to think that probate is taking too long

[GeraniumGirl]

My dear Grandmother died in October.

Her estate was very simple because she had already sold her house and moved into a care home.

A solicitor is the executor but there is still no sign of probate.

I know that it was taking a long time for probate to be granted last year but looking at the probate search online it doesn’t generally seem so long now.

Does anyone have any recent experience of probate times for simple estates?

AIBU to think that the solicitor is dragging his heels?

I'm a private client solicitor and simple probate applications are taking upto 16 weeks to be granted once we send them off. However, if it's complex matter it has to go to Newcastle and not Harlow. They take even longer. We advise clients the whole process can take between 12 - 24 months because it can take a while if it's a large estate and you need to obtain date of death balances and then sell a house afterwards.

If the solicitors firm is the executor they have to do assets and liabilities searches to ensure that there aren't any missing/unknown assets and liabilities, also s.27 notices in the gazette and local paper. As a matter of course though I always update my clients as to the progress, so I'm not sure why yours isn't providing you with an update.

A relative died almost a year ago, probate has still not been granted.
I am the executor, the will has been contested and a caveat was in place (can someone please explain what this even means to me in simple terms? The solicitor did his best bit to be honest I was not in a great frame of mind. The caveat has now been removed by the contesting party. I just want everything dealt with, house sold etc and to move on with my life. It’s been a really messy family fall out and I could do with it all just being over so I can close that chapter and grieve without this all hanging over my head.
OP fingers crossed it’s not much longer, there are some really positive posts here.

My Dad died last May and we had probate sorted by November. It was a complex estate (multiple properties, some in his name, some joint with my mum) and coupled with that, he died quite unexpectedly so there was a lot to sort out. We thought it would take well over 6 months but the solicitors were great having it done and dusted by November.

While the solicitor is acting as executor they're raking in charges. Absolutely taking the piss

We were told probate could take up to 16 weeks- it probably took about 8, probate was granted towards the end of April - and like I said likely money in the next month

Thanks everyone, it is really helpful to hear your experiences. I think I will give it til October and complain if nothing is forthcoming by then.

Good to hear it took a short time to be granted. I submitted an application months ago , was there a will in your case?

It took about 6 months for my FiL estate to be granted probate- he died exactly a year ago. My husband was executor of the will, notva solicitor.

@Digon if your probate application was comparatively straightforward it is probably worth taking a deep breath and giving the probate office a call.

In our case there was a disconnect/misfiling of documents HMRC and we sent in (admittedly it was at the tail end of the Covid lockdowns) so they kept putting a "STOP" on our case without bothering to tell us.

I don't know if it is still available (and it wasn't always operational in '21), but I resorted to using webchat and requesting transcripts to prove that they were losing things/fibbing.

Good luck; it is a stressful time for a lot of executors and some of the staff certainly don't help.

I did probate for my Mum. It wasn’t hard, but it was quite tim consuming. The grant of probate took about five months to come through. The IHT helpline were great. One thing that is not mentioned online is that you have to apply for an IHT reference number if there is a property involved, even if the estate is under the IHT threshold.

Just to update. Probate was granted in September so 11 months after she died. I only found that out from the probate search as there was no word from the solicitor. I asked them for an update and they say that they should begin distributing the residue within the next month. So the whole process for a very simple estate will have taken 14 months. I guess if they have the funds in their bank account then it will be racking up interest for them.

When my mother passed away in August a few years back, the application went in in the autumn and my father received the funds in spring.

A friend’s last year was quicker but not much.

I’ve heard of non spousal probates taking much longer and that a year is the minimum solicitors will actually give as a ball park figure.

Still waiting for the solicitor to distribute the funds….

Probate is so easy to DIY and solicitors do everything in slow motion.
I've done several. It's not the probate that takes time it's gathering the necessay information. If a relative does it it can be very quick. I had my DMs done in a month and probate came back two weeks later (this was before the backlog).
Anyone making a will should avoid making the solicitor executor unless it's a very complicated estate, even then a second exec is useful who can move things along.

Did he quote you a fixed rate, has all the tax forms been sent out, debts and assets settled, bills paid, unfortunately beneficiaries don't need to be told what's going on but most solicitors keep you up to date, you can speak to the senior partner to chase it up.

Similar situation with a family member to in your op and it took over a year for us! We were getting really worried and kept on at them, but it just took forever for some reason. They loved blaming coved backlogs but this was last year, so I'm not sure had anything to do with covid!

Did you not get a letter at the start outlining the charges?
I have a solicitor dealing with probate. I had a letter saying how much it was. Can't remember how much it is but it just comes off the estate.
I had a letter in January from the solicitors to say that they'd had confirmation from the probate office that they'd received it all and the indication was the expected time frame was 16 weeks. Not all solicitors do this but they should hold the money for six months and one day from the date probate is granted in case someone contests it. So you're looking at around 10 months from application to distribution

I did my own when my dad died and it was mentioned then. That was a couple of years ago. It was easy

I'm fed up with the organisations that still allow home working despite many tasks not being possible away from the office. If the job can't be done properly with people working from home, then they need to get everyone back in, clearly. We aren't in lockdown anymore, there should be no excuses for inefficiency now.

OP, I'd definitely put a complaint in!

My mother died in February last year, probate came through in the October and hopefully the disbursement will be done early next month.
Very straightforward estate with only two beneficiaries in the will.

Any interest earned should be added to the Estate, I would definitely chase the Solicitor. I know in some cases, they can send out interim payments, but you would expect distribution of money after 6 months from Probate being granted, which has now passed. When dealing with Solicitors, I’ve always spoken to their Secretaries, who tend to be much more helpful.

DF passed away 3 years ago. I did the inheritance tax and probate forms online. It was straightforward and granted in a couple of months

At the moment probate is taking 6-12 months.

Due to the courts who issues the probate still WFH. They cannot take the Will home, it has to be dealt with in the office. Therefore, it is taking forever.

This doesn’t seem right to me but I’m unsure how you go about checking usual procedures and complaining. The lack of communication seems odd too, although this may be usual when the solicitor is acting as executor. My dm’s probate took 8 months (quite complex with a number of properties). We are the executors but engaged a solicitor due to said complexities. After probate was granted it took another 3 weeks for exchange and completion on the properties, and monies were received the week after that aside from a very small proportion retained to settle outstanding bills etc.

It has been an absolute faff and total cost of solicitor will be £5k max. She has earned every penny though. In this case I’d be checking the bill carefully although I’m unsure what if any recourse can be taken if the solicitor is executor too. I’d definitely be concerned though.