Late Dad’s Estate

[Beth1908]

Hi all - I am in the process of sorting my late Father’s estate and trying to sell
his house.

I have just received the first bill from my solicitor - very little has been done to date but the bill is extortionate. Almost £5k which is all his savings.

I’ve been charged £35 for every email, even emails where I’ve merely been polite and acknowledged his email (ie thanks for your reply). No action or question asked. Is this normal? Doesn’t feel fair or just at all!

Why are you using a solicitor? Is the estate very complicated? When my Mum died I bought a cd online that guided me through the process and gave me template letters to send to people like utility companies, etc. I did the whole thing myself, which was not complex but was a bit time consuming, and saved myself and my siblings about £8k. You need to get about 5 death certificates as everyone you deal with asks for one and can take up to 6 weeks to return it so just buy extra.

It is normal yes, my divorce solicitor was the same £45 for an email photocopying etc but it's straightforward to do it all yourself

@caringcarer @Greensleevevssnotnose unfortunately the solicitor is the executor. My Dad organised it like that as I lost my DH a couple of years ago so he wanted to take the pressure off. Of course done with love and kindness but I don’t think he realised the legal and financial implications

I'm a lawyer and would not charge for that. I'd suggest you challenge those elements of the bill that have not added value or progressed the matter.

I guess you know not to be polite in future!

Thank you @eurochick
Really good to know

I’ll have to teach my DD that kindness costs!! 😫

Sorry for your loss 🙂

We don't normally charge for emails-in and you might think we're doing nothing but we have plenty of files that are six inches thick - you'd be surprised.

(We were talking about this at work the other day because it often comes up and I was saying I should put a pic on here of some of our files!)

@Beth1908
Im sorry this is happening. Your dad couldn’t afford a solicitor. I think you need to speak to them and say not to contact you until there’s progress and action is required. If he’s only got £5000 in savings what on earth needs to be done now? Who is selling the house? Can you contact the agent re progress?

I guess the solicitor will make the sale decisions but you can ask for a scale of fees for the house sale. Then don't do much. You cannot change what has happened but you can ask not to be contacted unless there is a decision to be made. Ask what else there is to do and get a quote - if they will do that.

Thank you for your kindness @TizerorFizz
The house is being sold by their in-house estate agent (I was informed this would be cheaper) … they’ve charged me for an email between themselves. They sit next to each other?!

My Dad had to do equity release on his house so it is slightly more complicated than a standard sale.

Well they will have to pay back the loan but it’s only like paying off a mortgage. Try and get an idea of costs. It is annoying. I agree.

Thank you @CharlotteStreetW1

My Dad’s estate is very straight forward - he had very little and was extremely organised.

I organised everything for the solicitor (I learnt this after my DH died) - they even commented of how easy I had made it … really not sure how they can justify. Opening an email with two words: Thank You, cannot cost £35!

If it were me, I would challenge the bill. Were you provided with a scale of fees before they commenced work?

I believe (although may be wrong) that they should be following the solicitors code of conduct https://www.sra.org.uk/solicitors/standards-regulations/code-conduct-solicitors/ see point 8.7. You should be made aware of likely costs, so in my opinion you should have been made aware that receipt of an inbound email would be £35 from the outset. Check any paperwork that you have received from them in case the charges have been outlined and if not then go ahead and challenge the bill.

It may be different if your Dad is considered the client as he was the one to engage them initially and name them executor - hopefully someone that practices in this area can confirm.

If you find that you have not been given any indication of likely costs/fees then you’ll need to go through the official complaints procedure (this should be available on their website, or obtainable on request) and following that if you are not satisfied with the outcome you can take it to the legal ombudsman.

I would assume the estate is the client. My DAunt appointed a bank as executor. I had no idea of costs until I inherited my share of the estate. At that point the costs were given to those who inherited as an account of expenditure and how our share of the estate was calculated, tax paid by the estate, etc. Dad should have been given the possible costs when appointing them. DA’s estate paid over £20,000 in 1998. It was a fairly substantial estate but it’s a very expensive decision.

We charge in minimum increments of 0.1 of an hour, ie 6 mins.

If I touch the file/open an email/take a phone call from you that’s 0.1 on the clock minimum, or 10% of my hourly rate plus VAT.

Another solicitor here. I agree that a simple thank you email should not be charged for. Please complain and question the charges.
I do not know of any solicitors who have in house estate agents. I suspect it's just an agency they often work with and that they refer clients to each other. If they are going to benefit from the introduction to the estate agent they have to disclose that to you. Have a look at the solicitors code of conduct (in relation to that issue plus the overcharging).