Solicitor dragging heels over probate application

[Rockschooldropout]

My father sadly died six weeks ago and I’m his only child and sole executor, only other relatives apart from my children are his elderly brother and sister (both in their eighties )
mum and dad divorced 44 years ago

In my grief stricken state my DM suggested I use a solicitor to look after the estate and apply for probate so I appointed one a week after dads death and got back to them within a week with the value dads estate (approx 400000) His house and remaining estate after beneficiaries are paid goes to me so no IHT is payable
it’s straightforward , a bank account and savings account (already released to me and in an executor account ) Premium bonds , quite sizeable and released already but in the same account until probate is granted , plus the house and a building society account which requires probate .
I passed these figures over weeks ago , yet when I rang today with a query the solicitor said he was waiting for my information gathering to apply for probate , I reminded him I’d done this and he was quite short with me and said he’d need to prepare the paperwork and get me in to sign it .. I can’t believe this hadn’t been done already !
Im wishing I’d just put the application in online now as I realise I could have done this easily , Can I tell them I’m applying myself ?

@Solpa it’s looking more complicated now as I have to fill all the inheritance tax forms out and this has to be five first .. then a code must arrive .. before then applying for probate

@ShanghaiDiva Thank you that’s really helpful

Annoyingly now because if the solicitors delay it’s going to be three months before I can even get the probate application in .. I’m so annoyed ..
I certainly think I’d rather fill all the eleventy billion forms myself than wait for the solicitor to apply for the code then sit there for ages not applying for probate when the code arrives

I would cancel and do it yourself as it’s simple. My Nans was simple to do and at one stage my aunt said let’s use a solicitor. So my dad went online and found the paperwork, most of the stuff it was asking for, the solicitor would have needed to have asked my dad and brother for anyway! So you’d be paying them to ask you the same stuff. Waste of money with a straight forward one.

You do have to provide the IHT forms first, annoyingly even when the estate is well below. It's doable though. Just be methodical.

We applied for probate last June and paid £8.5K, which was 10% of the IHT due. Probate has still not been granted as there is apparently an unprecedented backlog.

Yes most people I’ve spoken to seem to be saying they are still waiting a year later 😩

I used a company called Farewill and would highly recommend them

they offer different packages from just doing probate
to doing the whole estate / selling the house

I got all the info that was needed ( they send you a list)
sent it off to them and they dealt with everything i only used them as part of the house was in a trust from when my mum passed away

took 7 weeks to get probate
cost around £600 in 2022

they gave me weekly updates by email

I did my mums when she passed away in 2019 and it took about 5 weeks

@Rockschooldropout I sent both forms off by post, along with Will, they didn’t need anything else. I think I got the code straight away as I seem to remember I did it all very quickly. Unless it’s changed since I did mine a couple of years ago.

Ok so new solicitor says she’ll get me in on Friday morning to sign initial forms (IHT400 etc etc ) and then send off .. but given they’ve done nothing bar answer a few phone enquiries and send a letter to council tax after they insisted I had to keep paying council tax on the house .. I’ve lost faith , new solicitor in sister firm seems more on the ball and has actually asked me all the questions relating to the probate application that the other one didn’t bother to do .. not sure whether to terminate now and do it myself as my one worry is that when the code is received .. they won’t do it quickly .. if I’d known what I know now I’d have never engaged a solicitor as I could have had the actual probate application in by now

Ahh that’s helpful thank you , it’s taking longer now due to huge backlogs , I need my dads will from them and am slightly worried they’ll drag their heels with a final bill if I terminate now and refuse to release the will until paid

I’m notice you have to apply for a reference number but assume I don’t need to as their is no tax to pay if I’m claiming NRB

There not their

Admittedly I'm not in the UK but the solicitors here dealing with both my parents' probate got onto it within a week of their deaths. That is an unacceptable delay OP. I would be asking for the bill to date and getting someone else to deal with it, or deal with it yourself if you wish to do so.

My thoughts exactly .. they seemed proactive at the start , asked me to get house valuations and dads accounts .. I had all that given to them a month ago !

If someone else has taken over, I do
wonder if the solicitor you had at first is leaving/being given his marching orders!

but given they’ve done nothing bar answer a few phone enquiries and send a letter to council tax after they insisted I had to keep paying council tax on the house
Of course if you DIY then you have to do all the admin. Again it's just a question of being organised and ticking off all the people you've contacted, then following up at intervals. I found the council pretty helpful, also water and utilities.

Well I’ve been doing all that anyway .. I’ve notified , filled forms out the lot .. I’m not sure why I engaged a solicitor 🙈

It took more than a year to get probate after my DM died and that was with the services of a professional. It then took years more to gather together all assets and split them between me and my brother. It was the sort of nightmare I wouldn’t wish to leave to my children. All very hard from start to finish.

@TorringtonDean I think what this thread is suggesting is that using the services of a professional slows it down.
Of course if there is a very large or complicated estate (which yours probably was if it took years to liquidate the assets) it's essential, but for most people with a property and some investments it's possible to DIY much quicker.

@solpa my point is it isn’t quick however you do it. I think the OP will have to realise it will take some time and six weeks is no time in the world of probate.

I get that but it would help if the application had actually been submitted !

I did have IHT to pay, so forgive me if I’m wrong. I did probate myself so feel I have a good handle on the process. Even if you know there is no IHT to pay, I believe you still need an IHT ref number which you apply for on the gov. website. Only when you have that ref number can you start the probate application as they are linked together. My reference number took 3 weeks to come though.
Your solicitor may of already applied for that ref number, in which case you need that detail too from them if you are going to do it yourself.
If your used to do self assesment and it’s not a complex estate then I think you’ll be more then capable of doing it yourself.

I think it's generally considered that applying online is quicker than paper forms and that using a solicitor takes longer and you also have to provide them with the info, so might as well do it yourself.

I’ve spoken to a few people who have used solicitors and their applications seem to take much longer