Land Registry Help please

shorty31

Trying to keep this brief, so please ask if you think more details are needed.  Following my Grandfathers death some years ago, property was left in Trust. 

In 2012 the property was registered, the two trustees at that time were listed as owners.
under Title Absolute it just states Proprietor then each of their names and addresses.  (No mention of Trusts or Trustees.)

In 2019 one of those Proprietors died.  Probate was completed. His son became the replacement Trustee.  

However, the Land Registry Title Deeds were never updated. 

(I do have a brief memory of this, it was agreed at the time that it may be prudent to add a third trustee, so the land registry would be updated when this occurred, it hasn’t happened)

We now want to address this issue, but I am in a complete mess with TR1’s etc etc.  

Am I confusing the matter with the word Trustee? If land registry had it as trustees would that be mentioned under Title Absolute? 

We wish to remove one Proprietor and replace him with another, any help gratefully received. 

RHemmings

This looks like a post where @Land_Registry might be able to offer some advice. 

Land_Registry

shorty31 said:

Trying to keep this brief, so please ask if you think more details are needed.  Following my Grandfathers death some years ago, property was left in Trust. 

In 2012 the property was registered, the two trustees at that time were listed as owners.
under Title Absolute it just states Proprietor then each of their names and addresses.  (No mention of Trusts or Trustees.)

In 2019 one of those Proprietors died.  Probate was completed. His son became the replacement Trustee.  

However, the Land Registry Title Deeds were never updated. 

(I do have a brief memory of this, it was agreed at the time that it may be prudent to add a third trustee, so the land registry would be updated when this occurred, it hasn’t happened)

We now want to address this issue, but I am in a complete mess with TR1’s etc etc.  

Am I confusing the matter with the word Trustee? If land registry had it as trustees would that be mentioned under Title Absolute? 

We wish to remove one Proprietor and replace him with another, any help gratefully received. 

It can be confusing and become messy as a result especially as the 'trust' and 'trustees' element you refer to relates mainly to the beneficial ownership and not the legal ownership which we register and which can be transferred. None of what you refer to has anything to do with Title Absolute as that is simply the class of title awarded and is the most common class of title confirming legal ownership
In very basic terms the legal ownership is the land and property as a whole and that can't be split as you can't have half a kitchen and half the bricks & mortar. The beneficial ownership is the value of the land and property. The £s and pence effectively which can be split into shares.
As we deal with the legal ownership it's important to recognise that it's always dealt with as a whole and whilst the beneficial interests, inc trusts, can be referred to or protected on the register they don't have to be and that seems to be the case here.
Let's apply that then to your brief scenario - the property was legally owned by your Grandfather. When he died that legal ownership formed part of his estate
His executor(s) would have obtained probate (will) or letters of administration (no will) and transferred the legal ownership to the two named individuals. They may well have been 'trustees' and could have been registered in such a role but they weren't and as such they then became the joint legal owners.
That's fine as it's not wrong and the beneficial interests/trust still exist and provided everyone with an interest was aware then it's very rarely an issue.
NB - normally in such scenarios the beneficial interest/trust is protected by way of a restriction on the register. The most common is known as a form A restriction and you may have come across it on the register and/or when referred to re the term 'tenants in common' - see Joint property ownership: Overview - GOV.UK 
When the joint owner died probate won't have been needed for the property as the legal ownership didn't form part of the deceased's estate (might have been needed for other matters though) and passed to the surviving joint owner to then deal with. Again all ok as everyone is aware and on the same page it seems.
What next? If the surviving joint owner is still alive then they are the ones to Transfer (forms TR1, AP1 plus ID1/ID3 for all parties) to the new legal owner.
As for the trust/trustee's responsibilities etc then again if everyone is on the same page and aware then a simple transfer is fine from a registration perspective. However I would always recommend seeking legal/financial advice re the trust and the role of a sole registered legal owner to ensure that the same page/awareness and any beneficial interests are all understood and protected. The key part from a registration perspective would normally be a restriction on the title to prevent a sole legal owner disposing of the property for example - Practice guide 24: private trusts of land - GOV.UK
These matters are complex and whilst the forms and paperwork can seem simple for some it's very often the wider understanding of the legal/beneficial ownership nuances and of course the details of the trust inc it's purpose and impact on any trustee(s) and the beneficiary under the trust of course
The land registration bit is the simple part believe it or not as it's always dealt with as a whole as explained. Fairly black and white in paper form but the complexities still exist re understanding the bigger picture
I hope that helps and does not add to the 'mess' for you

shorty31

Thank you,  it really was helpful, at least I now feel justified in seeking legal advice and not being disappointed with myself for not being able to handle it.  Your guidance was really appreciated.