Tenants in common/trust will

Hi. My mum died in December. Mum and dad held their house as tenants in common equal shares. In her will she left her 50% share equally between me and my brother giving dad a lifetime interest. What do we need to do? Any help would be appreciated, thanks.

Hi Barbara - Sorry for your loss. With regards to ownership of the property, HM Land Registry only registers ‘legal owners’, and not the ‘beneficial owners’. A ‘legal owner’ is entitled to sell a property and must sign the relevant documents, but unless they are also the ‘beneficial owner’ they are not entitled to keep the money from the sale. We are also not normally concerned with details such as the proportion of the shares held by each of the individual owners. You can find more information on Joint property ownership on GOV.UK - https://www.gov.uk/joint-property-ownership Following the passing away of your mother, the legal estate automatically passes to the surviving proprietor, your father. Only the deceased proprietor’s beneficial interest passes on under the terms of their will or intestacy. The restriction on the title register which states no one person can give a valid sale of receipt reflects existence of some kind of trust and protects the interests of the beneficiaries, you and your brother. If the intention is that the property is registered in all your names, then we would require a transfer from your father to himself, you, and your brother. Land registration is complex, designed to protect legal and financial interests in property. There can be significant consequences for any error. Please consider seeking legal representation. Before making an application without legal representation, it is important to consider the benefits of using a conveyancer. Hope this is of some help.

So do you think the best thing to do is nothing other than let the land registry know of mums passing and if so what forms do we need to fill in to let them know. Thanks Barbara

Barbara - You can notify us of your mother's passing using form DJP - https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/deceased-joint-proprietor-djp This must be accompanied by official or certified copy of the Death Certificate or Probate. With regards to any actions relating to your shares in the property, I would suggest you seek legal advice.