Solicitor got the "wrong deed of renunciation" so I can't get letters of administration

[vicmackie]

My mother died in January. Her will was with a local firm of solicitors.
As the amount of money involved was small and her affairs were very straightforward, the solicitors suggested that they obtain a deed of renunciation and that I take over the administration of the will.

They applied for and received a deed of renunciation and I submitted it to the probate registry in Oxford with my application for letters of administration.

Oxford probate registry then emailed me to say this: "Unfortunately the renunciation form from [your solicitors] is insufficient. As they have been appointed as executor and trustees in the Will, they need to renounce Probate and Letters of Administration with will on behalf of all the directors. (The renunciation enclosed with your application only renounces Probate)."

I have called the solicitors, been in to see the probate secretary twice, taken in a written request from Oxford DPR for a new deed of renunciation, and had no luck.

The solicitor insists that he has "contacted" Oxford DPR. Oxford DPR denies this.

Is it even possible to get more than one deed of renunciation? I have no idea what to do next and until I get LOA I can't finish sorting out my mother's affairs. Can anyone help?

It sounds as though the solicitors have not worded the deed of renunciation correctly. It should specifically renounce their role as executors and their right to a grant of letters of administration as well. Did you pay them for the deed? If so, I would expect them to rectify matters at no additional cost. The wording for the deed is in Tristam & Cootes (standard probate text which I'd expect all probate solicitors to own). Try phoning one more time and ask to speak to the solicitor who drafted the deed. If that doesn't work, write a letter headed "complaint".

Thank you so much for your reply.

I didn't pay for the deed - I expected to be billed but it never happened.

Is the deed of renunciation literally just a letter written and signed by the solicitors/partners? It took six weeks to get the first one, so I assumed it was a legal document that they had had to apply for themselves - I think I vaguely remember seeing that it had been issued by Brighton family court, so I assumed that the solicitors would have to apply for a new one and that it was just a process that took time. I told them I needed a new one five weeks ago.

But every time I've spoken to anyone at the solicitors's offices they've said "Mr X in Probate has written to Oxford DPR" as opposed to "Mr X has applied for a new deed of renunciation." If the original is essentially just a signed letter then I can see how a new letter would be acceptable to the probate registry, but I also don't understand how it could take the solicitors six weeks to write a letter the first time, get it wrong, and then take 5 weeks the second time. Is this normal?

It's not a letter, it's a document that is signed as a deed and witnessed. However, some probate registries will allow solicitors to correct some mistakes in documents by certifying the true situation in a letter, so it may be that the solicitor and the probate registry are trying to sort it out that way. It's hard to say from the outside!

The six week delay may be down to the fact that they're doing it as a freebie - the solicitor will be prioritising his paid work! I think you will just have to be persistent.

Ah, thank you for that explanation, I now feel like I can make sense of the situation!
I think I'm going to call the probate registry tomorrow and ask if they've had a letter from the solicitor and, if not, whether they would be willing to accept a letter as clarification or whether they want a whole new deed.

If they've not had a letter, or if they insist on a whole new deed, I will call the solicitors and ask if we can go from an unpaid to a paid basis, if that'll speed things up.

Thank you so much for your help.

Not at all. I hope you get it sorted.