What happens if an asset is missed during probate?

[FlibbertyGibbett]

My uncle has recently died and I am trying to help my cousin with the probate.

He was an oddball and owned (cheaply bought and run down) property and land in Ireland, France, Spain and the UK, however didn't really officially reside in any of them and spent his retirement years travelling between all countries in his knackered camper van that he basically lived in. He didn't really talk to anyone about his assets and paperwork has yet been found, if there is any it could be anywhere.

Cousin knows the addresses of two of the places, however knows nothing of the others beyond the country that they're in (they weren't close). There's the possibility that there are more properties that no one knows about.

What the flipping heck happens in cases like these?!?

For England and Wales contact Land Registry www.gov.uk/government/organisations/land-registry Normally you search by address but in your circumstances they may search his name. You will need to contact them to discuss options.

For Scotland contact Registrars of Scotland www.ros.gov.uk

For Northern Ireland contact Land Registry www.nidirect.gov.uk/articles/searching-land-registry

For Eire contact Property Registration Authority www.prai.ie

These are all government departments/agencies and should be helpful in trying to locate property. Be aware not all property will be registered depending how long ago it was purchased.

Other suggestions:

• Take your time to methodically work through paper work. Slowly compile details of each property, bank accounts and investments etc.


• Use the links above to reverse search for registered property.


• Over the next 12 months your Uncle will continue to receive post, some of this may relate to bills etc for his properties e.g. council tax, home insurance , water etc. This will give you further information. You may find it helpful to redirect his post to your cousins home address, very simple to do via Royal Mail.


• Request copies of historic bank statements, go through them looking for payments e.g. council tax, household bills, purchases etc. Again this will give you further information.

From the sounds of this it is going to take time and will need detective work to track all his assets. Acknowledge this and that it will take at least a year to work through all options. Break the tsk down and don’t get overwhelmed.

HTH

Thankyou, yes that helpful, it's a bit overwhelming!

it Is overwhelming, which is why it is important you take your time and don’t try to rush it.

What may help is planning it like a project and dedicating some time each week/month to it so you can then forget about it in between. There is no law on how long you can take to do this unless there is inheritance tax to pay.

The process I suggested will also make sure you are aware of all debts so they are paid before you distribute the estate.