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Mum passed away at the end of July.
Mirror will with my dad (who is still with us) - and mum had no assets, pensions, investments etc., in her own name. Nothing left to anyone other than my father.
Any assets (house and money in bank) were in joint names. And well within inheritance tax allowance. So we believe no probate is needed.
We've done all the tell us once bits and I'm now thinking I need to change ownership of house on Land Registry.
Can I just fill in a DJP form for my dad and send that off to Land Registry or do we need a conveyancer/solicitor?
The only complication is there is equity release on the house.
Sorry for your loss MM.
I have no legal training but plugging the details into ChatGPT produced the following - obviously disclaimers apply.
1. Probate
From what you’ve described:
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No sole assets in mum’s name → nothing to administer.
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All assets joint (house and bank accounts) → they pass automatically to your dad as surviving joint owner.
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Estate value well under inheritance tax threshold → no IHT return needed.
👉 Correct: probate isn’t required in these circumstances.
2. Land Registry – removing mum’s name
Normally, where a couple hold property as joint tenants, the survivor simply becomes the sole proprietor. The Land Registry has a process for this:
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Form DJP (Deceased Joint Proprietor) – that’s the right form.
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Attach the official death certificate.
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Send to HM Land Registry (no fee is payable for this update).
So yes, your dad (or you acting for him) can complete and submit the DJP directly. You don’t need a solicitor/conveyancer for this step if everything is straightforward.
3. Equity Release complication
Where there’s an equity release charge (a lifetime mortgage or home reversion scheme) registered against the title:
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The lender’s charge will still sit on the title.
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The lender should simply be notified of your mum’s death (usually done already if you’ve been through Tell Us Once and contacted the lender).
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They remain a chargeholder; but they don’t need to consent to the DJP itself.
However:
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Some equity release providers like to receive copies of updated title documents once the Land Registry has processed them.
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If your dad is considering making any changes (further borrowing, transferring equity, sale in the near future), then at that point a solicitor would be required.
4. Practical steps now
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Complete Form DJP in your dad’s name.
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Attach an official death certificate.
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Send to HM Land Registry (address on the form).
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Inform the equity release company that you are filing the form (belt-and-braces approach).
No fee, no solicitor required at this stage.
Condolences to you and your family. I went through this just over a year ago so have some fairly recent experience.
I'd imagine the only help you'll need is with the Land Registry, particularly as there's another interested party. My Mother's situation was leasehold with complications and we used a Solicitor to update the lease after my Father died a couple if years earlier. You could always check with a Solicitor under their 30 minute initial no cost consultation but that's unlikely to be fully impartial...
All the other stuff you've mentioned we looked after DIY.
Do YOU need? As opposed to does your father need? Does that mean you have POA? Does it mean you don't have POA and are just helping him out with IT aspects etc, but he's completely capable of financial decisions etc? Or does it mean you don't have POA and he's not really able to cope and you probably should have arranged POA already?
FWIW I think the advice you have above is probably OK, but you might want to give the Equity Release company a call (they presumably deal with this all the time) and see what their expectations are. If they sound hard then it might be worth a solicitor to make life easier. My experience of dealing with financial institutions after a death is very mixed.
Sorry for your loss. Were the wills along the line of "house goes to surviving partner. If they have predeceased, then it goes to children"? If so you could apply for a deed of variation so that your mothers share of the house passes to the children immediately. This restricts the claim for paying any care home fees should your father ever need one.
Depends - are you currently referred to as "the accused"?
(Seriously though, commiserations fella).
My experience is in Scotland so will differ, but my mum needed a solicitor for the house deeds etc, everything else was like your situation and straight forward. The house was in joint names so no real provision was made in their wills as they assumed it transferred to the other on death of one another but apparently, due to some old Scottish law, when my dad died his share did not automatically transfer to my mum but his 50% had to be split between my mum and siblings (50% to wife, 25% to each child). We were going to sign our share back to my mum but she was advised to leave it with us for future inheritance reasons. Houses can be tricky so with your equity release it may need a solicitor but IANAS.
Do YOU need? As opposed to does your father need? Does that mean you have POA? Does it mean you don't have POA and are just helping him out with IT aspects etc, but he's completely capable of financial decisions etc? Or does it mean you don't have POA and he's not really able to cope and you probably should have arranged POA already?
I have POA (financial and health).
My dad is pretty on the ball financially but he can't hear on the phone due to hearing aids in both ears and struggles with all but basic IT. I'm his personal secretary!
If you do use a solicitor check very carefully the terms under which they work. I got ripped off by mine. took advantage of my vulnerable state tolegally charge me 4 times what I was told it would cost.
Sorry for your loss.
Glad it’s a potential probate or conveyancing request rather than a criminal defence one.
perhaps go to the solicitor with whom they drafted the wills? If they were trusted enough with them then it could be courteous to inform them of the sad news and they should be well set up to advise and, if needed, handle any legal bits and pieces.
who is the executor? It may help to have them at the meeting too.