My brother in law did not do this. When he died, he left me his F650, which I reimported from Spain.
I was concerned about NOVA and all sorts of hassle, but all I did was MOT it and submit the V5 in my name when I taxed it. Fortunately, I had the original registration docs and number plate. They pointed out that there were some twenty years of unpaid road tax due.
I pointed out that the new owner is not responsible for the previous owners’ tax debts and they can chase him for it.
You might wonder whether not advising DVLA might be advantageous. I suppose you could SORN it.