How to get help with probate etc

[BlueButterfliesAndPurpleStars]

Hello

Uck sorry, pressed post (far) too early!

My mum died just over 2 years ago. I was left her flat and other assists. My grandma (who is very poorly with terminal cancer) was the executor. So I was meant to be sorting stuff for her but lots of other stuff has happened and I've just shelved it. I really need to get it all sorted for my own mental health (not to mention the moment that would be released would be life changing for my girls and I!).

But I have no idea where to start and if I can get any help with this. Free help ideally, but if it needs to come off the cost of the estate that would be fine. As long as I can get things sorted.

Wasn't sure if here was the best place to post as the initial legal stuff is one thing but the final clearing of the flat / selling etc is a whole other thing. It all feels wrapped up on itself.

My grandma doesn't have much time left and I know how much it would mean to her for me to sort it before she goes. Plus I'll then have everything to sort from that too.

Can anyone help me get started?

I'm sorry for all the typos. I've been gearing myself up to post somewhere and just blurted it out. Will try to spell check etc from here on out!

Sorry for your loss.

There is a really good forum on MoneySavingExpert forums.moneysavingexpert.com/categories/deaths-funerals-probate

The Which guide is also good www.which.co.uk/money/wills-and-probate/probate/diy-probate-a2us50s51q5v

You can do it yourself or appoint a solicitor. Many people do this without a solicitor and the forum can help. Do not let the solicitor take over as executor.

If you plan to sell the flat you will need a different solicitor (conveyancer). You cannot do this until you get probate.

I believe if your grandma is unwell you may be able to take over as executor. I assume you are an only child/sole beneficiary.

The first step is to gather together all the paperwork. Once you have all the paperwork start to work through the Which guide and ask the MSE forum when you have a question. This needs to be your priority.

Start to sort through the contents of one room. Just do 15 minutes at first and divide into - listed in the will, keep, gift (e.g. a momento a relative may appreciate), auction, charity, recycle, rubbish. Keep doing this and clear one room at a time . You may want to keep the property furnished until you sell it. However you can clear out cupboards and drawers etc.

There are House clearance firms that can help take furniture away and some charities take large furniture items. Be prepared that whilst furniture, ornaments etc. will be precious to you because of sentimental value in monetary terms the will be worth very little or even be considered worthless. This can be upsetting so be prepared.

HTH

Thank you so very much for the detailed and informative reply! This is exactly what I needed, and gives me more than enough to make feel like I can get this started.

Thank you, so, so much!!!

Glad I could help

@Alpinechalet that is NOT correct. An executor can only be appointed by Will. The executor needs to be removed by court or renounce their position before a beneficiary (usually the main residuary beneficiary) can take over as administrator.

Op please take legal advice.

Yes I’d concur. It’s a lot to take on yourself when you’re starting a knowledge of zero. It’s obviously already causing you stress so just pay a solicitor and take it out of the estate. It’ll cost you more in effort.

Thank you both! My grandma would be happy to renounce to me to take over, but as you say I'm working from zero.

I'll start sorting through all the paperwork (mum was a hoarder so doesn't help, have bags of the stuff dating back about 10 years!) and make some enquiries.

Thank you!

I’m using a company called Farewill to do the probate for my dad I’m happy so far 😂
I’m the executor I did my mums probate easily when she passed away but because my dad had a lifetime interest in the house I have to do a full inheritance tax form although no inheritance tax will be paid and I’m not confident that I could do it all myself although I did do my mums .

They have fixed fees so you know what you are paying and an online calculator so you can work out what it may cost you

You pay a £150 deposit and the rest when the estate is settled
They tell you what you need to get - they give you a check list
So for my dads probate I needed to get a copy of my mums will and get her probate certificate - marriage certificate & death certificate

For my dad I need to get his original will, his death certificate and other personal stuff like bank accounts pensions life insurance documents
I’m very organised 😂so I had absolutely everything in what my parents called the death file 😂😂
I was able to send screen shots of everything before sending original documents to make sure it’s correct .

The guy dealing with it said the hardest part of probate is getting all the stuff together as most people don’t have an idea where anything is and it can take time to order death marriage and probate certificates .

It’s costing £595, plus £164 for the court fees inc VAT
Hope this helps

From recent experience of a friend's parent dying the week after mine, and she doing her own probate application while I went with a solicitor- my advice would be to do it yourself. Hers came in 15 days, mine in July, 13 months later. And I was sole beneficiary of a very uncomplicated will.

Oh and I did ring around a few places to get a rough idea of the prices and quite a few want a percentage of the estate or several thousand pounds so I would rather have a fixed fee
My dad estate is simple and if it wasn’t for the lifetime possession trust I would do it all myself

@Geamhradh

From recent experience of a friend's parent dying the week after mine, and she doing her own probate application while I went with a solicitor- my advice would be to do it yourself. Hers came in 15 days, mine in July, 13 months later. And I was sole beneficiary of a very uncomplicated will.

