Land Reg. title not updated after death, sticky wicket?
Discussion
Here's a fun one.....
Husband and wife, own a property as tenants in common. Wife dies, leaves a Will and bequeaths her half of property to kids, with caveat husband can continue to live in property as long as he wants.
20 years go by....
Title Deed for property gets downloaded from Land Registry, husband is down on title as sole owner....
It's not clear, but it looks like solicitor has failed to notify Land Reg of transfer of property to children? or something? Solicitor who handled death, Will and transfer is loooong dead and their old company gone....
How does one unravel this so that Title can be correctly transferred to children as at date of death and in accordance with Will?
Husband and wife, own a property as tenants in common. Wife dies, leaves a Will and bequeaths her half of property to kids, with caveat husband can continue to live in property as long as he wants.
20 years go by....
Title Deed for property gets downloaded from Land Registry, husband is down on title as sole owner....
It's not clear, but it looks like solicitor has failed to notify Land Reg of transfer of property to children? or something? Solicitor who handled death, Will and transfer is loooong dead and their old company gone....
How does one unravel this so that Title can be correctly transferred to children as at date of death and in accordance with Will?
Not exactly the same as yours, but I had pretty similar when my father passed away and the land registry had not been updated to reflect the wills of my dad and his partner when they had been done some years prior. The solicitor who helped with the will managed to get the LR updated properly. It only needed the consent of me and my brother as beneficiaries.
The children do not have an interest in the legal title. The wife's estate has a beneficial interest in the property (effectively an interest in some of the proceeds of sale of the property, presumably half).
The husband is holding the beneficial interest in trust for the estate.
On the Title Register look under 'B: Proprietorship Register'. There should be a notice of 'restriction' stating husband can't sell the house as a sole proprietor.
This doesn't prevent him from selling it but means he would have to appoint a second trustee and the proceeds of sale paid to both.
The estate's interest would then be in the proceeds of sale which are being held in trust by the two trustees.
The trustees must account to the trustees of the estate in respect of the proceeds of sale.
The husband is holding the beneficial interest in trust for the estate.
On the Title Register look under 'B: Proprietorship Register'. There should be a notice of 'restriction' stating husband can't sell the house as a sole proprietor.
This doesn't prevent him from selling it but means he would have to appoint a second trustee and the proceeds of sale paid to both.
The estate's interest would then be in the proceeds of sale which are being held in trust by the two trustees.
The trustees must account to the trustees of the estate in respect of the proceeds of sale.
Interesting - there IS a 'no disposition by a sole proprietor' notice in the 'Property Register' on the Title Register, which I believe is the 'Tenants in Common' wording, correct?
There is no mention on the Title document anywhere of the wife's interest or ownership, so it looks like the husband has sole ownership (that's what it says in 'Property Owner' anyway) - is this not the de facto record of legal ownership?
Is there a reason the children don't have an interest in the legal title? I assumed they would as a result of the Will, but it sounds like that isn't the case?
Is it a question of 'refer to another solicitor' for peace of mind?
Edit: Amended to correct my own mistake, as highlighted below! Thank you!
There is no mention on the Title document anywhere of the wife's interest or ownership, so it looks like the husband has sole ownership (that's what it says in 'Property Owner' anyway) - is this not the de facto record of legal ownership?
Is there a reason the children don't have an interest in the legal title? I assumed they would as a result of the Will, but it sounds like that isn't the case?
Is it a question of 'refer to another solicitor' for peace of mind?
Edit: Amended to correct my own mistake, as highlighted below! Thank you!
Edited by larrylamb11 on Tuesday 3rd September 22:16
larrylamb11 said:
Interesting - there IS a 'no disposition by a sole proprietor' notice in the 'Property Register' on the Title Register, which I believe is the 'Joint Tenancy' wording, correct?
No, that the Tenants in Common bitAs Joint Tenant each person owns all of the property, TiC, they own a defined share
When the wife died legal title transfered to the surviving owner by operation of the law. The Will cannot change that.
As a Tenant in Common she had a seperate 'share' in the house which she can leave in her Will.
Her share in the house will be detailed in a trust document which won't be referenced in the Title Register. It's existence is indicated by the notice of restiriction ie, 'no dispositon by a sole proprietor without order of a court' to paraphrase.
If the original solicitor's firm has closed you may need to speak with another solicitor to track the documents. The trustees/executors of the wife's Will will probably need a solicitor to assist when the husband dies so it may be helpful to find one now.
But I wouldn't worry that the original solicitor has failed to do anything. Nothing you have described appears unusual.
As a Tenant in Common she had a seperate 'share' in the house which she can leave in her Will.
Her share in the house will be detailed in a trust document which won't be referenced in the Title Register. It's existence is indicated by the notice of restiriction ie, 'no dispositon by a sole proprietor without order of a court' to paraphrase.
If the original solicitor's firm has closed you may need to speak with another solicitor to track the documents. The trustees/executors of the wife's Will will probably need a solicitor to assist when the husband dies so it may be helpful to find one now.
But I wouldn't worry that the original solicitor has failed to do anything. Nothing you have described appears unusual.
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