Dealing with an estate when beneficiary has passed

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My parents left a property to myself and sister when they passed away. My sister has since passed away. Now the property has sold I understand the funds from her share will automatically go to her husband but what documents will I need to have from him before I can legally release the funds? Is it just a letter of administration? Many thanks for any advice

That was easy. I copied your question in AI.

When your sister passed away, her share of the property became part of her estate, meaning the sale proceeds from her share can only be released to someone legally authorised to administer that estate. The specific document you will need depends on whether your sister left a will or died intestate (without one).
If your sister left a will
If she had a valid will, her executor must apply for a Grant of Probate. This grant gives them legal authority to collect, manage, and distribute her assets according to her will .
If your sister did not leave a will
If there is no will, her husband (as next of kin) would need to apply for Letters of Administration instead. This document grants the same powers as probate but is issued by the court to someone entitled under the rules of intestacy—typically the surviving spouse .
What you need before releasing funds
Before releasing her share of the sale proceeds, you should obtain from her husband (or whoever is appointed administrator or executor):
• A certified copy of the Grant of Probate (if there was a will) or Letters of Administration (if there was no will) .
• A copy of the death certificate confirming your sister’s death .
• Identification for the executor or administrator, if required by the conveyancer or solicitor managing the funds .
• If probate was granted in another jurisdiction (e.g., Scotland or Northern Ireland), a resealed grant may be required for England and Wales .
Only the person named on the Grant (executor or administrator) has legal authority to receive your sister’s share from the sale. Do not release funds directly to the widower unless he produces that document confirming his authority. Your solicitor or conveyancer will usually retain a copy for compliance.

Thank you.. yes I should have mentioned she had no Will. So seems pretty straightforward then!

How was the house owned? Were you joint tenants or tenants in common?

Our parents left it to us in their will 50/50. We were in the process of selling it but she passed before it completed

You own the house 50/50 but the ownership would have been set up as either tenants in common or joint tenants. If joint tenants then you both owned the whole house together and your sister's half would pass to you. If tenants in common then It would pass according to intestate laws.

How was your parents will written

Did they leave you the house or was it to be sold and the proceeds split?

Is there a survivorship clause - ie the beneficiaries have to outlast the donor by usually 28 days

The property may never have been put in the names of the sisters - it could still be in the name of the deceased parents if it's being sold soon after the original deaths.

I am not a lawyer but surely what's happened here is that the ownership of the house passed to the executor after the OP's second parent died. The executor or executors are now selling the house. The proceeds will be split between the OP and the administrator for her sister's estate. This assumes that the house is being sold immediately after sorting out the parents' estates and that there wasn't a period where the two sisters owned the house jointly.

(Executors and administrators are the legal owners of the estate while it's being sorted out but they hold the proceeds on trust for the beneficiaries. This is what I think I recall from studying law as part of my accountancy training 40 years ago.)

The property was still in the name of our parents. It was put onto market a few months after their passing.

She passed over the 28days survivorship. The Will stated we would receive equal shares of the property.

Sorry for your loss, what a difficult time for you. Did she have children or just the husband? There is a formula for intestacy so children would likely get some but you should ask who is administering her estate.

Thank you. She had one child but the amount is under 200k.

"I understand the funds from her share will automatically go to her husband"

No, you are wrong on this point.

You said that she died after your parents? If that is the case then it all depends if she had a will or died intestate (that means that she did not make a will).

If she had a will then the money will be distributed according to the will.

In that case, you will release the funds to whoever the executors of her will are.

If she died without making a will then the intestacy rules kick in. These differ between countries (eg if you're in Scotland then the rules are different from England & Wales).

Presuming that you're in England or Wales, then the first £322k of her estate goes to the husband and anything above this amount is split 50/50 between her husband and any children.

That's not just her inheritance from your parents but her total estate.

For example, if they owned their home as "joint tenants" then the family home passes to the husband regardless of any will and is not counted as part of her estate.

In contrast, if they owned the home as "tenants in common" then her separate 50% share of the family home is counted as part of her estate.

But, regardless of who gets what, if she died without making a will then whoever has been granted letters of administration then that is who you release the funds to.

In both cases you need to see the grant of probate before releasing funds.

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Dont rely on AI for this , op. Whether your BIL benefits depends on when DS died and on the wording of your relatives will.

You sister's share forms part of her estate. It should pass to the executor of her estate to be distributed amongst the beneficiaries. If you're being thorough about it then you can ask to see the grant of probate or letters of administration in order to confirm who is executor of the estate.

Thank you. This is exactly what I’m going to do. My responsibility ends once I have done this