Can You Sell A House Before Probate

When someone dies, those left behind must deal with their estate. This involves valuing the assets, clearing the debts and liabilities, and dividing what’s left between the beneficiaries. The probate process can be confusing and overwhelming, and those tasked with navigating it often have a host of questions, including ‘Can you sell a house before probate?’

Here, our specialist probate and estate administration team explain what probate is, when you need it, and answer the question, ‘Can you sell a house before probate?’

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What Is Probate?

Probate is the process involved in dealing with the estate of someone who has died. If the deceased left a Will, the estate will be handled by the executors who are named in the Will. If the deceased died intestate, meaning they did not leave a Will, the estate will be handled by administrators. The deceased’s family members can apply to Court to act as administrators.

If you are acting as an executor, your authority derives from the Will, but you usually need to apply for a document known as a ‘Grant of Probate’ before you can begin dealing with the deceased’s assets to prove your entitlement to do so. If you want to act as an administrator, you cannot usually do anything in connection with the estate until you have applied for and been granted a ‘Grant of Letters of Administration’ since there is no Will conferring authority.

When Do You Need A Grant Of Probate?

A Grant of Probate proves that you are legally entitled to deal with the deceased’s assets. Accordingly, most third parties will require that you produce a Grant before they will release any assets to you.

There are some exceptions to this general rule. For example, if the estate is made up solely of cash (not held in bank or building society accounts) and personal belongings, such as jewellery, you may be able to administer the estate without a Grant of Probate.

If the deceased held their cash in bank or building society accounts, you’ll likely need to obtain a Grant of Probate before the financial institution will release those funds to you unless the amount is below their specific probate threshold. Each bank and building society sets its own probate threshold, and the range is broad. Some institutions will release funds up to £50,000 without seeing a Grant, whereas others will insist on seeing one before releasing anything over £5,000.

When an estate comprises property, such as a house, a Grant of Probate is generally always required before you can deal with it in any way, including selling it. So, the answer to the question, ‘Can you sell a house before probate?’ is, generally, no. There are some exceptions, but they are limited. We discuss them in more detail in the next section.

You can put the property up for sale before you have received the Grant of Probate but usually can’t complete the sale. Marketing the house before probate can speed up the process, but since a Grant of Probate application can take some time to process and can be held up for a variety of reasons outside of your control, many executors wait until they have received the Grant before putting the property on the market.

In What Circumstances Can You Sell A House Without Probate?

There are two main situations in which a deceased person’s house can be sold without probate. They are as follows:

• The deceased held their house jointly with another person as joint tenants.

If the deceased owned their house jointly with someone else, such as their spouse, what happens to it when they die depends on how they owned it.

If they and their spouse were ‘joint tenants’ they both owned the house entirely. If one dies, full ownership passes to the other. In these cases, the house would not form part of the deceased’s estate, and the surviving spouse can do with it as they please. Most married couples own their home as joint tenants.

• The house was placed in trust when its owner died.

If the deceased’s house was placed in trust when they died, the trustees can sell it before probate has been granted. However, trusts are incredibly complex legal instruments, and you should always seek professional advice when dealing with one.

How We Can Help

Our leading probate solicitors have extensive experience advising clients dealing with estates of all sizes and complexities. We will guide you through the estate administration process, providing as much or as little support as you need.

Some clients seek our help to complete the probate application to ensure it is accurate, before administering the estate themselves. Some require advice on a particular issue, such as whether they need probate for the estate in question. Others prefer to hand over the entire process to our specialist solicitors. Whatever your needs, you can be confident of receiving the very best service at highly competitive rates.