Assent question: ID1, ID3 or not required?

thetcutkid

Hi,

My mother passed away earlier this year and left a will naming my sister and I as joint executors.

The family home has been left to my sister and I - it's the only house I've ever lived in and for the time being I will continue to live there, my sister has her own home.

We received the grant of probate about a week ago and I'm now ready to complete the forms to change the register of title at the Land Registry from my mother's name into the names of my sister and I.

There's no mortgage outstanding and the property was in my mother's sole name.

My understanding is that I need to complete assent form AS1 and application to change the register form AP1 - would that be correct in this situation?

I'm a little confused as to which, if any, ID form I need to complete.

On the .gov.uk website, looking up details of when forms ID1 and ID3 should be used, assent is never mentioned, transfers are mentioned as are many other scenarios but not assents, so do I even need to complete an ID form?

If I do need to complete one, which one applies to us?

The website mentions using ID1 if you're not a conveyancer or financial institution (which I'm not) but then says that ID3 is a certificate of identity for a private individual, so I find that a bit confusing to be honest.

Many thanks for your help and clarification.

Savvy_Sue

Before you do this, consider whether you can do a Deed of Variation to put the house into your sole name. It would require you to buy out your sister's share which I realise may not be possible, but if you keep it in joint names then whenever you do sell it, your sister will have a CGT liability.

If you're already past this stage, I'm sure someone will advise on the ID front.

Keep_pedalling

Savvy_Sue said:

Before you do this, consider whether you can do a Deed of Variation to put the house into your sole name. It would require you to buy out your sister's share which I realise may not be possible, but if you keep it in joint names then whenever you do sell it, your sister will have a CGT liability.

If you're already past this stage, I'm sure someone will advise on the ID front.

If the OP is in a position to buy out their sister a DoV would not be required. 

thetcutkid

Many thanks for your replies.

I would never be in a financial position to buy out my sister's share.

The subject of CGT was mentioned by the solicitor when my Mum was having her will drawn up 3 years ago. I posted on here about it actually because the solicitor had also mentioned about a life interest trust with regard to the house, something we'd never heard of or considered.

We are a very close and supportive family and we felt that a LIT was another level of legality we didn't need - my mother and sister have always stated that they want me to stay in the family home as long as I want to and my sister has gone onto say that, should I ultimately decide to sell the house, she would be perfectly happy for me to use 100% of the proceeds in order to buy another property. If that were to happen I would obviously be making a will leaving everything to her anyway but it doesn't sit very well with me and I'd feel guilty that she doesn't get the use of her share sooner.

I'm trying not to make huge decisions so soon after losing my Mum, we were incredibly close, I was her full time carer for 2 years and I've found things very difficult now I'm on my own but I have to be realistic as I probably can't afford to live here indefinitely.

 

Keep_pedalling

As you sister gets no benefit from the house and is unlikely to ever get any benefit from it, she could simply do a deed of variation giving you 100% ownership. This would avoid any CGT issues if later sold to buy another house and may help with her IHT planning.

if you have no descendants of your own to inherit you could gift the house to her, or her children in your will. 

Savvy_Sue

It's a big ask, I know, but your sister granting you 100% of the house would definitely simplify both your lives. If she retains joint ownership and ever needs to claim means-tested benefits, or she divorced (if married), her half of the house would fall into any calculations.

Do you have income to maintain it? If not, planning to sell sooner rather than later could make sense and reduce the complications.

But you are right not to rush, and actually transferring the ownership at the Land Registry is not up there with the 'urgent this day' tasks.

thetcutkid

Many thanks for the continued replies.

I must be honest and say that I'd never heard of a deed of variation. If I understand correctly it seems a method of essentially changing my mother's wishes contained in her will. I totally understand why one might consider doing this, particularly where CGT or other factors come into play but in some ways it doesn't feel quite right changing my mother's wishes retrospectively.

One thing that's at the back of my mind is needing to get the land registry sorted as the home insurance expires in December. I understand from the insurance company that the insurance policy can stay as '.. in the name of the late Mrs...' or whatever the exact wording was amended to until expiry of the policy or when probate is granted, whatever happens sooner.

Just for completeness, assuming we go ahead with the assent, can anyone clarify the question on what ID form we need to complete, if any?

Many thanks for your time.

Keep_pedalling

thetcutkid said:

Many thanks for the continued replies.

I must be honest and say that I'd never heard of a deed of variation. If I understand correctly it seems a method of essentially changing my mother's wishes contained in her will. I totally understand why one might consider doing this, particularly where CGT or other factors come into play but in some ways it doesn't feel quite right changing my mother's wishes retrospectively.

One thing that's at the back of my mind is needing to get the land registry sorted as the home insurance expires in December. I understand from the insurance company that the insurance policy can stay as '.. in the name of the late Mrs...' or whatever the exact wording was amended to until expiry of the policy or when probate is granted, whatever happens sooner.

Just for completeness, assuming we go ahead with the assent, can anyone clarify the question on what ID form we need to complete, if any?

Many thanks for your time.

The insurance company won’t be worried about how quickly you update the land registry there is no hurry to do this. I am sure you mother would not have minded any different arrangement the two of you come too provided you are both in agreement and are happy with the arrangement. 

Tiglet2

thetcutkid said:

Many thanks for the continued replies.

I must be honest and say that I'd never heard of a deed of variation. If I understand correctly it seems a method of essentially changing my mother's wishes contained in her will. I totally understand why one might consider doing this, particularly where CGT or other factors come into play but in some ways it doesn't feel quite right changing my mother's wishes retrospectively.

One thing that's at the back of my mind is needing to get the land registry sorted as the home insurance expires in December. I understand from the insurance company that the insurance policy can stay as '.. in the name of the late Mrs...' or whatever the exact wording was amended to until expiry of the policy or when probate is granted, whatever happens sooner.

Just for completeness, assuming we go ahead with the assent, can anyone clarify the question on what ID form we need to complete, if any?

Many thanks for your time.

You don't need both forms, only one.

The ID3 form was used during the Covid years when it was difficult to meet a solicitor and get them to verify your identity in person.  You could only use an ID3 form if the certifier personally had known you for a minimum of a year and both you and the certifier held photo passports.   I am not sure whether the Land Registry are still using the form now, but before Covid, an ID1 was the form to use. 

For ID1, you need to have your ID certified by an official on the 'approved certifier' list to verify your identity/photograph.  The certifier needs to fill in a section on the form, together with their roll/licence number and a current practising certificate.  If they are verifying you via a video link, rather than in person, you will also need to complete an ID5 form.

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thetcutkid

Many thanks @Tiglet2 for the detailed clarification on the ID forms.

ID3 is still mentioned on the website so I guess it's still relevant, altho It's confusing because it seems that I could use either form, altho potentially ID3 maybe easier to arrange.

Are you able to confirm that an ID form will definitely be required for an Assent as they are not listed under the information pages for either ID1 or ID3?

thetcutkid

Having stumbled across a land registry forum within the .gov website I can confirm that yes, you do need to have your ID verified for an Assent.

ID3 is still used by the land registry so in my case I can use either an ID1 or an ID3.

Apparently it used to be the case that if you were both the personal representatives and the beneficiaries, with probate granted, you didn't need to complete any ID form at all - this is no longer the case and changed with effect from 04Sep23.