Life interest trust (will trust) - how to show on title

My parents both have a property life interest trust written into their wills which actions on death. The property is owned tenants in common (50% each). On the first death, 50% goes into trust which protects the beneficiaries and the remaining 50% is owned by the survivor who can continue to use the property as a life interest. What action needs to be taken on the first death with land registry? My solicitor says the following but this doesn't seem right:- 1) Obtain probate 2) Remove deceased person to only show the survivor 3) Leave the Form A restriction which shows there is a trust My research shows that the title needs to show the property is held by the surviving parent and the trustees of the first to die. Is there any guidance on the process for this with land registry as this must be a common arrangement in alot of asset protection wills.

Stuart - on the death of a joint owner the legal ownership passes to the surviving owner to deal with as appropriate. The legal ownership doe snot form part of the deceased owner's estate and as such probate is not needed for them. That's the same be they joint tenants or tenants in common 2) and 3) still apply. However IF it is decided that the legal ownership is to be transferred then the surviving joint owner would transfer to themselves and the trustees for example - whether that's what should or shouldn't happen is for the parties to decide upon. We can't advise other than how to apply once that decision has been made There are a lot of complexities re wills, trusts and beneficial ownerships but we are not involved directly in such matters. And in my experience people sharing similar scenarios can make different choices re what's 'best' and as such I would strongly recommending seeking wider legal/financial advice on the topic focussing on the very specific scenario, needs of those involved and future expectations/wishes

This is very confusing. I have been informed probate is always required where owned as tenants in common, not on joint tenancy. I will enquire with my solicitor.

Probate is only required, if a property is involved, when the sole surviving joint owner dies. Probate might be required for something other than the property<br> Confusion can often arise where you have a property and the owners, trustees and beneficiaries don't separate the legal and beneficial ownerships when dealing with the property.<br> We register the legal ownership - that's essentially the land and buildings including bricks &amp; mortar. It's always dealt with as a whole as you can't each have half the kitchen, half a bathroom and half the bricks &amp; mortar for example. For that reason when a joint owner dies probate is not required as the whole legal ownership passes to the surviving owner to deal with.&nbsp;<br> The beneficial ownership is, for simplicty sake, the value of the property namely the £s and pence. That can obviously be split as for a £300K property each can have 50% (£150K) of the £s and pence.<br> The tenants in common aspect you refer to is often created when joint owners spli their beneficial ownership in their wills, create a trust etc. When they do they often apply for a form A, joint ownership, restriciton to be added to the register. That resrtriction impacts on a sole surviving owner and how they can then for example sell the property. The terms tenants in common and joint tenants are not actually used on the register itself.<br> Many joint owners who have split their beneficial ownerships will have sought legal/financial advice whe doing so and both then understand what happens next, namely when one of them dies. That may mean that the property is sold, turned into £s and pence, and the proceeds split as per the arrangements agreed to. Or the surviving owner could pay the beneficiaries their £s and pence and retain the whole property both legally and beneficially. Or they could transfer the whole legal ownership to themselves + the trustees/beneficiaries.<br> So options exist and as such it is always best to consider every interest and what being impact updating the register and legal ownership might have going forward. If the proeprty is in joint names with a form A restriction one option is doing nothing. Another is updating the register re the death, only. And a third is tthe surviving owner transferring the whole of the legal title to new joint owners. All options to be considered.<br> In all these scenarios probate is not required. If it is obtained then it can be used to confirm the death of the joint owner but a death certificate does that as well. Probate is not needed for the property itself as, for emphasis, the legal ownership does not form patrt of the deceased's estate.<br> Hope that helps