Probate lapsed how assign property

threebeez

My mother in law died over 2 years ago. We were unaware that probate lasped and having dealt with the rest of her estate are left with a wooden shack which we need to assign.
it is unclear if this property is registered with the land registry as it is off grid.
how do we go about assigning it?
is it even worth considering doing ourselves or should we appoint someone to manage it on our behalf. If so how do we go about appointing someone? no one seems to be able to help!
many thanks.

Keep_pedalling

What do you mean by probate lapsed? Probate is granted but it never lapses.

Presumably the shack comes with some land, but why assign it rather than sell it and distribute the proceeds?

Linton

The issue it seems to me is the land, not a "shack".    Who owns the land?  Is it actually a  habitable house which could be sold as such or just a wooden garden shed or similar which would presumably come with the land.

Marcon

threebeez said:

My mother in law died over 2 years ago. We were unaware that probate lasped and having dealt with the rest of her estate are left with a wooden shack which we need to assign.
it is unclear if this property is registered with the land registry as it is off grid.
how do we go about assigning it?
is it even worth considering doing ourselves or should we appoint someone to manage it on our behalf. If so how do we go about appointing someone? no one seems to be able to help!
many thanks.

Probate doesn't lapse. A bequest in a will can fail if the intended beneficiary predeceases the testator - could that be what's happened here?

Where does 'assignment' come into it...?

threebeez

We want to keep it, we all have happy memories of spending time there and my children would like to be able to do so in the future.

if probate doesn’t run out…
is there an issue in reassigning it that we should be aware of? 

We thought the property could just be gifted to me? 
is there a tax issue if it is assigned to me? 

My partner wants to assign it to me so that it can then be inherited by our children. 

His mother did not leave a will, he applied for probate on behalf of himself and his sister, so the shack and land on it are yet to be assigned.
we are struggling to get legal advice having contacted many solicitors in the area.

Flugelhorn

if there as no will then you got letters of administration - these do not run out timewise. 
you have to divide up the estate as per the rules of intestacy - so presumably shared between the siblings.

I am just wondering if you are talking about a deed of variation to pass the land and shack to to you? that has to be done within 2 years of the death 

threebeez

I think I am talking about a deed of variation 
my mother in law died over 2 years ago

any ideas if this is something straightforward enough to do ourselves?

poppystar

threebeez said:

I think I am talking about a deed of variation 
my mother in law died over 2 years ago

any ideas if this is something straightforward enough to do ourselves?

As Flugelhorn says, this would have to have been done within two years of the death so sadly that opportunity has passed.

Why do you need it to be ‘assigned’ to you to pass it to your children, if they are the children of you and your partner? If it is in your partner’s name they can Will it to the children surely just as easily as you can. 

threebeez

Is there any way at all the property can be assigned to me?
gifted for example?

Marcon

threebeez said:

Is there any way at all the property can be assigned to me?
gifted for example?

Who owns it under the laws of intestacy? If the new (albeit possibly unwitting!) owners are all happy to 'give' their share to you, then they can - but without having any idea of the value, there could be tax issues further down the line for their estates if one of them dies within 7 years of giving you the shack.

Probably wise to get some proper professional advice to ensure all is done correctly and to ensure there are no nasty surprises further down the track. I suspect your lack of success so far has been because the solicitors you've spoken to simply don't understand what you're talking about when you keep referring to 'assigning', because that's not what happens with something inherited.

Keep_pedalling

If the others agree you could alway take this as part of your inheritance with the other beneficiaries getting more of the other assets to compensate.