Death of a Partner?

[Jimboy]

My brother-in-law moved into a care home in November 2021 due to his illness. He is mostly immobile and has lost most of his ability to speak. He and his partner lived together in a jointly owned home, but their relationship ended when he became ill and she stopped visiting him. In May 2022, we found out that she had passed away when we visited their home to collect some of his clothing.
We are unsure of the normal procedure in situations like these, as we have not heard anything about her passing, including the date of her death or funeral arrangements. Her estate now owns half of his home, but he wishes to sell it to pay for his care home expenses.
We have identified her solicitor and attempted to contact them regarding the house, but they have refused to speak with us. We are at a loss as to what to do next, as almost a year has passed and there has been no progress.
Could you please provide any advice on how we can proceed?
Thanks.

Maybe the deceased is no longer a client of the solicitor? Have you called to check?

Could you get a solicitor to act on behalf of your BIL and ask them to contact her solicitor - they might be more willing to discuss with another solicitor?

She died nearly a year ago and you haven't been notified? Her family have not been in touch over her share of the house? Do you have contact details for her family? Is there anything in the house which would have their details on?

Whose name is on the land registry deeds?

You can apply to the probate registry for a copy of the will. This should tell you who the executor is.

Thanks for your replies.
Skyeheather: As far as we are aware she has no family and the house has been cleared of everything.
Will look into Land Registry and Probate.

Was the house owned tenants in common or join tenants? If they did not organise legally defined shares with a solicitor and owned the house as joint tenants, everything goes to the survivor.

The default is that both people own the whole house and everything goes to the survivor regardless of relationship status. If they got defined shares drawn up by a solicitor then it would go to her estate. If shares were drawn up you need to know the percentages.

@Jimboy whilst you are in contact with Land Registry get either your uncle’s or your email added as one of the 3 permitted addresses. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/updating-registered-owners-contact-address
This way you will get an email if anyone tries to sell the property. It’s free.

If you can’t do that then sign up for the property alert system https://www.gov.uk/guidance/property-alert

Both are free and help to prevent fraud.

Who cleared the house? There must still be some utility bills, who is paying those? Is anyone maintaining the house now?

How can I find this out?

BIL is paying all the bills.

Thank you for your replies.

BIL has mental capacity although his memory is going, myself and my wife have Power of Attorney for him.
What we have found out so far is that her Solicitor is her executor, as mentioned before I have tried to contact the solicitor but I am told that they cannot speak to me only another solicitor.

Therefore we did appoint a Solicitor on BIL's behalf thinking that the house would be sold, but even our solicitor cannot get any information as to the situation, and she has tried and tried.

The house has been cleared and we tried to rescue any paperwork that we came across, unfortunately BIL was not very organised and it is all a complete mess.

Partner had no family and we live some miles away from the property so regular visits are a problem, plus we are not spring chickens ourselves in our mid eighties.

I have just found out that Probate was granted on the 5th January 2023, and she passed away on the 4th May 2022, also the Will only states certain sums of money to go to certain people, no mention of the house.

Don't know if any of the above helps, it would be good if her solicitor would at least update out solicitor as to what is going on

You should get this information when you apply to the the Land Registry.

If the house was owned as joint tenants, which is more than likely, then it would have fallen outside the will as she could not have left it to anyone. Your BIL would have become the sole owner. That’s why the solicitor wont deal with you.
The info should be on the Land registry details. Here’s the link to apply.
https://www.gov.uk/search-property-information-land-registry

Why not get your solicitor to deal with title via the Land Registry? If it is jointly held, as others have said, the partner's share will pass automatically to BIL as the other joint tenant.

Then as far as I know, all that has to be done is to apply to the Land Registry to register the house in the sole name of BIL, and when that is done then it can be sold.

It sounds like your BIL owns the property. Get keys, instruct a solicitor local to the house and they can visit it etc for you and help get it on the market

@Jimboy apply for a copy of the register today it costs £3.

https://www.gov.uk/get-information-about-property-and-land/copies-of-deeds

Just done this it says this:

Registered owners:

Robert XXXXXXXXX

XXXXXX, XXXXkeswell, XXXXXX Post Code

Susanne XXXXXXXXXX

XXXXXX, XXXXkeswell, XXXXXX Post Code

Last sold for £365,000 on 21 November 2019

Does this mean it is owned 50/50?

In the will, does it state who is the residual legatee, e.g. who gets any items not specifically mentioned?

In terms of the house, it depends whether it was owned as tenants in common or joint tenants. This link explains what happens to the property in each case. https://www.co-oplegalservices.co.uk/conveyancing-services/joint-tenancy-tenancy-in-common/
If your BIL isn't sure how it was held, then it might be an idea to contact the solicitor who did the conveyancing for the purchase on his behalf, they should be able to help work out the status.

@Jimboy It looks like they were joint tenants - there maybe other documentation that says otherwise.

As you are POA for your uncle and know that probate has been issued I would be asking your solicitor to remove his partners name from the register. You only need a certified copy of the death certificate.
https://www.gov.uk/update-property-records-someone-dies

At the same time add an email as one of the 3 contact addresses.

Your solicitor may want to notify the executor you are planning to do this. If they believe the house was held as tenants in common they would let you know pdq.

Land Registry do have a backlog but as soon as the property is in Uncle’s sole name you can sell it to fund his care.

I have been searching through BIL paperwork and have come across these:

Dated: 23rd Feb 2022 - Intention to sever a joint tenancy.
I, XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX, by this letter give you notice that from
February 2022, I wish to sever our joint tenancy in the property known as XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX (the Property), registered at HM Land Registry
under title number DN XXXXXX.
We will now hold the Property as tenants in common in equity in equal shares
I will apply to the Land Registry to place a Form A restriction on the title to reflect
this.

AND:

Dated: 4th March 2022 - Please find enclosed a letter whereby our client gives you notice that she has severed her joint tenancy in equity over your home. You need do nothing with this letter as this severance is a unilateral one and an application to the Land Registry will be made in support of this.

Therefore it looks like 50/50 although BIL say's he paid the bulk of the money for the property but can find nothing to back that up.

Partner died on the 8th May 2022 about 5 weeks later than above

@Jimboy well that clarifies it.

Whilst I would naturally be a bit suspicious of the timing just 3 months before she died, it can make sense to sever joint tenancy to protect property in blended family and/or when going into care.

As I said in my previous posts you need to get your contact email on the register and the property alert set up. Both are free and quick to do. All you can do is keep an eye on the property for when it is sold to make sure your uncle receives his share. Galling I know but unless he can show the statements where he paid the money for the property I suspect there is not a lot he can do to dispute 50:50.

I would also suggest her estate should be paying 50% of the bills and maintenance as they are jointly liable for council tax, house insurance etc. I would keep a record of what your uncle has paid since his partner sadly died and issue an up to date invoice to the probate solicitors and the quarterly there after.