps a door to close.   I'd put it off for a while, then suddenly got the motivation to just get it done.  In fact, it was depressingly easy to do really.

EssexHebridean

It must be rather a tough step in many ways - Mum’s not worrying about doing it on her house as her estate will be exceptionally simple, and she knows that me / MrEH know what to do about it when the time comes. I imagine she’d feel having Dad’s name taken off was a bit “final” though, to say the least. 

Hopefully in some ways your final sentence above might be reassuring to others facing a similar decision though - sad, final, but also very straightforward. 

Savvy_Sue

It's generally straightforward as long as the property is registered digitally at the land registry. If it's paper deeds and NOT registered, then it is generally recommended to use a solicitor. 

If unsure, you can check here: https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/land-registry