Is There Any Way I Can Get The Title Deeds Back?

Q.

My mother died in October last year. She had her own house but she took a loan out from some loan company and they took the deeds to the house.

I know she still owed money to them how do I go on getting the deeds back? I have tried to get in touch with them and they just keep saying we will ring you back but never do. What should my next steps be?

A.

Sorry to hear about your mother. If the loan company took the deeds to your mother’s house, that means that they have a charge on the property. As you mention that your mother still owes the loan company money, this will need to be paid back. You haven’t mentioned whether or not you have the grant of probate yet (assuming your mother made a will) but given that the loan company is still owed money I assume that this is yet to be done.

The Estate

Now that your mother has died, someone will need to be responsible for dealing with her estate. This could be money, property and possessions that she left. The person (s) who is responsible for this is authorised to gather together your mother’s money and pay off debts. Any money left will be distributed to those who are entitled to it.

The Will

If your mother made a will the Executor will be nominated as the Personal Representative. Once the Executor has a grant of probate, they can deal with your mother’s affairs. If your mother didn’t make a will, usually the next of kin (perhaps this is you?) will be named as the Personal Representative, and a ‘grant of letters of administration’ will enable the PR to deal with your mother’s affairs. You don’t necessarily need to use a solicitor to apply for a grant of probate, but the forms you need to fill out will depend on where you live – so you’d be better off contacting your local probate office for more details.

Probate Papers

Assuming there is a will, first the size of the estate has to be ascertained, in order for probate papers to be prepared. Then a grant of probate can be applied for, as long as inheritance tax has been paid. I do not know the size of your mother’s estate, nor whether it reaches the thresholds for payment of inheritance tax. Bear in mind that inheritance tax has to be paid before money is released (there are ways to arrange this - speak to a solicitor for further information.)

A Probate Solicitor

However given your concerns over retrieving the deeds to your mother’s house, consider speaking to a solicitor about your concerns. A solicitor may also be able to write to the loan company on your behalf to request the deeds are released to him/her or you. Local solicitors specialising in probate can be found on the Law Society website.