Selling on a house left in a will.

[tee4two]

Hi all, hope someone had some advice for a friend of mine.
Her Grandmother died years ago, and left her house to her friend, who has lived in it ever since. Now this friend is having to sell as she herself is ill and is going into a nursing home, but it seems that the house deeds were never transferred into the friends name, they are still in the Grandmothers name. My friends Uncle was the executor of the will at the time and has just received a letter from a solicitor telling him this.
So, her questions are, who is the actual owner of the house? whose responsibility was it to transfer the deeds? and what do they have to do now??
I hope this makes sense to someone, I really havent a clue.

The owners of the house are the trustees (ie executors) under the will, even though it hasn't been formally transferred to them.

Basically, when the grandmother died, ownership passed temporarily to the trustees pending their transferring the house to the friend.

The good news is that the house won't have to be sold in order to pay nursing home fees as the friend never actually owned it.

I wonder whether, rather than a transfer, there was actaully a life interest.

Someone needs to talk to the solicitors who administered the estate, in conjunction with looking at the will.

If sols weren't used, and the executors were supposed to have transferred the house then potentially the friend has a negligence claim against the solicitors, but h/she has contributed by their own negligence in not checking. Most people would take the trouble to find out whether "their" house had actually been put into their name!

Sorry meant the friend potentially has a claim against the executors, not solicitors, but as I said earlier, if she has it transferred to her then sells it the money will have to be taken into account in assessing her contribution to nursing home fees.

Thanks Mumblechum, that really helps, I think she is concerned about her Uncle getting into trouble over this, as the executor.
I will tell her to check with him as to whether there was a solicitor involved, and to check with them, I think her Uncle is elderly and doesnt need any hassle.
I agree about checking the house was put in my name, that would be my priority.

You are wonderful

I know.

Actually, I have another question, of my own, even though I dont know any of people involved.
Surely, morally, or legally, the house does belong to the friend, as this was the wishes of the grandmother, regardless of oversights etc, who has the legal claim to the house? And as she has been there for years she could at least claim squatters rights or some other such rights.

I am incredibly nosey by the way.

Assuming the terms of the Will left the house to this lay outright, rather than 'for life', I am pretty sure that the executor will be holding the house, as trustee for the lady who it was left to under the Will, ie it is hers. It certainly doesn't 'belong' to the executor, even though it is registered in his name.

I would presume that all that would be needed to transfer it into her name would be a copy of the Will, the Grant of Probate and a transfer deed.

I can't see that any loss has been suffered by the house never being formally transferred.

I would go and consult a solicitor and get the paperwork sorted out.

Thank you Fay.
I knew that the house was the friends, its logical isnt it, but I dont know if certain members of the family think that the house belongs to the descendants as it hasnt been transferred.
IYSWIM

I have a question. My grandmother's house was left to her three children and the wife of one of them (he is now deceased) was allowed to live there rent free for her lifetime. She is now old and seriously ill in hospital and we have been informed that the house has been let fall into disrepair and is a private and a public hazard. In the Will it states that the responsibility for repair to the house is the Occupant.

As she has not done this, would the cost of the repairs come out of her third of the house or would it be deducted from the whole. I am neither a beneficiary or an executor of this Will, but I am trying to help.