Land Registry registration following grant of probate

[gg57]

My brother's Will names me as the executor and states the residuary of his estate to be split between myself, his niece and his nephew. His estate largely comprises his home. Now Grant of Probate has been received the Land Register will need to be updated in preparation for selling the house. IHT has already been paid. The company handling the administration of the estate has asked me if I want the land registry transfer to be in my name solely or the names of all three beneficiaries. Given the wording of the Will about residuary of the estate being split I had assumed I would need to sell the house (as executor), finalise the estate funds available after deductions such as legal fees, energy bills settled etc and then divide between the remaining funds between the three beneficiaries. So this request has thrown me a bit. I've had to correct them on a couple of things along the way so hence also seeking any available reassurance/advice from this group on the best way forward please. Thank you.

[PallasAthena]

The estate administrator may be thinking that the three of you are going to keep the house and use it jointly, eg rent it out.

But if that is not the case and you are going to sell and divide up the money then it needs to be registered at LR in your name as the sole Executor as only the Executor has the legal power to sell.

Have you discussed with your niece and nephew what they would like happen? It's as well to let them know what you are planning to do in case one of them has strong views on it, to avoid possible disputes later.

Does the Will say anything specific about whether the house should be sold?

[gg57]

Thank you for your response. All 3 beneficiaries are agreed that the house should be sold. The Will doesn’t say anything specifically about the house. He was happy to leave it to the three beneficiaries to decide what to do with it.