Scotland - grant of confirmation questions

[lostinyonkers]

My lovely Dad died a month ago. We are in Scotland and the probate process, or grant of confirmation, is driving me demented. Ddad wasn't Rockefeller, but the estate is classed as large (over £36K ) so we have to obtain confirmation.

He had a will, DMum is his sole beneficiary, and the assets are mainly their home (jointly owned with DMum), ISA, current bank account, a couple of small savings accounts, premium bonds and some shares (worth about tuppence ha'penny).

I completed the C1 and C5 forms, took them to the Sheriff's Court, and they were rejected because they weren't completed correctly. Now, I haven't been able to find anything online which shows exactly what wording to use - have used guidance forms off Scottish courts and GOV.uk websites, but there appears to be a lot of archaic legal language which has to be used, including on the doquetting of the will. I can't find examples of how to complete the forms anywhere.

I am reasonably bright, but this is doing my head in. Does anyone know if there are any websites that actually show examples of the completed forms.

Failing that, how much would a solicitor charge for doing the work?

[K3vso]

Hi Lostinyonkers
I wondered if you managed to get your confirmation done? I am also in a very similar situation. My Dad died in August and my Brother and i are trying to help my Mum to complete the forms. Like you i am struggling in knowing what to write and include. I wondrered if you managed to do yours? Any advice you could give me would be a great help.
Thanks
Kx

[user1487194234]

You should be able to get a solicitor for around £500

[purpleviolet1]

www.gov.uk/government/publications/inheritance-tax-confirmation-c1


If you scroll down a bit in the supplementary section there is guidance notes on how to complete the form...

We are currently doing it via a solicitor as I'm about to give birth and move house so don't have the time/ energy to spend on it. They are charging approx £1200 in total.

[K3vso]

Thanks for your quick responses.
We have had a look at the guidance notes and have starting filling things in, but one of the solicitors has gave us a price of £750 + vat and the sheriff's court fees on top so we are going to go with that.
I dont know why none of the other solicitors we contacted couldn't of gave us a quote. there loss.
Thanks again

[balfron100]

Had the same issue with completing the C1 form. Solicitors wont provide a quotation of likely costs, they really are a very untrustworthy lot to be doing business with. Found a solicitor eventually who gave me a good indication of cost and so far all is going well.
Don't accept this nonsense regarding charges, the process can be planned and quoted, if you can't get a clear indication of cost then DON'T use them.

[XYZ1958]

Hi can anyone help me re a C1 form Confirmation LETTER in Scotland.
I am trying to sort out my friends estate I have filled in the form twice only to have it returned by the Sheriff Court in Dundee.
When they send it back they give no indication of what needs to be amended it’s a nightmare, bad enough losing somebody close without jumping through hoops whilst trying to pass an estate to my friends children rather than paying huge solicitor costs. Any help will be very much appreciated. Thank you

[user1487194234]

They should give you some idea of what the problem is
Can you try phoning and asking ?

[XYZ1958]

Hi
I have telephoned only to be told they are not legally qualified to give advice on the form, yet it would seem they are legally qualified to say the form cannot be accepted because it’s incorrect!
I have been unable to find an example of a filled in form online which is unusual.
Thank you for your reply

[user1487194234]

Seems bizarre
I don't deal with that court
The courts I deal with always give a reason
They won't tell you how to fix it though
Could be wrong but it might be that it is just so wrongly completed (I mean no offence)
I think you will have to take legal advice

[user1487194234]

Have you filled in a C5 form as well
Did you send in a copy of the Will signed on each page by the executor and docquetted as relative to the C1
Just trying to think of reasons they would reject it

[XYZ1958]

No offence taken.
I have filled in a C5. I did send in the Will but as executor I haven’t signed each page, i did write a statement with regards to the Will in part two, I followed the guidance document but don’t remember any mention of having to sign the Will.
Thanks again

[user1487194234]

So you are the sole executor under the Will?

[emsipops]

I know this thread is a little out of date but did anyone manage to get advice on the C1 and C5 forms? We are having exactly the same issue and bounced back from court to say there are errors but we have followed the instructions on the guidance. It would be great to see someone's completed form to give us some guidance obv with confidential info redacted. We are at a loss as to what we have filled in incorrectly and sols fees are ridiculous for such a small estate!

[chipsandpeas]

i cant help but would be interested as im about to send off the forms to the court and would rather not be in the position of them bouncing back

[emsipops]

Will do chips and peas

[emsipops]

Any mums a solicitor or paralegal that could help?

[LazyYogi]

It is an absolute disgrace how difficult itjis to complete this paperwork as a layman. The whole thing is like a racket between the courts and solicitors. There's some very specific wording, boxes that must or must not be ticked. Documents to be referred to in a particular way etc. Calling them can get you some answers but it's no guarantee. Unfortunately, if you don't want to fork out for a solicitor you need to hope you have a friend in the industry that could help :/

[Misspollyhadadolly92]

Did you manage to complete the forms? I did it.and it was returned with minor errors, i ended up appointing a solicitor. I know this thread is a few months old so its probably resolved now?

[Misspollyhadadolly92]

Its incredibly stressful and the court made it clear in their retutned documents i needed to appoint a solicitor. The estate is very straightforward and the guidance paperwork does not tally with the courts expectations!!!

[nosalt]

For the benefit of anyone who is researching 'Grant of Confirmation' or 'C1 form', there is good information available on the MSE website in the Deaths, Funerals & Probate Forum.