Probate

[Martin17]

I am carrying out some research for a friend who had not spoken to his father in over 30 years. His father died in 2010 and I advised him to contact the probate office to request a copy of any will that he may have made. He paid his £6, and the letter they returned stated they could find no will. He knows the house his father was residing in has been sold. In all my research this is the first time I have encounted any request like this. Are there any further avenues he could pursue or is the end of the line with this enquiry.

Any help or advice would be gratefully appreciated.

Regards

Martin

[rosie99]

Hi

Have you looked on the Bona Vacantia listings 

http://www.bonavacantia.gov.uk/output/

The listing link is on this page
http://www.bonavacantia.gov.uk/output/advertised-estates.aspx

Rosie

[mshrmh]

Martin - you mention

the house his father was residing in has been sold

. Does he know if his father was the owner or may he have been the tenant? It is possible to do searches at the Land Registry for a few £s:
http://www.landregistry.gov.uk/
which may clarify who sold the house.

[mazi]

Is it possible his father had a partner and they owned the house jointly as tenants in common then I think ownership passes to the surviving partner.
"search house prices" if you know the address ,( this search is free) on the land registry site will tell you if an actual  sale took place, but wont show a change of ownership if the above occurred.

Does the search for a will include a search for "letters of administration"  for an intestate death, if it doesn't then this may be an avenue to explore.

[Martin17]

Thank you mazi, mshrmh and rosie99 for your replies and advice.

My friends father was married and his wife died about 2002. To the best of my knowledge his father never remarried and was the owner of the property, although there was a stepson in his forties. I will be passing on the information you have supplied and looking at the links myself.

Thank you for your help.

Regards

Martin

[mazi]

I have just seen a post on beginners board which suggests the £6 probate search fee will include any grant, either probate or administration, granted for the dec'ds estate. So was the house sold and if so, how.

Might be worth a look to see if your friends fathers wife left a will, she may have owned the house and just left a life interest to your friends father

[Greensleeves]

If an estate is below a certain amount - not sure of the current amount but it is not substantial - it is not necessary to obtain Probate or Letters of Administration.  The fact that neither of these were obtained suggests that the house might not have been owned by the deceased.  As the enquirer had had no contact with his late father for thirty years, a lot could have happened in respect of the property in the intervening period.  As stated, he and his wife could have held the property as tenants in common, whereby it would automatically pass to the survivor on the death of either of them.