Probate

This is somewhat outside my usual area of expertise so I would be grateful for some advice from the solicitors out there.

My client is the sole beneficiary of a will and all the deceased’s property etc has been left to her. They were not a couple and never had been but they were in a shared ownership scheme with a local HA. They had both paid their respective mortgages off some time ago so the deceased owned his share outright and has consequently left it to my client along with all his other property (the rest doesn’t amount to more than a few hundred pounds).

Does my client, who is also the executor of the will, need to apply for probate or do anything else to secure her interest in the house?

Thanks

I assume from the way this question is worded that they were tenants in common, not joint tenants, as if they had been the latter he would not have needed to leave her his share - it would pass automatically. If then all the other assets could be transferrd without probate (usually means very small amounts), then probate is not needed and in effect all you need to do is send in the death certificate to the Land Registry to register the death. Sh e would then visibly own the property absolutely as sole beneficial owner.

So I’m assuming that they owned as tenants in common: each owning a defined share of the property. In that case she does need probate. There is a distinct complication here. That’s because technically the land was owned under a trust, and the nature of the trust would not be obvious from the title deeds, only the fact that it existed. In those circumstances anyone buying the house would want to “overreach” (take the property free from) any interests of the beneficiaries of the trust. The only way to do this is to buy from not less than two trustees. So technically when one of two trustees dies, a second trustee needs to be appointed. There must be a way round it in these circumstances, so that she ends up owning it alone without a second name on the deeds, but it is a very long time (like more than twenty years) since I did any probate or conveyancing back in the days when I was a real solicitor, and I can’t for the life of me remember how it goes, though a formal document called an assent is almost certainly involved. But it would definitely mean probate.

It’s very easy to get probate personally and your friendly local probate registry will tell you how. Also, your friendly local Land Registry office can tell you how to deal with the title to the land. Or you may be able to find a solicitor who will do you a fixed fee interview and tell you what’s involved. Make it someone wh does probate though. There should be no need to get a solicitor to get probate for you.

Thanks for the reply Ariadne- very helpful indeed. I am ashamed to say that I do not know if they are joint tenants or tenants in common and I am pretty certain my client doesn’t either- I can feel an enquiry to the the Housing Associtaion coming on!