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What to do when part of tenancy in common is left in will.

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My parents had a tenancy in common for the house they jointly owned, unmortgaged.
My father has just recently died and left his share (50%) to my sister in his will. This was expected and discussed and is not an issue.
My Mother will also leave her share (50% ) in accordance with her will to my sister, again understood and not an issue.

Do I, as the executor, need to do anything with regards to the land registry?
Do I need to register my sister as being joint owner along with my mother?
Do I need a solicitor to make the transfer from father to sister? 
If I can make the necessary changes how do I do so ?

Any advice greatly appreciated. 

Comments

  • Keep_pedalling
    Keep_pedalling Posts: 20,650 Forumite
    Tenth Anniversary 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    edited 5 October 2024 at 12:05AM
    Did your fathers will also give your mother a life interest in his share? That would be the normal thing to do in a professionally drawn up will.
  • Thanks for the reply.

    Yes, the will states that the trustees shall permit his wife, our mother, to live in the house free of charge until she no longer wishes to do so after which it should be sold and the proceeds go to my sister. 
  • RAS
    RAS Posts: 35,395 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper
    In which case, you do not transfer the half share to your sister now. 

    You do need to register the IDPI trust with HMRC within 2 years.
    If you've have not made a mistake, you've made nothing
  • Thanks Ras.

    Unfortunately I now have more questions than before.

    Do you mean IPDI , I cant find anything about how I register an IDPI, or indeed how I register and IPDI.

    Is this post death interest my mothers, to stop my sister selling the house or my sisters to register that she 'owns' half the property for CGT, when its eventually sold on my mothers death?

    If we don't need to transfer now, how do we prove she had the property from the date of death for CGT purposes and presumably selling the whole property and buying a Ferrari (other cars are available ;-0 ) without my sister getting her 50% share.
  • I meant my mother selling the property now, not my sister.
  • RAS
    RAS Posts: 35,395 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper
    Yes, Immediate Post Death Interest.

    If you transfer the half property into you sister's name and at any point she doesn't live in the house, she will acquire a CGT liability.

    The whole point of a IPDI trust is that it protects your sister

    a) from any CGT until such time as mum dies. (And that's only on any increase in value between mum's death and sale, if sister is not resident).
    b) loss of first time buyer status if relevant
    c) paying the increased SDLT rate if she acquires a property
    d) ensures 50% of the sale price is protected if mum dies or goes into care.

    The trust is created in the will. Presumably you both have copies, if not it will be posted on the Probate Registry site. Your dad's interest is recorded at the Land Registry and no solicitor can sell the house without seeing probate. Your sister (or you) would simply provide a copy to the will  and grant of probate to anyone trying to process a sale.

    It protects mum by

    a) ensuring your sister can't sell the house from under her, for the same reason.
    b) ringfencing some value to pay for care if needed.
    If you've have not made a mistake, you've made nothing
  • Thanks Ras, it's taking a while ;-) but things are much clearer now.

    Would you know which form I use to register the IPDI to HMRC?

    Your help is really appreciated
  • Land_Registry
    Land_Registry Posts: 6,133 Organisation Representative
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    RAS said:

    The trust is created in the will. Presumably you both have copies, if not it will be posted on the Probate Registry site. Your dad's interest is recorded at the Land Registry and no solicitor can sell the house without seeing probate. Your sister (or you) would simply provide a copy to the will  and grant of probate to anyone trying to process a sale.

    It protects mum by

    a) ensuring your sister can't sell the house from under her, for the same reason.
    b) ringfencing some value to pay for care if needed.
    Just picking up on a specific point here with regards the registered ownership and how the 'trust' created by the will is normally protected. So very general point to make re how the registered information works and it's impact re their joint ownership and the trust created.
    The OP refers to their being tenants in common so I would assume the property is registered in both parents' names and with a form A restriction - see Joint property ownership: Overview - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
    If so then the legal ownership has passed to Mum following Dad's death but the form A restriction protects the trust/life interest and sister's beneficial share
    Probate is not required for the house as the legal ownership doesn't form part of Dad's estate. Probate may well be needed for other things but not for the property.
    So strictly speaking the property can be sold but the proceeds of sale, and the beneficial shares in that split as appropriate. Mum could for example appoint someone to act with her and together they then sell and take receipt of the monies. Your sister's beneficial share still exists so she would still have a claim on her share of those monies.
    As I said it's very much a general point but an important one to make as whilst in reality it's very unlikely Mum would try to sell it's not an absolute 'no solicitor can sell the house without seeing probate'.
    For most joint owners and their beneficiaries creating such a trust, drawing up their wills in this way and protecting the trust with a form A restriction is normal. Updating the register re Dad's death can be done at any time as sadly it is factual and the death certificate can prove the fact. 
    And for most trusts such as this provided Mum and Sister and family are all aware of what has happened re the property, how the trust is protected and how the property can be dealt with as and when appropriate/needed then all is usually ok from a registration perspective.
    We deal primarily with the legal ownership and not the trust/wills and more inc CGT and other taxes. So we only see the outcome of such decisions IF it's decided to transfer the legal ownership for example.
    Official Company Representative
    I am the official company representative of Land Registry. MSE has given permission for me to post in response to queries about the company, so that I can help solve issues. You can see my name on the companies with permission to post list. I am not allowed to tout for business at all. If you believe I am please report it to forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com This does NOT imply any form of approval of my company or its products by MSE"
  • msb1234
    msb1234 Posts: 610 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 500 Posts Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    when my mum died in 2022, she left her house the same, her share to me and my siblings, her husbands share he obviously kept. We didn’t do anything to the ownership on the advice of our solicitor. When the house eventually sold, the same solicitor did all the necessary paperwork with the Land Registry,
  • Land_Registry
    Land_Registry Posts: 6,133 Organisation Representative
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    edited 8 October 2024 at 7:59AM
    msb1234 said:
    when my mum died in 2022, she left her house the same, her share to me and my siblings, her husbands share he obviously kept. We didn’t do anything to the ownership on the advice of our solicitor. When the house eventually sold, the same solicitor did all the necessary paperwork with the Land Registry,
    That’s the most common way forward re that specific scenario in my experience. Parents arranged it to be so and as long as the beneficiaries, Dad and family are all aware etc then that can be the option for most. 
    Key tends to be is to review things after the death just in case you need to account for ‘new’ factors such as the surviving owner’s health/care and more. But often there’s nil thing to be done re the registered title as posted previously 
    Official Company Representative
    I am the official company representative of Land Registry. MSE has given permission for me to post in response to queries about the company, so that I can help solve issues. You can see my name on the companies with permission to post list. I am not allowed to tout for business at all. If you believe I am please report it to forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com This does NOT imply any form of approval of my company or its products by MSE"
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