Is my probate solicitor being dodgy?

[PJ04JCW]

Long story short; mum died in Jan, got grant of probate a few weeks ago. Solicitors have been generally slow and useless, and now want me to sign over the contents of mum's bank account (£12,000ish) into theirs and they will transfer me 'the change'.
I am highly suspicious of this so wondered if I could tweak the letter, get the money sent to the executor's account I have opened, and ask solicitors to send me their bill along with copies of will and probate?

I have already told solicitors I want to be the one who writes to the other couple of beneficiaries with cheques from my account and this has been agreed.
Any advice gratefully received!

Of course they're not "being dodgy". They're doing their job. You either instruct them to act, and let them get on with their job, which involves them calling in the assets, working out who gets what, and then distributing it between the beneficiaries (why you want them to pay it all to you first and you then pass it on the the beneficiaries I don't understand, but presumably you have your reasons), but they need to take their fees out of what they bring in (make sure they have been very clear to you about how much they will charge - I'm sure they have).

Hi PJ

Solicitor here, this sounds pretty normal. The transfer from your mum's account should be made to their firm's client account and there are very strict professional rules on the use of these accounts.

You should certainly ask them to send you the details of their bill before it is paid along with a breakdown of their bill (so you can query any excessive charges). You should also ask to see a copy of the Estate Accounts - these are a complete set of accounts they'll prepare detailing the assets, liabilities and how the estate has been distributed.

Hope that helps!

Best, Alex

Another solicitor and that is usual practice when you have instructed a firm to deal with an estate, so nothing dodgy in it. Even if they take the costs and send you the balance, you can still query the bill.

Who is the Executor? If it is the firm then they will carry on as it is their job to sort. If it is you then you can tell them that you are going to gather in the assets and deal with the remainder of the estate yourself.

When you say their account I assume you mean their client account. A client account us a completely segregated account that they won't take money out for themselves. The industry is highly regulated. People do t tend to get away with being dodgy.