Land registry

adeo

My dad put me in his will naming me as to taking ownership of his fully paid mortgage home several years ago. He gave me my copy of the his will with the deeds to the house. But recently those documents have mysteriously disappeared. We have looked everywhere but found nothing! My 20+ nephew and his gf live with my dad and I suspect they may have stolen them, I have no actual proof and have not asked them!
Is there anything me or my dad can do to get another copy from the land registry office and also change deeds named person to my name?

itsthelittlethings

I can’t think of anything. Do you live there? Otherwise I think you will have to pay capital gains tax when you sell the house.

bobster2

adeo said:

My dad put me in his will naming me as to taking ownership of his fully paid mortgage home several years ago. He gave me my copy of the his will with the deeds to the house. But recently those documents have mysteriously disappeared. We have looked everywhere but found nothing! My 20+ nephew and his gf live with my dad and I suspect they may have stolen them, I have no actual proof and have not asked them!
Is there anything me or my dad can do to get another copy from the land registry office and also change deeds named person to my name?

If he is leaving his house to you in his will - then the land registry would not have any record of this. The deeds would only be changed after he dies. This is something the executor of the will would be able to do having obtained probate - but the original will would be needed for this.
If you want to get a copy of the current deeds you can download here (for a small fee).
https://www.gov.uk/get-information-about-property-and-land/copies-of-deeds
Be careful to avoid unofficial sites which charge more to access the same information.
(I see from previous threads you seem to be under the impression that being the executor of a will gives you responsibilities and rights to act on financial matters while someone is still alive - this is a misunderstanding).

Emmia

adeo said:

My dad put me in his will naming me as to taking ownership of his fully paid mortgage home several years ago. He gave me my copy of the his will with the deeds to the house. But recently those documents have mysteriously disappeared. We have looked everywhere but found nothing! My 20+ nephew and his gf live with my dad and I suspect they may have stolen them, I have no actual proof and have not asked them!
Is there anything me or my dad can do to get another copy from the land registry office and also change deeds named person to my name?

I'd suggest (if your father is of sound mind) that he makes a new will, which will revoke the old, and register the original of the new will with HM Courts and Tribunals (don't store it at home). The new will can be identical in it's provisions to the old. 

If he has a new will, it should definitely not say that X shall inherit my property, 123 MSE Towers - if that place is sold, e.g. to pay for care X inherits nothing. That includes if he then bought 124 MSE Towers, as that's a different property.

In making a new will please use a proper solicitor, not DIY and not "will writers".

I'd also ensure the property is registered at the land registry - this removes the need for physical deeds to prove ownership.

Keep_pedalling

If he was holding the original will then he should make a new one ASAP. He should use a local solicitor and Keane the will stored with them. 

As for the house deeds if the property is registered with the land registry then the paper deeds won’t be needed. Easy enough to check if they hold them.

https://www.gov.uk/get-information-about-property-and-land/copies-of-deeds

loubel

Are you saying your dad has lost his original Will and property deeds?

As others have said, assuming he is of sound mind, he can make a new Will - and then store it somewhere safer.

You can check with the Land Registry whether the property is already registered. If so, losing the paper deeds is unlikely to be an issue - most people don't have them anymore as the important information should be recorded by the Land Registry. If it is unregistered then that is more of an issue.

Why does your Dad now want to transfer the house to you though?

user1977

Had he made a new Will since your last thread?

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6444398

itsthelittlethings

Oh sorry I didn’t spot this was in the will.

itsthelittlethings

If you change the deeds now you will be taking ownership now and would have to pay CGT if you eventually sold it on the time when you were not living there.

Emmia

itsthelittlethings said:

If you change the deeds now you will be taking ownership now and would have to pay CGT if you eventually sold it on the time when you were not living there.

Additionally if Dad needs care, this transfer would be seen as a deprivation of assets, so he'd be treated as though he still owned the property.

It would also be a gift with reservation of benefits as Dad still lives there... So wouldn't fall out of his estate.

Transferring now has downsides unless the intention is to stop the nephew & GF getting their mitts on it... But there are other ways of achieving that. 

OP have you checked the land registry to see if it is registered with them?

loubel

Having just read the thread about the existing Will, it sounds like your Dad needs to go and see a solicitor anyway to ensure that their wishes are reflected in their Will.