Updating House deeds

noclaf

I live in my parents house with wife and child. Father passed 2 years back, mother is in a care home. Mothers care is paid for with pensions+ LA top-up and LA confirmed house is not under consideration for her care fees due to a number of reasons which has been outlined/confirmed on email.

House deeds still show father's name and mother's name. I want to undertake renovation on the house as it needs a lot of TLC, parts of it in state of disrepair etc This will be at significant cost to myself.

Does it make sense to be added to the house deeds (in line with father's wishes in his last will to pass his share to me) before I undertake the house work?

What risks if any are there by not updating the deeds and adding my name? I can prove that I will be the beneficial owner (not sure the correct legal term) based on my father's will and other documentation but am I taking any significant risk by not adding my name and then spending a significant amount of money on renovations?

One potential risk even if unlikely is that retrospectively if the LA turns around and says actually we need to consider the house value.... renovation work would of increased its value and then I would be in a difficult position if I were forced to 'buy out' my mother's share but am hoping this doesn't happen...my mother's pensions are Civil and SP respectively so in theory will keep running to support her care costs. Is this even plausible?

RAS

What exactly did dad leave you? And is the existing tenancy a joint tenancy or tenants in common?

And if you still have the house deeds, presumably the property is not on the Land Registry?

noclaf

Hi RAS,

My terminology is incorrect, I have a 'copy'of the deeds, tenants in common with the relevant restriction listed on the deeds and my father passed his share (50%) of the house to me.
The property is listed on the Land Registry.

Also note parents were legally divorced (marriage annulled is the term) if that makes any difference.

RAS

Possibly, did will include the right for your mother to live there during her life time? 

noclaf

RAS said:

Possibly, did will include the right for your mother to live there during her life time? 

I don't see that anywhere in the documentation, I was still a teen when the divorce was finalized/completed. I think when they divorced the main consideration was not to disrupt my care,schooling, ensure I had a roof over my head etc At the time of divorce I think a proposed idea was to have the property transferred into my mother's name as sole owner but with my father having a 50% charge over the property. That never happened anyway so the deeds remained as they are with both names listed.

For further context I lived in the house with my mother and was her carer for a number of years as she had Alzheimer's. I am also her Deputy via COP, due to the challenges of home care even with regular carer visits I took a decision to move my mother into a care home as I was struggling to manage.

My mother's will also states something similar to my dad's about passing her 50% share to me but as it currently stands only my dad's share has come to me due to his passing etc. 

I need to be clear, this is not about dodging care costs or DOA as my mothers pensions and benefits all go towards her care and I manage the finances. It's more a question of do I need to do anything now based on current circumstances etc

Gavin83

noclaf said:

Mothers care is paid for with pensions+ LA top-up and LA confirmed house is not under consideration for her care fees due to a number of reasons which has been outlined/confirmed on email.

What were these reasons?

Savvy_Sue

Gavin83 said:

noclaf said:

Mothers care is paid for with pensions+ LA top-up and LA confirmed house is not under consideration for her care fees due to a number of reasons which has been outlined/confirmed on email.

What were these reasons?

And how old are you, OP? If over 60, house wouldn't be taken into account because you're living in it.

noclaf

Savvy_Sue said:

Gavin83 said:

noclaf said:

Mothers care is paid for with pensions+ LA top-up and LA confirmed house is not under consideration for her care fees due to a number of reasons which has been outlined/confirmed on email.

What were these reasons?

And how old are you, OP? If over 60, house wouldn't be taken into account because you're living in it.

I am under 60 and situation is slightly complicated but in summary consideration was given to the time I've lived in the property both pre and during my carer role for my mother and that I have a child under 18. 

*Just to add we have been fully transparent with LA on my mother income sources, all her pensions and savings go towards her care costs. If we weren't so transparent and/or trying to avoid the care fees relative to her income I don't think the LA would of been so understanding .... context is always important

RAS

The exact wording of the will matters. It would be best if you could type out the bit that says "I leave my share of house to noclaf." Unless it does say absolutely.

The usual scenario is that the first parent to die leaves their portion to the children with the right to occupy left  in trust to the other parent (sometimes step-parent). That had the advantages it protects half the value from care fees and that if the child(ren) are not resident, their portion does not attract Capital Gains Tax when it's sold.

In that case, the portion of the property does not pass to the children until the second parent dies, so no change is needed at the Land Registry

When did dad write his will? Before or after the divorce? Any remarriage?

If your father left you the property outright, you should register the change of ownership. Did you obtain probate?

noclaf

exact wording of the will matters. It would be best if you could type out the bit that says "I leave my share of house to noclaf." Unless it does say absolutely.

The exact wording reads as: I hereby direct that my share of the equitable interest in my former matrimonial home of XXXX be vested in my son XXXX

When did dad write his will? Before or after the divorce? Any remarriage?

Post-divorce and no remarriage

If your father left you the property outright, you should register the change of ownership. Did you obtain probate?

As the will was written when I was fairly young another family member was assigned as executor. Aside from the property side of it, all other aspects such as distributing the remainder of his estate and IHT forms were completed/done and dusted within a year. Another question is can I legally make/request the change at the registry since I can evidence the change using his will and death certificate or must it be the executor?
Context- Whilst I can ask said family member to help with the update it would be so much easier if I could do it myself and take away the additional admin for them but, will follow whatever needs to be done in terms of the  right process so if it must be the executor then we can get it done that way.

RAS

Do you have a copy of the will and probate documents?

If needed, go to www.gov.uk/search-will-probate. It costs £1.50 but is now extremely clunky. If the surname is Smithson, you may have to use smit to get it to cough up options and they won't be in alphabetic order so you have to tab through. Check David Annal's youtube for a demo.