Mother passed away, no will, only name on deed, father still alive

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LaraO

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My mother passed away unexpectedly with no will. Her name is the only name on the deeds to her property. What does my father have to do to transfer ownership of that property to himsef or to his children?
 
Her spouse (your Dad) is the first person on the "order of entitlement" to extract a Grant of Administration. This is the legal document which must be obtained to transfer the assets of a person who dies intestate (without a will). This document is issued by the High Court, on completion of certain formalities - including payment of any taxes and duties, if they arise.

With no will, your Dad is entltled to 2/3 of the estate and their children share 1/3. If there were predeceased children (your brothers, sisters), their share may be divided among their children (your nieces, nephews) "per stirpes".

If, however, your mum had no other assets apart from the house, then your Dad may have certain rights to retain the property in full, since it is the "family home".

Need to employ a solicitor
 
He needs to extract a Grant of Adminstration to your mothers estate - he can use a solicitor or do it himself. As there was no will, he is entitled to 2/3 ( I think) of the estate and the surviving children to 1/3. When the Grant is extracted, he can vest the property in his sole name ( if all the family consent in a Deed of Family Arrangement) or he can seek to acquire the entire of the property as his legal right share.

Personally, to avoid any future issues I think he should ask a solicitor to do the Grant. He should discuss fees in advance and do as much leg work as he can to keep the fees down.

I am often asked to assist my clients in them taking out a Grant personally. I resist as I find I end up practically doing the work without any fee. I have no difficulty in taking their Grant and then completing an Assent but I find that mistakes are very often made and very often a further Grant needs to be extracted.

mf
 
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