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Recent Bereavement - House Rental

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  • Recent Bereavement - House Rental

    My father recently passed away and I an joint executor with one of my sisters. We are tied up in a bureaucratic loop with the Estate Agent who is renting out my late Fathers house.
    The Estate Agent is insisting we provide a letter from my late Father's solicitor that myself and my sister are executors of his will.
    We have provided them sight of the original will and death certificate of my father.
    My Father's Solicitor will not provide us with a letter as they say none is required.
    The Estate Agent has taken an instruction from my sister to recommence payments into his frozen bank account (HSBC allow credits).
    The bizarre thing is that the Estate Agent does not want a copy of our identification!
    As far as I am concerned we have legal authority to act and make decisions about my Father's house.
    Our plan which has been agreed with all the benefices is to rent the house out until around the end of Feb 2024, then sell the house when probate is granted.
    The Estate Agent is effectively refusing to take our instruction without a letter from a solicitor that adds no value.
    Any help or suggestions would be apprecuated.
    Tags: None

  • #2
    Have you got Probate yet? It's Probate that gives you the legal right to deal with someone's property, money and possessions, their estate, when they die. So without Probate you don't yet have the formal legal authority to act.

    While many organisations might be willing to deal with you on the basis of the Will and Death Certificate before Probate is granted they do not have to. Once you have Probate they must accept that as your legal authority although they are entitled to require proof of your ID.

    Nvertheless the Esate Agents do seem to be taking an uneccessarily strict and unhelpful approach.
    Last edited by PallasAthena; 11th August 2023, 06:24:AM.
    All opinions expressed are based on my personal experience. I am not a lawyer and do not hold any legal qualifications.

    Comment


    • #3
      You could try the approach banks take with smaller accounts, which is to offer an indemnity in case it later turns out money has been paid to the wrong person.
      Lawyer (solicitor) - retired from practice, now supervising solicitor in a university law clinic. I do not advise by private message.

      Litigants in Person should download and read this: https://www.judiciary.uk/wp-content/..._in_Person.pdf

      Comment


      • #4
        Thanks for the responses as appreciated.
        I am just about to apply for probate.
        I could understand a stance of waiting for probate. I am struggling with what a Solicitors letter will give. In addition the Estate Agent has taken an instruction from the Executors to recommence payments back into my late Fathers bank account as credits are accepted.
        The current tenancy agreement expires in Sept 23 and we wanted to extend until early next year for various reasons and to particularly give the 'good' current tenant some time to sort their affairs out. The tenancy agreement will just fall to a rolling month by month agreement.
        Roll on grant of probate.

        Comment


        • #5
          For the Estate Agent continuing to pay rents into the the Estate of your late father is the risk free default option so I'm not surprised they are happy to do that without letters from solicitors etc. The problem from their point of view would be if you had asked them to pay the rents to someone else.
          All opinions expressed are based on my personal experience. I am not a lawyer and do not hold any legal qualifications.

          Comment

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