to not understand this sort of false economy?

[twoonefive]

Someone I know suffered a family bereavement earlier this year. It was not unexpected but obviously still a very sad time. The dust has settled slightly now, and it's reached the stage of sorting out the will etc.

This person was the next of kin, and the only beneficiary of the will. The family member who died left a house of considerable value (not quite at inheritance tax threshold, but only a few thousand off it), a couple of personal items of modest value (few hundred pounds at most), and a post office account or similar with maybe £50 in.

I asked (as I work in a law-related field and have a few contacts who do probate work, or know people who do) if they had appointed solicitors, and if not, I'd be happy to help them find someone reputable. The response was along the lines of 'why waste money lining a lawyer's pockets I'll do it myself'. Apparently this was prompted by a local firm saying they would charge around £1500 to do the work.

Now I know £1500 is a fair amount of money, but it's only about 0.5% of the value of the inheritance, so in those terms it doesn't seem very much at all. I know for me, I'd rather be sure that all the legal requirements were dealt with properly rather than saving money and causing myself a lot of hard work.

However having spoken to a few other people who know the situation, they take the view that it's too much money to spend, and agree with some sort of DIY approach....so AIBU?

But of it's straightforward why would they need a solicitor?

because, like most people, the beneficiary has no idea about how the legal side of inheritance works at all. They don't know how to apply for probate, how to transfer the house or bank account into their name, and will basically (from what I can gather) be winging it based on what they can find out on the internet.

I just wouldn't take the risk with a £300k + inheritance of getting something wrong.

If the matter is straightfoward, no inheritance tax issues and just one beneficiary why is there the need to fork out 1.5k to a solicitor?

Yabu. Its not a false economy if its a relatively simple matter there are no disagreements going on and your reasonably intelligent its also not vast sums of money involved.

More and more people are doing stuff like this themselves and as far as I'm concerned its not a bad thing well its not if you don't mess up and your able to understand your own limitations

I know lots of people who have done it them self. Paying a solicitor is completely unnecessary.

I agree... But I think some people are inherently suspicious of people likes lawyers and accountants and they probably think the whole thing will be quicker than it actually will be etc.

But my SIL did it with no fuss and her degree is in media studies. Its not complex law its straightforward inheritance.

What can go wrong then?

With the internet, we live in a world where we've been claiming bank charges etc on our own with advice / support we find online.

But that's your attitude to risk, and in this particular area, their attitude to risk is different.

Some people wouldn't get an electrician in to fix up some faulty wiring, but would do it themselves based on what they could figure out. There's nothing inherently wrong, it's perfectly possible that they can do it all themselves and saves themselves 1500 quid. Or maybe it goes wrong and they end up losing 5000 quid, just paying for everything and never taking those risks doesn't sound like a great idea either.

Many things can now be found out efficiently just with the resources at hand on the internet.

Probate is actually not that hard if there is no IHT involved. The Probate Office take you through it and there are plenty of instructions with the forms.

I just don't see the point of trying to do something you're not trained to do, and could in some way fuck up, when you could pay someone to do it for you. In the same way I wouldn't do my own conveyancing if I bought a house, I'd pay a solicitor to do it.

It's not a false economy if you don't have the £1500 to start with.

There are lots of reputable guides on what to do. If you want to be helpful point them in the direction of the Which? What To Do When Someone Dies. If the estate really is as staightforward as to describe, then they can do it themselves if they are admin-minded.

Probate in a simple estate like this is really easy to do yourself and just as quick too so it makes perfect sense to do it yourself.

Its one estate being transferred to one person via a legal will. You cant get any simpler in inheritance terms!

I think that lawyers have done very well over the years in convincing people that only they have the knowledge to do these things, when it is untrue. My mother was horrified that I was doing my divorce myself, she simply cant understand why anyone would do anything vaguely legal without paying ££££ to a solicitor!

I'm not a probate lawyer, I don't know what the risks are. That's why I pay someone to do this stuff for me.

I'm not a particularly risk averse person, but this seems stupid - inheriting £300k or so yet begrudging spending £1500 (could be less, that was only one firm and apparently a worst case estimate).

If it's straightforward I would go to the relevant people. It wouldn't occur to me to go to a solicitor, or only if I got stuck. I imagine it's a bit of legwork, a pain in the arse and a bit less efficient than if a solicitor who does this stuff every day, but probably not that difficult.

That in itself might be worth sacrificing a little bit of your free money.

YOu wouldnt do your own conveyancing? I know loads of people who have done that themselves, its not hard as long as you have a brain and a PC.

Hmm.

My mum insisted on using someone to sort out my gran's will, after my dad spent ages doing my grandad's (on the basis it was 'simple'). She found they were beyond crap.

Is it possible this person has been stung in the past and has got a resentment against the whole profession?

I've done it in a combined way - done all the devilling and negotiated a (very favourable) fee for the few parts that are actually better with a qualified solicitor signing off. Worked well for everybody.

If you're inheriting £300k my view is you can find £1500 one way or another. In this instance, the person concerned has no dependents, no mortgage or other major expenses, and works FT, I can't think of any reason why they couldn't find the money, other than not wanting to.

In the case you describe though it would be literally as complex as applying for a passport. You'd fill out a couple of forms and the rest is done for you.

It's only the distribution of the estate that would've complex and paying a solicitor that money just isn't necessary.

That said any house sale would still need to go through the solicitor.

It's not usually worth arguing in those circumstances, two. Settling an estate is a sad business and people are not always making good decisions about how they want to do it. Neither do they always realize just what it entails.

I'd just keep a weather eye on things and perhaps make the offer to help (ie steer them to a professional) if you feel it's needed.

That's what you would do OP but your friend is obviously different. Doing something yourself and getting it right is quite empowering/satisfying.

Alternatively getting it wrong is a rich learning experience.

Either way you're either up for giving it a go or you're not. Your friend obviously is and may well be £1500 better off (or more to be precise as £1500 will be NET) and wiser.

Probate is very straightforward in the circumstances you describe. Aren't you being a bit patronising assuming they couldn't possibly do it themselves? Unless you fork out £££££ (and sometimes even then) lawyers are really hit and miss: some are great and some can't even use Google.