Probate services

[Estherpologist]

I've seen several solicitors advertising probate services, but if you've got the time to do it yourself, are they necessary / worth it, and what do they tend to cost?

(No one has died ... yet - I'm just trying to know what I'm likely to have to deal with, so no need for expressions if sympathy.)

If an estate is simple then you can do everything yourself. If it's got more complex bits and/ or you don't want to deal with certain aspects, you can get a lawyer to act. Even if you appoint someone they don't have to do literally everything - ie no need to pay someone else to write lots of the letters if you're happy to do that yourself.

I've done several estates, only two of which I was executor. It really isn't that difficult unless the estate is unusually complex.
What you will find if you employ a solicitor is that you still have a lot of the drudgery to do, finding out what assets / pensions etc the person had because the solicitor isn't going to go round and search the drawers. It will also take infinitely longer with a solicitor.

You can usually do most of it yourself, certainly if the estate is below the IHT threshold. If over, it may be worth paying a solicitor to do the tax form; they may spot, for example, that some assets qualify for Business Property Relief, or advise on the timing of selling shares etc.

For simple estates, it’s pretty straightforward to obtain the Grant of Probate and you have control over the timing.

I did my mums last year took me a day to do it all once I had all the stuff
It was easy made easier because she had a will
I think I got it back within 6 weeks but this was pre covid
Now it will probably take 6 months 😂😂😂

Thanks all. That's reassuring.
Having spoken to a solicitor today it sounds like it's an expensive way to pay someone else to fill in a couple of forms and pay some bills while you wait for probate to be granted.
Does that sound right?

I've done probate for my mum, and then helped DH with both his parents. If it's a straightforward estate, it's very simple to do yourself.

My sister did our parents. - she found it easy enough. However my DH has found getting everything together to do his mothers estate very difficult. So he has handed it over to a solicitor. Some banks and financial institutions and one creditor have made things immensely difficult. (We wish she hand died having spent the lot).

MIL died in June and for various reasons it was decided that probate should be handled by the solicitor. Her estate is very simple, no IHT to pay, some outstanding bills. We were quoted £2k.

If the situation had been different we would have handled it ourselves but as there is some complexity with BIL (long and boring story) we are doing it 'properly'.

For info, we are still waiting for Probate to be granted (it's been 12 weeks since the forms went in).

@SedentaryCat. Sorry for your loss.
Hope you don’t mind me asking, but we’re you given any indication as to how long it might be? Thanks.

@Bargebill19 We were told 3 to 6 months - there's currently a backlog due to Covid so it might take a little longer.

Sorry to hear of the loss of your DHs mother and that her estate is proving difficult. I hope things are resolved soon.

I know what you mean when you say you wish she'd spent it. I wish MIL had been required to sell her house to fund her care. Our situation would be much easier.

@SedentaryCat. Thank you for replying - much appreciated. I was guessing we may be looking at nearer a year - so anything g less would be very good. Solicitor firm has been brilliant for other purposes, so we will leave it to them to argue with other institutions and ‘earn’ their fee. Just I can see the sisters expecting us to give them their share out of our own funds before it’s all sorted.

I found it straightforward to do it myself. All info is on gov.uk websites. Other family members can make it difficult, so if you think they may respond better to solicitors it could be worth using one. However I imagine people can still dig their heels in and make things awkward even with a solicitor.

I've done two lots of probate this year, and unless there is a complicated or contesting family, it really is straightforward. I did dads IHT and probate submissions online in one evening (obv it had taken a few weeks to get the house valued, account statements, pension finaly sum etc etc) and mums took me a few days to do the IHT forms as I was using transfers of allowance from dad.
It took 8 weeks for dads to come back, 2 weeks for mums, and they died during lockdown 1

@NeedToKnow101

Exactly (and one of) the reasons we’ve opted for the solicitor. Everything is just being passed/directed to him to deal with. I would rather pay his bill than have the extra stress at the moment.

I keep seeing mentions of "if it is/isn't a complicated estste". Other than disagreement between executors, or no will, what makes it complicated?

For us it’s banks asking for ridiculous amounts of ‘proof’ and licences we don’t have. Plus the time to chase people and jump through hoops causing additional stress which we don’t need right now. We also have a creditor who just won’t finalise an account because they “are too busy” . There may be trusts involved, or complicated will instructions, property, family arguments etc.

Complicated estates could be those with trusts (ending or starting), property overseas, people born overseas/ dying overseas even if resident in the UK etc. Also, family members appearing - someone I know has discovered that they have a half sibling after their joint father died, and as the will was 'divided between my children' it has needed DNA tests and various things (I don't know all the ins and outs, but it has been very stressful, and needed a lot of legal input)

@Estherpologist - what do you know about the estate so far? Then we can give more specific advice. Personally I haven't had any issues with banks etc; that's been very straightforward, just family members.

@Estherpologist

I keep seeing mentions of "if it is/isn't a complicated estste". Other than disagreement between executors, or no will, what makes it complicated?

Generally if it’s big with lots of assets to value. When we did my mum’s there was a house, a car, several bits of valuable furniture, some business assets - they all needed valuing and declaring. We handed it over to a solicitor for about £4K and it took about 9 months but some of that was our delay (clearing the house etc). If there had been no inheritance tax to pay, either because it was a smaller estate, or if it had been going to a spouse, I wouldn’t have bothered with a solicitor. Bear in mind that in the time between death and distribution the estate is a taxable “person” and needs to do a tax return in its own right if there is any income (e.g. rental income).

For simple uncomplicated estates probate is a form filling in exercise. I did probate for my dad. He had a house, an ISA, a couple of bank accounts and pensions and it was just me and my sibling as beneficiaries. It took about six months in total from start to finish (including house sale).
All the information and help you need is online.
For me it would have been a waste throwing money away to pay someone else to do it. And my dad would not have liked that

I think it's just banks, pension, a house and an old car, maybe a few antiques. No business, income, creditors or debts beyond utilities.
The only "complication" I can see will be IHT due to the house. Is IHT so complicated?

@Estherpologist

I think it's just banks, pension, a house and an old car, maybe a few antiques. No business, income, creditors or debts beyond utilities. The only "complication" I can see will be IHT due to the house. Is IHT so complicated?

Yes, IHT is pretty complicated. The risk you run if you do a taxable estate yourself is that you might get it wrong and face penalties. At 40% it’s one of the highest tax rates. Also, it’s a ball ache (you have to send the death certificate to basically everyone - my mum’s estate was about 30 institutions once you counted banks, water bill, gas and electric, mobile phone contract etc.). Up to you though if you have the time and don’t feel worried about it.

Sorry you had all that hassle, FudgeSundae. My dear mother died a month ago and I've handled all the switching of the everyday things like utilities etc. Nobody asked to see a death certificate other than the bank, and I scanned it and uploaded that straight to their website.

For anything governmental - HMRC (not IHT though, that's separate), Council tax, passports, driving licence etc - there's a service called 'Tell Us Once' which the registrar set up for me. You fill in a form with a ref number unique to you, and it notifies everyone in one go. The registrar advised that I probably didn't need lots of copies of the certificate because so much can be done digitally now.

Mum's estate is very simple (I started my own thread to ask for advice) and I plan to do it myself.

@Estherpologist - re: IHT. If the person had a spouse of civil partner who had already died, the IHT threshold (when it kicks in) doubles from £325000 to £650000 (even if separated, but not divorced). If property is given to children (or certain other relatives) the IHT kick-in threshold goes up further to almost a million.

The gov.uk websites do tend to take you round in circles a bit, but the info is there. If the Estate is under the IHT limit probate is fairly straightforward.