Is it necessary to remove name of deceased from house deeds?

[TrudyTrudy]

My parents own their home outright and are both named on the deeds.

My mother unfortunately died recently and my father was wondering whether he needs to have her name removed from the deeds or would common sense prevail and her death certificate would negate the need to do so.

He has no plans to sell the property and is thinking more long term when it is inherited by my sister and I.

Any advice on the matter would be appreciated. Thank you.

[Buenchico]

(2 part post):

There are two ways of jointly owning a property. If your parents were 'joint tenants' then neither of them owned any share of the house. It was their legal partenership (as a single entity) which owned the whole of the house. When your mother passed away your father, as the new sole member of the 'partnership', automatically became the owner of the whole house. (If, for example, your mother had left a will giving her share of the house to the Battersea Dogs' home, that provision of her will would have been totally invalid since she didn't actually own a share of the house).

Assuming that your parents were joint tenants, all that your father needs to do is to download and complete form DJP:
http://www1.landregis...ary/documents/djp.pdf
and then send it, with a copy of your mother's death certificate, to the relevant Land Registry office:
http://www1.landregistry.gov.uk/regional/

[Buenchico]

However if your parents were 'tenants in common' then each of them owned a specific share of the house (which would have been 50% unless specified otherwise in the deeds). When your mother passed away your father did not automatically become the owner of the whole property. If your mother left a will stating to whom her share should go (which presumably would have been your father) the executor of that will needs to seek and obrtain probate before form DJP can be submitted. If your mother left no will, your father needs to seek letters of administration in order to distribute your mother's estate in accordance with the intestacy laws because, at present, he still only owns half the house.

If your father is not sure which type of ownership applies, he needs to consult the title register. If he's not got the physical deeds (or a copy of them) he can download the title register for £4 from here:
https://www.landregis...ortal/Property_Search

Also relevant:
http://www1.landregis.../public_guide_009.pdf

Chris

[TrudyTrudy]

Thanks for that very thorough explanation. I will check the title deeds to find how the house was owned and take it from there. Thanks again