80 Yr old Mum and Will

[WinteryWonderland]

I'm an only child.
My Dad passed away 4 years ago.
Mum and Dad had a Will which stated whichever parent passed first, their half would go into Trust for me, so my Dad's half is in Trust for me now apparently. Mum continues to live in her home up until her death.

Mum told me today that if her half was required for care then thats what her half would be used for.

Today, my Mum casually stated in conversation that she had been to a Solicitors appointment. When I queried why, she seemed a bit evasive and said she's paid over £1200 today and will need to pay another £500 to get the house conveyanced? She mentioned Probate too.

I'm concerned, but didn't want to pry too much incase she thinks I'm just trying to dig for my own monetary purposes, as I realise these things can be awkward to discuss. I just wish she would be more transparent with me. Dad hadn't prepared at all. Mum knew no passwords, banking details, bill info. It took DH and I months to help her sort it and I just don't want to end up in the dark again in future. It's hard enough dealing with the loss of a parent as it is without added stress.

I've spoken to DH this evening and we can't really understand why she would need to do all this.

Surely she would just need to provide my Dad's death cert and the Will would be updated that she is now Widowed 🤷‍♀️ I realise she would need to pay for this but £1200??

She closes off and puts walls up if I try and ask, but obviously she is 80 and I don't want her paying anything she shouldn't have to.

Does anyone have any idea why she would need to pay a large amount like this and why she might need the house conveyanced?

Thanks in advance.

Might be to get the land registry record updated if it wasn’t done as part of probate for your dad. Presumably they owned the house as tenants in common, so the records would need to be updated to show that the trust now owns your dad’s half.

I don’t know if you need formal conveyancing done for that though.

I'd be concerned she's being scammed frankly.

This doesn't sound right
It isn't a lot to transfer ownership

Is she planning to move and put the house up for sale, would she tell you what she saw a solicitor about if you asked

I did this when my husband died. No charge.

When your dad died, did his will have to go through probate? If so, you can download a copy of probate and his will for a few £s.
https://probatesearch.service.gov.uk/help

In the meantime, just ask her! Hey mum, what do you need conveyancing for? Also,where is your will stored as I’ll need it when you eventually die.

Is she perhaps doing equity release?

It could be that your mum had paid to sort out probate for your dad's will. Was that done when he died? Just because something is written in a will it doesn't make it happen. You have to take the steps to put it into effect. So your mum might have to actually get your dad's side of the house put into trust for you and straighten out her will to make sure it's all up to date.
Try to have a chat to her so that you understand and when the time comes it will be easier to get your head around what needs to be done. Good luck.

This was our first thought/concern 😐

My first thought was also equity release.
But it will all be just guesswork unless your mum will open up and ralk to you.
Was a solicitor involved with will when your dad died. Is your 50% secure?
Ultimately its your mum's choice what she does with her half.
If she's struggling financially or wants to treat herself then fair enough but I think equity release schemes can be a bit brutal.
There's a land registry site where you can ask to be notified if there's a change made to the deeds of a property, might be worth doing that and keep trying to talk to your mum.