Buying Siblings Out Of Jointly Owned Property

[pammywammy]

My father put his house into our four names 20+ years ago. He is now in a care home, and one of us wishes to buy out the other three and live in the house as their only property. What is the situation regarding tax for us in this situation, and do we need to use a solicitor?

[AKMild]

I would definitely recommend consulting a solicitor.

[Peter Pedant]

yes deffo ( lawyer )

you need to get agreement amongst you
hur hur hur which will almost always scupper plan A

then
it sounds as tho he lived in the house
and didnt pay rent
in which case it basically still is his property
( against very straightfoward rules called "interest in possession" - which in 1997 he would have been told about)

big tax do-do you need advice
you dont need us to tell you the what for

[Buenchico]

Much as I hate paying 'professionals' for tasks which can be done by any reasonably-intelligent individual, I'd still strongly recommend using a solicitor here.

To do it yourself you'd first have to identify the correct form from among this lot:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/hm-land-registry-forms
(TP1, possibly?)

You'd then need to fill it in correctly, which includes 'executing the transfer as a deed' in accordance with the provisions of Schedule 9 to the Land Registration Rules 2003. The possibility of making an error in doing so would seem to be too high to take a chance on getting it right.

[Peter Pedant]

BC's answer does not answer the tax implications
which are likely to be significant

take advice
because saying later "oops got that wrong" - and undoing the transfer would not cancel the tax charge but might incur a further one

[Buenchico]

Just a thought:
If your father continued to live in the house after he'd gifted it to you then (unless he paid you the market rent for the property) it was a 'gift with reservation'. As such:
(a) the value of the house will still count as part of his estate for Inheritance tax purposes when he dies ; and
(b) it's likely that the local authority can still recover the cost of his care home fees (if they're paying them) from the value of the house.

You DEFINITELY need professional advice.

[waterboatman]

You would also need your father's permission, in writing, to do so.

[pammywammy]

Thank you all for your interesting comments and advice. We will be consulting a solicitor.