Clients died overseas, no death certificate available

Trusts Discussion
1

Dear All

I hope you are all keeping well and staying safe.

I have been instructed in the administration of the estates of H&W. H died in around 2015 in Iran. W died in 2019 in Iran. H&W had a property in London, held as tenants in common. They each passed their share of the flat to their son S.

Nobody dealt with H’s estate when he died. We have a picture of his grave, and a newspaper article about his death. We do not have, and cannot seem to get hold of a death certificate for him. We have a scanned copy of W’s death certificate, but no original.

We think we need to get a grant for both Wills (of which we only have a copy as the original has been lost - though it is not believed to have been destroyed) to submit the same to the Land Registry to pass their respective shares of the property to S. I am a bit stumped though. I cannot apply for leave to swear death as insufficient time has elapsed, but I have no official paperwork to confirm they are dead? The new PA1P requires a death certificate to be supplied. I don’t think I will have time to get S to complete the papers using a statement of truth, as he’s a medic and a bit busy at the moment concentrating on other things.

Any help would be much appreciated.

Thanks
Fiona Dodd
Mayo Wynne Baxter

2

Have you tried approaching one of the various genealogy companies who offer probate support services, as they should be able to help find foreign death certificates for a fee? I’d be a little wary of proceeding without having seen original death certificates regardless of the Probate Registry’s requirements.

Ben Leach
Molesworths Bright Clegg

3

By way of a postscript, I’ve just noticed that the requirement of original death certificate in the new PA1P doesn’t apply to legal professionals, but I think the same note of caution applies.

Ben Leach
Molesworths Bright Clegg

4

Thank you

Fiona Dodd
Mayo Wynne Baxter

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