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Property inheritance: At what point do you become its legal owner?

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  • 01-08-2020 9:33am
    #1
    hkjohn
    Registered Users Posts: 379 ✭✭


    Sol says we owned property from the moment my dad died while FBD say they can't insure the property because we can only legally own it after probate is finished.

    Anyone know who is right?


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    #2
    brightspark
    Registered Users Posts: 2,637 ✭✭✭brightspark


    hkjohn wrote:
    Sol says we owned property from the moment my dad died while FBD say they can't insure the property because we can only legally own it after probate is finished.


    Currently insuring a property undergoing probate, so it can be insured. Also I previously insured a house that I was in the process of purchasing (about a month before closing I think) as my solicitor advised me to at the time.

    So it isn't always necessary to own the property.


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    #3
    wench
    Registered Users Posts: 1,630 ✭✭✭wench


    The Executor is the one who should be insuring and maintaining the property until probate is granted.

    I believe your solicitor is wrong and you don't own anything until probate is complete.


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    #4
    mickuhaha
    Registered Users Posts: 475 ✭✭mickuhaha


    The property is still owned by the estate until such time a deed of transfer of the property is signed by the executor as far as I am aware. You can't insure a property you don't own. The executor can on behalf of the estate. Your solicitor should clarify if the deed of trant has been signed.


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    #5
    December2012
    Registered Users Posts: 4,695 ✭✭✭December2012


    you may have beneficial ownership from the date of death without having the legal ownership. Legal title will not transfer to you until the Grant issues and the Executor and you sign the forms and lodge it with the Property Registration Authority of Ireland.

    You should be able to get insurance on the property. Are you living there?


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    #6
    Victor
    Registered Users Posts: 78,247 ✭✭✭✭Victor


    mickuhaha wrote: »
    You can't insure a property you don't own.
    Yes you can. I think the point you are trying to make is that one (usually) can't insure something you don't have an insurable interest in.

    If, for example, an executor failed to insure a property, e.g. due to lack of funds, the beneficiary of the estate could insure it.

    Similarly, tenants often insure buildings owned by their landlord.


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    #7
    17togo
    Registered Users Posts: 186 ✭✭17togo


    I purchased a house last December, the sale only went through around the 20th. But I took out house insurance on it from the 1st December. Can't remember why exactly but I had to have the insurance in place for the mortgage to go through. But I didn't own the property when I took the insurance out on it!


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    #8
    mickuhaha
    Registered Users Posts: 475 ✭✭mickuhaha


    Victor wrote: »
    Yes you can. I think the point you are trying to make is that one (usually) can't insure something you don't have an insurable interest in.

    If, for example, an executor failed to insure a property, e.g. due to lack of funds, the beneficiary of the estate could insure it.

    Similarly, tenants often insure buildings owned by their landlord.

    Your correct. The question in this situation would be when does the beneficiary have an insurable interest.


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    #9
    3DataModem
    Registered Users Posts: 3,944 ✭✭✭3DataModem


    You don't have to own it (necessarily) but you need to have an insurable interest. Normally they are the same thing, but not always.

    In my two-decade old experience, the requirement is usually that you are able to take some sort of control of the property in probate (e.g. get into the house) so you can protect your interest and mitigate your risk.

    So
    1. a great-aunt dies in a house 200 miles from where you live that has been left to you, it is very unlikely you'll get insurance. Whose making sure there are no leaks, fires, etc?
    2. a parent dies and leaves the house to a child already living with them, it is very likely you will get insurance.

    My advice is to contact the same insurer that the departed used.


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    #10
    coylemj
    Registered Users Posts: 25,331 ✭✭✭✭coylemj


    As above, I believe the insurance company is wrong because the person who is inheriting definitely has an insurable interest in the property. In the sense that if nobody insures the place while probate is going on and it burns down, the person who was supposed to inherit the place will take the financial hit and therefore should be able to insure their interest.

    Talk to a different insurer or at a minimum, the OP should pay the executor to insure the place in the name of 'the estate of Michael Murphy (deceased)'


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