When a person passes away, an executor will work to settle their estate. The process of managing a deceased’s individuals estate is known as probate. This essentially involves ensuring that all debts and taxes are paid, and that the remaining property is distributed among the heirs. Learn more about probate here.
Unfortunately, certain complications can arise during the probate process. In this post, we will explore one particular scenario that is sadly not uncommon: What happens when certain deeds and documents were not updated after a person’s death?
Such complications can lead to delays in the probate process, which can cause certain difficulties if there is any property involved. If you need to look after a property through the probate process, our personal and property insurance experts can help you ensure you have all the cover you need for as long as you need it.
For more information, call us on 0208 8290 9086 or you can email the team direct at personal@anthonyjones.com.
Title Deeds Not Updated After a Person Passes Away
This is the sort of situation that arises more often than you might think: A man passes away, and is survived by his wife. The home was in his name.
What Should Happen to Title Deeds After Someone Dies?
What should happen after a person passes away is that the property title deeds should be updated. This can be a relatively straightforward process that essentially involves sending a legal document known as an Assent to the Land Registry, who will then issue a new title deed confirming the property’s new owner.
What Happens if Title Deed Were Never Updated?
But what if the surviving wife never got around to updating the title deeds? This could mean that, when she passes away, the property technically will not be part of her estate. This can cause some serious problems with the probate process.
Soley Owned vs. Jointly Owned Property
A property can be solely owned, meaning there is just one name on the title deed. Or, it can be jointly owned, meaning there is more than one name on the title deed.
Joint Tenants vs. Tenants in Common
There are two different arrangements for jointly owned property:
- Joint tenants – In a joint tenants situation, each person on the title deed is considered to own the property outright, rather than a portion of the property. If one of these individuals passes away, then the ownership of the property will automatically pass to the surviving joint owner. The new owner will still have to apply to the Land Registry to removed the deceased’s name from the title deed, though.
- Tenants in common – In a tenants in common situation, each person on the title deed owns a specific proportion of the property. In arrangements with two people, this divide is usually an equal 50/50 split, though other arrangements exist. If one of the owners passes away, then their portion of the property will be dealt with in accordance with their wishes as outlined in their will. However, the surviving owners will have an overriding authority to transfer the ownership of the property, and they can do so without applying to the Land Registry.
Who Owned the Property?
In our example scenario, if this husband and wife were in a joint ownership arrangement, then it may be possible to treat the property as part of the wife’s estate, even if she had not transferred the title deed after her husband passed. You will have to contact the Land Registry for more information, and to update them on the situation.
But if the property was solely owned by the deceased husband, and if his surviving wife never updated the title deed, then the property will not be considered part of her estate when she passes away. Instead, it will still be treated as part of her late husband’s estate.
So how can you settle this situation?
Is There A Will?
The first thing to do would be to try and find the late husband’s will, which would hopefully specify that he intended to leave his property to his wife. It would then be possible to apply for probate for this will, so that the executor would be able to sell the property to any remaining relatives.
Or it might transpire that the wife in this situation applied for probate for her late husband. She may have worked to settle the estate, while unfortunately neglecting to update the property’s title deeds.
In this case, one could apply for probate for both the late husband and the late wife. This is known as a chain of representation, where one acts as an executor for both parties – the late husband and the late wife.
When Deeds and Documents Were Not Updated After Death of Owner – Three Things to Do
- Get a lawyer. Explain your situation, and they can advise you on your next steps. They can also liaise with certain bodies and authorities on your behalf, which can help ensure that things get settled as quickly and cleanly as possible.
- Get a copy of the property’s title deeds. A lawyer can help you do this. Checking what name, or names, are on the title deeds will help you decide on your next steps, and whether you’re looking at a sole owner or a joint owner situation.
- Locate the wills. To whom did the original deceased individual want to leave their property? As we’ve seen, you can either apply for probate for this will, which would allow you to sell the property, or you can apply for a chain of representation for both the late husband’s and the late wife’s probate, which will also give you the right to manage the property.
Be Prepared For Delays in the Probate Process
Unfortunately, complications like this can lead to severe delays to the probate process.
If the will contains any property, then the will’s executor, along with any beneficiaries, will not be able to do anything with the property until the probate process is complete. So, if the process is delayed, then the property may be unoccupied for an extended period.
This means you’ll have to take steps to keep the unoccupied property safe and secure throughout the process. As part of this, you may have to get some dedicated probate home insurance – as most standard home insurance policies do not cover unoccupied properties.
If you need to look after a property through the probate process, our personal and property insurance experts can help you ensure you have all the cover you need for as long as you need it.
For more information, call us on 0208 8290 9086 or you can email the team direct at personal@anthonyjones.com.
