Spouse allowed to live in inherited property until their death

[CluelessAboutBiology]

Scenario: Alan died over ten years ago. In his will, Alan left his house to his adult son, Brian, on condition that Alan’s widow Carol could live in it until she died. Carol is not Brian’s mother.

The Land Registry states the owners’ names as the executors of Alan’s will (solicitors), as trustees on behalf of Brian.

Carol has now died. Brian wants to change the lock, for security, but wants to make sure he is legally allowed to, given that he is not directly named on the deeds. At what point does the property become Brian’s? Is it from the point she died or not until the executors/trustees have transferred the property from their names to Brian’s name?

Added complication - Brian needs to notify the executors that Carol has died, in order that they can start the process. Brian does not have Carol’s death certificate as Carol’s biological child will not provide a copy.

Brian can purchase a certified copy of the death certificate from the National Records office, her next of kin do not have to provide one for Brian.

In the middle of administering an estate. The only person(s) who can change locks, or even enter the house are the executors. Brian needs to notify them of Carols death and they will then take things from there.

If Brian knows Carol's date of death then he should be able to request a copy of the death certificate online. It is a public document.

However, if Alan's executors are solicitors then they should be able to request a copy themselves, though the costs of dealing with it will come from Alan's estate. They will then be able to transfer the property to Brian. Brian may also need to instruct solicitors to act for him. The costs of both will most likely need to be covered by Brian unless there are still funds in Alan's estate.

The executors hold the legal title of the property. They hold the equitable title on trust for Alan's estate, the beneficiary of which is Brian.

thanks everyone for the replies.

Carol only died a couple of months ago so her death cert is not available to order from the GRO (you can only get up to 2022 from their website). Brian doesn’t know the exact date of death (Carol’s bio child won’t tell him) other than it was on the last couple of months, so I have told him Brian to visit the register office in the town where Carol lived. If he explains it face to face, and gives the limited info he has, hopefully he can get a copy from them.

@Bannedontherun , do you mean the executor of Alan’s will? The good thing is they are still alive (unlike Carol’s executor) so I’ll tell Brian to contact them to get the lock changed.

I doubt there is any money left in Alan’s estate, other than the house, as he died over 10 years ago.

He won't be able to do that until 6 months after her death. After that point he can request it online from GRO if he provides enough detail for them to locate it.

do mean the executor of Alan’s will? The good thing is they are still alive (unlike Carol’s executor) so I’ll tell Brian to contact them to get the lock changed.

I think Brian should contact the solicitors who are the executors of Alan’s will, explain the situation and ask them to obtain the death certificate.

What do you mean Carol’s executors aren’t alive? Who is handling her affairs, isn’t it the biological child who is uncooperative?

Yes the executor of Allen’s will carols is irrelevant to the house

@Changingplace That’s right, Carol only appointed one executor and he died before she did. She didn’t write a new will. Her will is held with the solicitors who drafted it, but they won’t release it to either of the two beneficiaries.

"The Land Registry states the owners’ names as the executors of Alan’s will (solicitors), as trustees on behalf of Brian."

"...the executor of Alan’s will? The good thing is they are still alive (unlike Carol’s executor) so I’ll tell Brian to contact them to get the lock changed."

Yes, this is exactly the right thing to do.
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"Carol only appointed one executor and he died before she did. She didn’t write a new will. Her will is held with the solicitors who drafted it, but they won’t release it to either of the two beneficiaries."

OK, not having an executor makes things a bit more complicated. Perhaps the solicitors are being cautious, or perhaps they are seeking to maximise their fees? I don't know.

If the sole executor has died then the person who administers the estate is usually one of the beneficiaries and is referred to as the "administrator" and they apply for something called "letters of administration with will annexed".

But, as you may guess from the name, it does need the original will to be included in the application. It does seem rather surprising that the solicitors are refusing to release the will to either of the beneficiaries in this situation.

Are they, perhaps, attempting to gain extra fees by representing the beneficiaries? Who knows? I certainly have no idea of the true situation and would not seek to comment on it.

"either of the two beneficiaries."

Just out of interest, how do these two people know that they are actually beneficiaries and who the executor was unless they have actually already had sight of the will?

Funnily enough some years ago I was the beneficiary of a will.

Long story, but the relevant bit was that as my brothers & I were the principal beneficiaries given that the executor was dead it would have been open to us to take on the role of executors.

You may be able to obtain a copy of Carols will from The Probate Registry assuming that the executors have applied for Probate.