To ask how long has probate taken for you recently? (Greater Manchester/Merseyside in particular).

[ThisMustBeMyDream]

I know... how long is a piece of string and all that. But if you have applied recently for probate, how long has it taken to come through? Did you use a solicitor or not?
I'm buying a house who are waiting on probate for their purchase. It has caused no end of stress. Anyway, probate is now applied for through the solicitor who is the executor. My vendors solicitor is going around telling everyone to expect 6-12 months. I've been buying this sodding house since May last year!!!!! Please help my sanity on this one!

Dh applied about 3 months ago, and there has been total silence so far......

I'm in London but probate for my dad's will has taken nearly two years. Sorry if that's not what you want to hear.
COVID and austerity have brought solicitors firms absolutely to their knees.

It seems daft that they've relied on an inheritance which is still going through probate as its notoriously slow and unpredictable.

It is the house they are buying that is a probate property @Thepeopleversuswork . Do you mind me asking why it took 2 years? Was that 2 years from applying for probate?

4 months from submission for us. Granted in November in the area you’re asking about

@ThisMustBeMyDream partly that my mum's estate and my dad's estates were financially linked (my mum died six years before my dad and they had some sort of joint trust) but my dad had four children including two from a previous marriage and my mum had two. So they had to untangle those and work out who got what money and work out the tax implications.

But my dad died in early 2021 and the whole courts system and solicitors' offices were snarled up by COVID for months and I'm sure that delayed everything massively. It finally cleared in December 2022.

I think his was unusually complicated but it can just be very slow.

12 weeks since probate submitted and still waiting.
Different area though.
Executors can chase after 16 weeks.

I sent a probate application for a relative in mid October, it should be a relatively simple one as it’s an excepted estate with all assets going to the surviving spouse but not heard a word yet. The government website was saying predicted turnaround of 12–16 weeks at the time.

I’m curious how area comes into it, I just sent the papers to a central HMCTS address as far as I recall. Can anyone advise?

I’ve posted before about my experience and it’s probably not what you want to hear! We are in a similar location and it’s been dealt with by Newcastle registry/ probate office. Professional Executor (as per will instructions).
Initial meeting with beneficiaries end of May 2022. Paper application submitted August 2022 ( no reason for delay as all docs provided at May meeting).
Grant of Probate received by Executors mid January 2023.
Accounts still not settled - again no reason other than no one seems to bother about timelines. I’m talking pretty basic bank / savings accounts. Nothing complicated.
We delayed put house on the market until GOP received so it wouldn’t hold up a sale. Means we are paying daft money for utility standing charges in an empty house but at least it shouldn’t delay when there are offers.
Good luck. The knowledge I’ve acquired during this process.
We formally complained and it’s now with the Ombudsman.

We did probate ourselves for SIL who had inherited property abroad and had money in foreign bank accounts so was more complicated (for us at least!), it didn't take more than a couple of months and that was a year or two ago when I would have thought things would be worse. Everything just seems to be going to shit.