Probate advice, timings etc

[Nitgel]

Hi

We saw a Solicitor last Tuesday and left the will with him and he said he would write with additional information needed. We have not received this so called today and will go in and see them later.

Is it usual for Probate to take long? What would the process we should expect from a Solicitor? My senses tell me that waiting a week for the letter isn't a great sign.

We are not in a great hurry but obviously would like things to be clearer. Can we cancel this Solicitor and get another? We have left the Will with them.. tia

For the letter you are waiting for, I assume this is the initial letter of engagement with info about fees etc? I would think a week to get that is on the longer side of things.

For getting probate itself it will take months. There was a massive backlog before Covid even began at the probate registry because they changed their computer systems over and screwed it up. Covid exacerbated that significantly. Your solicitor ought to be able to give an updated real time guestimate though. The time involved may change if there is inheritance tax to pay for example.

But if you want to change solicitors and start again then I would tell them and ask them for the return of the will. Give them a deadline.

Hope it all goes smoothly.

Oh, and as a semi guide, a family member died just before Christmas and we do not have probate yet. There is an inheritance tax bill to pay though and shares to be liquidised to pay for it, so it's taking a bit of time.

I’m not clear why you have taken the Will to a solicitor, is it complicated? Are you the executor? To get probate, if things are straightforward you can apply for this direct (if you are in England).

www.gov.uk/applying-for-probate

The process of probate can take quite a while even if things are all in order and straightforward, particularly at the moment. We had to wait months for mum’s to be granted.

We took the Will as it was sent to us by Mother in Law's Solicitor who retired and closed the office.

I was wondering if we could just apply ourselves. Her house is sold already to pay in part for the care home...

The will is really straightforward DH is an only child.

should we apply ourselves?

I think you could do. See how much the Solicitor's fee will be and get the will back if you don't like it. Don't sign any kind of client letter with the solicitor first, even if it comes.

When my parent died , they had investments and a house . I decided to do the probate myself . It is perfectly doable.

I did my Dad's probate, it came through at the beginning of August, death certificate was issued in late November after his death in mid October. His bank account paid the IHT. I'm awaiting the bulk of the funds from bank and pension co, should be cleared up by the end of the summer. Already had some pension benefits paid to my siblings and I which were not covered by the estate.

It's fairly easy, if longwinded to do it yourself but I reasoned I would be the one supplying all the info to the solicitor so would have to do most of it anyway, so I decided to do it, and it was what my dad wanted (he died suddenly and unexpectedly in his early 60s).

Doing probate yourself is really just a matter of administration. List of who you need to contact to advise of the death, send certificate, when certificate returned.

It is entirely doable, you need to give the solicitors the details of who to contact in any case. Bank accounts, investments etc. Much better to DIY so you know what is happening.

You can use a solicitor for individual tasks like processing the sale of the house and updating the register in the usual way.

Good luck. It's a great service to do someone who can never thank you. Snd good to absolutely know what is happening.

we have the will back and the letter from the solicitor. it seems ok.

We have a problem though, the Executor of the will (mil's solicitor) has retired and they have sent to us Grant of Probate and deeds however the Solicitor needs to get the original executor to denounce will. (I think)

How would this happen if he has retired and would the letter sending the grant of probate be evidence enough? it's really confusing

I did my FIL’s probate, but I was Executor. The Probate Office are very helpful if you want to ring them, they will tell you exactly what needs to be done, although new Solicitor should also know. Does the Will not say who should handle the Estate if the present Executor cannot. We have this in place in our Wills.

FIL died last Feb and we got Probate through in around 12 weeks. He had a house to sell and some money. Didn’t have to complete the complicated inheritance tax form, as he was under the inheritance tax threshold.

If there are no other residuary beneficiaries and there are no IHT issues then do it yourself

Solicitors can take forever ...

they have sent to us Grant of Probate

I am guessing this is FIL GoP, or has original solicitor already applied for probate on MIL Estate?

But yes, do probate yourself if you can, it is very straightforward, I did my mums.

I believe the probate office has a good helpline, they should be able to tell you what you need off the retired solicitor.

Did they send you the actual Grant or the piece of paper you have to sign basically an affidavit? (Which essentially identifies the deceased, the value of the estate and if an IHT for is due).

because it usually takes a great deal longer than what your timeline going by the thread seems to be. If there is any doubt then it is worth clarifying with the solicitor.