Q: When my father remarried in 1997, his new wife moved into our family home. At dad’s wishes, she continued to live in the house after he died in 2019. When our stepmother went into a nursing home with dementia earlier this year, I expected the family home would be sold to fund her care, and my sister and I would share the remaining proceeds after her death. However, my sister has confessed that dad made the house over to her before he died. She said it was because I lived abroad and she had been left with all the responsibility for them and had Power of Attorney. A check at Land Registry has confirmed the transfer took place just weeks before dad died. Can I challenge the legitimacy of the ownership transfer?
A: There are many questions to be answered before a view could be given on the legitimacy of the transfer. Firstly, what was the state of your father’s health before he died, particularly his mental health. Is it possible that your father could have lacked capacity to make such a decision? Or could he have been unduly influenced by your sister? Or, as his attorney, did your sister sign the transfer documents on his behalf? If any of these things were so, then it may be possible for you to bring a claim to void the lifetime transfer.
In the first instance you should contact HM Land Registry again and request a copy of the transfer document to check who signed them. As his attorney, your sister had a duty to act in your father’s best interests and would not have been permitted to make a large financial gift to herself on his behalf without first applying to the court of protection for permission. If your father left a Will you should also obtain a copy of that ….. and then you should make an appointment to see a solicitor as soon as possible.
This question has been answered by Sarah Talbot, a Senior Solicitor with GHP Legal. If you would like to speak to someone about this or any other legal matter, please visit our website www.ghplegal.com and use the contact us form, or call us on: Wrexham 01978 291456, Llangollen 01978 860313, Oswestry 01691 659194
