The SA.2 and beneficial ownership
15 August 2024
This is a quick reminder that the SA.2 should reflect the beneficial ownership position and just because an asset is in the name of another person that does not alter the SA.2 position.
It can often be the case that property has remained in the name of a grandparent or other relation but has passed beneficially over the years. Alternatively, it can be the case that unbeknownst to parties that a property has remained in the name of one party where it was always understood to belong to someone else.
These title issues shouldn’t influence the SA.2. If a deceased has clearly beneficially owned property then that asset should form part of the SA.2 and the beneficiary of the asset should also be reflected in the SA.2. Just because other grants have to be extracted to correct title or a Form 5/Form 6 application has to be made, that shouldn’t impact the SA.2. Similarly the beneficiary pays tax due to the fact that they beneficially own the asset. Perhaps an argument can be made that a valuation date for that beneficiary is dependent on title rectification, but the beneficiary still remains the beneficial owner of the property.
Hope this helps and if you have any probate, capacity or tax issues please reach out to me on colm@theprobatehub.ie or through our probate query service.