Posting this for my dad as he’s executor of his fathers will. He’s doing DIY probate as solicitors fees were extortionate - it’s not a small estate and they wanted approx 15% of the value of the estate.
We sent the probate application form off, along with the original will, 8 months ago. The original will had a (signed and dated) cover letter stapled to it by my grandad and so we left this attached as per the advice on the PO website. This was sent tracked and signed for and we know it arrived there and was signed for.
We’ve heard nothing from the Probate Office at all and, despite a lot of chasing, they have been impossible to get hold of on the phone or via email but Dad finally managed to speak to someone today. They’ve lost the bloody will.
The absolute clowns that work there have scanned the cover letter that was attached to the will, but not the will itself, and no one can find the hard copy. The person Dad spoke to at the Probate Office suggested it might have been destroyed.
Dad kept photocopies of the original will but the Probate Office are saying they’re no good and they won’t accept them.
The Probate Office seem unwilling to help and have said that Dad needs to get a solicitor and have them deal with the estate as though there is a lost will. They’ve said that they won’t be paying any costs that Dad incurs in doing this.
Where do we stand on this? There are a number of properties in the estate that need to be urgently sold as he’s now having to pay council tax on them, and none of the investments can be released to the executor without proof of probate as they’re quite large. There’s also a sizeable IHT bill to pay.
In short:
What is the usual process when the PO lose an original will?
Who does liability rest with? If we have to get a solicitor to sort this out is there any way we can force the PO to pay costs? This is a loss directly arising from their stunning incompetence.