Will. Money being withheld?

[Dickanddom]

I’m wondering how long a will takes to be settled in England. No property to sell. Probate took a year. It has been 2 years since it has been granted. The solicitor told us not to contact them at the beginning but I’m starting to worry that something is amiss. Is it normal to take this long? I don’t have a good relationship with the executor so cannot ask him. Huge thanks

I'm Scotland but my DF died without a will, but even with that process to sort out, then sell the flat we all received our money within 13 months of his death.

Probate is slow nowadays but 2 years after probate with no updates is worryingly slow. Hope you get some information soon.

The solicitors hold clients money in their own client account and transfer it plus interest to the beneficiaries when the estate is distributed. For large firms banks will set it up automatically so the client get x% and the firm gets y%

In that case you should be able to work out from the probate form and his will how much you can expect. Did the FA see these documents?

Yes that’s how I know it will be 50k. The deceased wanted to ensure I had enough for a house deposit. He asked the FA to double check his calculations.

Depends - there might be debts you don’t know about. Did the deceased claim pension credit for example - they might be waiting on hmrc or other govt body to confirm. If I was the wealthier executor I wouldn’t be distributing anything unless I was absolutely sure it was clear to distribute as I could be personally liable if I made a distribution I shouldn’t have.

@slowbam You can partially distribute and 2 years is ludicrous with no contact. If they have probate they can get on with it unless a property hasn’t sold.

The deceased was living with me when he passed so property to sell and he was a former accountant so really prudent with his money. He never had debt and was proud of this. I’ve rung the solicitor but she’s been busy all day. Have to say I’ve lost hope of ever seeing the money. Will update when I receive a response.

That is not true. If the funds are sitting in the solicitor's accounts they will be accruing interest. The solicitors will not benefit from that.

Keep calling.
At least twice a day.
If you are continually told she's not available, ask when will she be.
If you still get brushed off, go and camp outside their office first thing one morning, barge your way in when they open the door and refuse to budge until you have answers...

Has the house been sold, keep ringing, if no response ask for the senior partner. Email too so you have a paper trail.

Sorry he was living with me so NO property to sell. He had sold his house 10 previously and moved in with me so I could care for him. He was in poor physical health but mentally very sharp.

Apologies I didn’t proofread earlier.

FWIW I have been an executor twice now. The process has taken 18-24 months with selling investments, deeds of variation, beneficiary checks and the endless uselessness of HMRC. If you get nowhere with the solicitor contact the managing partner of the firm (if there is one) and complain.

I definitely wouldn’t give up hope at this point. - it’s just before Christmas, lots of people have got flu etc. Pursue hard, don’t let it go.

I think you'll get you money, just no one's on a hurry to give it to you, and unless I've misunderstood you haven't nudged them until very recently

Three years seems a crazy long time.

I'm not sure about UK law, but here an inheritance is held in a solicitors trust account and earns interest which is paid out on distribution. After 3 years you may get a sizeable top up with the 50,000 quid.
Definitely keep on at the solicitors!!

If all accounts have been closed and transfers to the solicitors accounts made then they are getting interest and taking the piss

My cousins solicitors did this and ran off with the inheritance about £60,000 /£80,000 they kept every client waiting, building up their pot of money and scamming everyone. One day they were there the next they were gone.

Ive done three probates all myself ( I’m not a solicitor and it’s not my job)
Two involved house sales and everything was distributed in just over a year . The other with no house sale but lots of stocks and shares and complex financial setups in Guernsey took 9 months

You really need to get them to distribute the inheritance or threaten them with another solicitor

The link below estimates probate to take 9-12 months on average, depending upon complexity. It seems that you're going to have to get your own solicitor to investigate and force the issue since they're obviously avoiding the work at hand.

What is the probate process and how long does it take?

Even the contentious/disputed probate I had to deal with with several court hearings was settled within 18 months. 3 years feels extraordinarily long!

I’d actually make an appointment with the solicitor. Or the boss!

I’d be borderline harassing the solicitor!

Maybe write to them and say you would like to make a formal complaint over this and that you are considering going to the legal ombudsman (I think that’s who you complain to)

OP, the executor has a legal duty to pay beneficiaries of the will if there’s sufficient money, so hassle the solicitor! It is, though, the executor’s responsibility. If you get no joy from the solicitor, then write a polite letter to the executor, followed by a solicitor’s letter if you get no joy. I thought that legacies were automatically disbursed, until DH discovered that his late brother had left his DC a small legacy that the widow had simply failed to pay out. He made enquiries and it was paid - but I have no doubt at all that had he not written, then his DC would still be waiting!

There are may instances of Solicitors embezzling funds from the client account. A law degree does not mean you're honest.