That's interesting to know! Thank you! I'm pretty good at getting my head round things, and it's a fairly straightforward estate, just felt overwhelmed every time I look at the stack of papers!

@Wegobshite

Oh and I did ring around a few places to get a rough idea of the prices and quite a few want a percentage of the estate or several thousand pounds so I would rather have a fixed fee My dad estate is simple and if it wasn’t for the lifetime possession trust I would do it all myself

Thank you so much! That website sounds fab! With it being such a simple estate (minimum assets and a flat), well under IHT levels but a life changing amount for me as sole beneficiary, it feels like I "should" do it myself if it would costs thousands to get a solicitor to do it. This could be a great middle ground if I get stuck when attempting it myself!

I wish I'd read some of the threads on here first! Posters all saying that it was very straightforward and easy and came through in a few weeks. Also looking at the grants of probate online, I can see that mine is one of the ones to have taken the longest.
This week the solicitor finally said he can now get me to sign for the house transfer "but that's all at the moment"

I've done one recently as Executor. It has taken since the beginning of Jan to work through the paperwork, apply for probate and sell property. I'm about to start winding things up. Probate took about 12 weeks (they quote 8 but Covid means it's slightly longer). I did do it all myself. The Govt has good guidance on what to do www.gov.uk/applying-for-probate.
If you are acting as Executor it needs to be done formally. Your grandmother could choose to point a solicitor directly though and you could support instructions

This isn’t straightforward as you are not the executor so will have no power to make any decisions. You cannot appoint a solicitor, your grandma as executor needs to do this. I’m all for DIY where it IS simple, and was my own father’s and MILs executor doing the probate myself. But as I’ve said, this isn’t straightforward. Anything that comes your way is a bonus.

@BlueButterfliesAndPurpleStars
I did my my mums probate in Dec 2019 and got the certificates in Feb 2020 and I did it all myself
But it was very simple to do once I started
What I would do is have a look at what you need to together
But at a minimum it would be the original will and death certificate for your mother and her bank account details

My sister is a joint executor with me but she has wrote a letter confirming she is happy to let me deal with it

They also need ID from you so I had to upload my driving licence and passport to prove that I am me and I am the executor

Ah I didn’t see you weren’t the Executor that would make it more complicate
But I would still get on with getting stuff together
And sad as it is also get your grans stuff together as well it’s been very easy for me to deal with as my parent left me the “ death file “ 😂😂😂

My late DH and his DSis were named executors in their brother's will, DSis who lived a long way away, relinquished her job as executor to my DH by signing to this effect on the probate form. You can dowload the probate forms from GOV.UK.

@Wegobshite

Ah I didn’t see you weren’t the Executor that would make it more complicate But I would still get on with getting stuff together And sad as it is also get your grans stuff together as well it’s been very easy for me to deal with as my parent left me the “ death file “ 😂😂😂

Replying to this thread directly but also to everyone (who has been so helpful!) as the replies are similar in regards to me not being executor.

I think I'll def give that service a call, as it looks like potentially she wouldn't have to go in person to do the oath for probate? That's one of the main reasons for wanting to just do it on her behalf, as she's far too poorly (and pretty much housebound) to make that kind of trip. I could potentially just make sure I support with what paperwork etc is needed and work through it with her - she's more than happy to help in any way she can, and would be happy / able to make any phone calls / send letters etc, just has no idea how to do it either. No internet access but I could help her with that.

Or I could talk to them about how else we could approach it.

It's just really hard, as I don't want her to have to worry about any of it but have had a lot of other things going on - things are getting a bit easier now so might have the mental capacity!

In terms of her paperwork, she is the opposite of my Mum and has already made her own "death file" of sorts! She's so super organised. We've been through it multiple times and when the time comes it should be much less complicated.

I'll have a chat with the website without agreeing anything at first, then with my Grandma about everything I've learnt!

Thank you again so much for your input everyone! Sorry for not replying individually, each and everyone of you have been fab (though I'm sorry so many have had the circumstances to have to do this).

Good luck OP it’s stressful enough time without having to try and find bits of paperwork

I would email them and ask them for some advice .
If you outline the position of your nan Thad

the executor but not very well if she is happy for you to get get all the relevant information together on her behalf so it can be sorted out .

The hardest part is getting all the right stuff together

What I did as well was to print of the initial inheritance - probate form from the gov.uk website
And started to fill it out so I knew what I had to do
You can look on line on the website and it will tell you what you need to do
There is a calculator that calculates if you need to pay Inhertance tax or not and points you to the correct forms to download

That might be a good starting point so you know what to get together
Oh and if you ring them HMRC the ones that deal with probate are very helpful