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Original poster

Grant of Probate waiting times

83 replies

NobbyButtons · 02/05/2023 11:47

Just wondering what other people's recent experiences are with waiting times for the Grant of Probate. My mum died in November and the probate application was submitted in late January (14 weeks ago now). Apparently it's still waiting to be processed. We keep being told it can take 16 weeks to issue the Grant of Probate, but the government's 'Search probate records and find a will' service shows it often doesn't take anywhere near that long, and I was speaking to someone last week whose application took 8 weeks.

OP posts:
catndogslife · 03/05/2023 15:43

Still waiting here for a probate application submitted in November to be processed.

Original poster
NobbyButtons · 04/05/2023 13:51

catndogslife · 03/05/2023 15:43

Still waiting here for a probate application submitted in November to be processed.

Oh no, that's not good to hear - such a long time to wait.
It's frustrating as the buyers for the house are ready to go but we can't exchange or complete before getting probate.

OP posts:
Linnet · 06/05/2023 19:59

I’m waiting to hear about one which was submitted in October.

ShanghaiDiva · 06/05/2023 20:06

Also November and received last week.

Cattenberg · 06/05/2023 20:38

It varies a lot, but it can take months. What’s soul-destroying is that the Probate Office doesn’t seem to be under any obligation to provide a timely service to applicants, so you just have to accept it will take as long as it takes.

A very experienced estate agent I know actually thinks it can be counter-productive to chase up cases, as apparently it annoys the staff! That said, it can sometimes be worth checking that anything you’ve sent them has been received and your case has been updated to reflect this.

For example, when I was waiting for probate to be granted for a property (not mine, it was further up the chain), the estate agent chased. The Probate Office told him they were waiting for the applicant to send them a particular document. The estate agent asked the Probate Office to look for this document and sure enough, they had received it some time ago, but had not updated the case to reflect this. 🤦‍♀️

Personally, I think property sellers should wait until probate has been granted before putting the property on the market. Putting a property sale (or chain) in the hands of an organisation which can’t and won’t be hurried is a risky move.

catndogslife · 07/05/2023 10:53

That's encouraging @ShanghaiDiva
We have found out that our application was held up by a "missing" document which was mysteriously found when the solicitor chased it up. No timeline for how long it will take now though.

Luckydip1 · 07/05/2023 10:55

I think you need to allow a year at the moment.

Original poster
NobbyButtons · 07/05/2023 21:43

We were advised by solicitors and estate agents that we could put our mum's house on the market whilst waiting for the Grant of Probate. In theory it should have worked as the conveyancing and surveys take a few months, so can be done during the period of waiting for probate. Will have to hope now it will actually be the promised 16 weeks...

OP posts:
Original poster
NobbyButtons · 07/05/2023 21:45

Luckydip1 · 07/05/2023 10:55

I think you need to allow a year at the moment.

Just to get the Grant of Probate (i.e. not the total time to distribute all the funds from the estate?)

OP posts:
TheFlis12345 · 07/05/2023 21:45

I submitted a very straight forward application in October and have heard nothing yet.

InSpainTheRain · 07/05/2023 21:48

We submitted the application just before Xmas 2023, granted in early February 2023.

Clymene · 07/05/2023 21:49

Oh no, I'm really surprised it's taking so long.I honestly thought things were better now. Ours was super fast (but we used a solicitor so not sure if that made it faster?).

Turquoisesea · 07/05/2023 21:50

My application only took about 5 weeks but it was very simple and only involved a bank account for my late mum as she was in a care home.

Original poster
NobbyButtons · 07/05/2023 21:52

It seems so random - granted in 8 weeks or still waiting after 7 months. We used a solicitor as well though I haven't been very impressed with them and wish I'd just done it myself.

OP posts:
BillyNighysWife · 07/05/2023 21:56

I did my one for my dad who died in October last year. It was very simple as he had no property and only one account. He had been in a care home and I had had POA. I got it in April. It took 16 weeks.

inloveandmarried · 07/05/2023 22:02

We applied for ours early last November and are still waiting. Seems to be a huge backlog at the moment.

CoachPiggyStardust · 07/05/2023 22:12

We’ve also been waiting since November.
We haven’t put the house on the market because there is no telling how long it’s going to take but trying to look after the house is time consuming.

Muchtoomuchtodo · 07/05/2023 22:28

We’ve just put an application in and been told to expect it to take a minimum of 16 weeks but not to be surprised if it’s 19 or more.

what’s going on? Power of attorney applications are taking ages atm too.

aramox1 · 08/05/2023 02:23

Got ours in 4 months late last year

User1685409 · 08/05/2023 05:22

Mine went in end of September, came back end of February, no inheritance tax. Thank goodness there was no house to sell. I remember a few years ago it took about 2 months and that was bad enough waiting to sell the house.

User1685409 · 08/05/2023 05:24

Is it to do with these excess deaths they keep saying about or is it a hangover from Covid that is causing these delays

smileyplant · 08/05/2023 05:28

We submitted ours in September and got grant of probate 28th February. Just submitted another last week and our solicitors suggested Sept/October before hear anything. I understand it's getting worse not better in terms of delays!

Luckydip1 · 08/05/2023 09:27

So what happens if you find a buyer, do they just have to wait?

Cattenberg · 08/05/2023 09:38

Yes, and their mortgage offer may expire. In my case, this meant getting a new mortgage offer at a much higher rate of interest. The family directly above me in the chain had to do the same.

Our chain did eventually collapse, although that was mainly due to the sellers at the top of the chain being CFs, and changing their minds after keeping everyone waiting for months.

I don’t want to sound unkind, but knowing what I know now, I wouldn’t buy a property awaiting a Grant of Probate. And if I found myself in a chain including such a property, I would pull out.

Muchtoomuchtodo · 08/05/2023 10:06

We also have a property to sell. For a variety of complicated reasons it’s been 6 months since the person passed away and we’ve only just been able to apply for probate.

We will not put the property on the market until we have received the grant of probate. Timescales of things are so unpredictable that we feel it would just add more stress and anxiety for all involved to try to market it and coincide the sale with probate being granted. It’s frustrating and we’ll have paid for insurance, heating and new council tax again on the empty property for far longer than we wanted to but there just isn’t any other way.