Property owner lacks mental capacity & require a restriction to prevent change of title deed

Posted Fri, 19 May 2023 19:35:35 GMT by Susannah Naylor

My father passed away in January 2023 and the family home was left to my mother. My mother is 85 and has dementia. Social Care have done a mental capacity assessment & deems her lacking in any capacity to do with financial affairs. My brother has coerced my mother to sign documents to sign the house over to him. Is there a restriction I can put in place so that the title deeds do not change names in her lifetime? Thanks

Posted Sat, 20 May 2023 07:35:52 GMT by Adam Hookway

Susannah - I'm sorry to read of your loss and the difficult circumstances also. Legal/beneficial ownership, loss of mental capacity and what the legal position is is very complex and I would recommend seeking legal advice. I can't advise you on the law and all I can really do is signpost some guidance that may help in considering what options, if any, you have re the registered property/the legal ownership which is what we register. Firstly check and confirm the registered information - I'm assuming that the property was in their joint names but it's best to check and to also confirm what restrictions and other interests already exist <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/private-trusts-of-land">PG 24 section 8.5 </a>and <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/notices-restrictions-and-the-protection-of-third-party-interests-in-the-register">PG 19 section 6.26</a> may be helpful if relevant to the circumstances Our <a href="https://www.gov.uk/guidance/property-alert">Property Alert service</a> can be used to notify you if a significant application is submitted to update the register - you refer to her signing documents but not whether your brother has then applied to update the register

Posted Sat, 20 May 2023 07:41:27 GMT by Adam Hookway

HM Land Registry is currently reviewing its support for members of the public. We’d like your views to help improve our service to you. Please <a href="https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https://online1.snapsurveys.com/907mxz&data=05%7c01%7cAdam.Hookway%40landregistry.gov.uk%7c771b0246faec4371d5a608db58534033%7c236309a8284b4e57a7b3fc767736f69d%7c0%7c0%7c638200886793839847%7cUnknown%7cTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7c3000%7c%7c%7c&sdata=ryVFz7xkeyHvoRzmfbvudklpVAVO%2BTGbtfgIi7x55eU%3D&reserved=0" style="color:blue;text-decoration:underline;">fill in our anonymous survey</a>

Posted Sat, 20 May 2023 07:58:00 GMT by Susannah Naylor

Thank you for your reply Adam. I have spoken to 3 solicitors who are unfortunately not able to assist me due to the complexity of the situation. I live 250 miles away from my mum so that has added to the difficulty of the circumstances.  The property has been transferred into my mother's name as per my father's will and remains so as of yesterday. There are no restrictions or interests regarding the property and there are no applications pending as of yesterday. I was just needing some advice, solely regarding the property, and whether Land Registry could note the title deeds regarding my mother's mental capacity so any applications made are highlighted. Thank you

Posted Sat, 20 May 2023 09:59:52 GMT by Adam Hookway

Susannah - understood and appreciated. We don't note the owner's mental capacity so if you want any applications highlighted then the Property Alert service is the option you need. It doesn't prevent anything from being updated but does at least let you know if something is applied for. If you believe that there has been some coercion and/or that your Mother's capacity at the time of signing the documents was in doubt then it is very much a legal matter.

Posted Sat, 20 May 2023 10:09:30 GMT by Susannah Naylor

I have a Property Alert on but, thank you for confirming that you are unable to note mental capacity on the record.
Thank you again for your advice Adam, much appreciated.