How long does it take to get probate

HMRC has a time-limit to pay the tax due on the estate.
I think that may be a better avenue for you to take.




As far as my own experience; My Father acted as his friend (I shall call him "Fred") and former boss's financial advisor throughout his latter life.
Just so you have an idea of the background to this for use later in the tale;

This benefitted Fred considerably.
For good governance, Fred asked his Business Accountant to look over his new investment strategy to ensure he would not not better off making other arrangements (something every investor should be ding regularly).
My Father was completely supportive of this and said it was exactly the correct and proper thing to do.

Duly the Accountant apparently told Fred he was extremely fortunate and that he had benefitted from my Father's advice and guidance and that financial professionals might not have come close to the money he had made for him.
When Fred retired and grew older his Nephew also went through a similar process and ended up asking my Father for financial guidance which was given, though not to quite the same level (he was much older by then and starting to have concerns over his own financial abilities and changes within the industry).

He has also taught my Brother and I (I am getting 15% to 20% a year from quite a tame investing strategy).


Anyway, back to the point and to answer your question.

Fred thought he was doing my Father a service by not asking him to also Execute his will.
He thought it would save my Father time and effort.
My Father however would not have minded and had all Fred's records in good order and filed away and was aware of his wishes, nearly all of which were in his Nephew's favour.
Fred's Nephew is a great guy (we have now also become friends) but my Father followed his Uncle's wishes and allowed his Solicitor to execute his now considerable (several millions) will.

Something my Father has done previously and could have done in a matter weeks for his friend, ended up taking his Solicitor well over a year.
My Father found he had still not sent off all the death certificates after a year.

Fred's Solicitor charged appropriately for the extra time he was involved (that my Father would not have needed).
My Father estimated that over £120k more than necessary was charged to the estate for "legal fees".
Odd how that seems to happen more often with estates that "are better able to support it".

My Brother and I will execute the family estates.
Our parents have their affairs in good order;
Everything is written down with instructions for how we should proceed and we regularly review them with our parents.
We have done the same for our own estates.
We have also researched the procedure and feel confident of applying for and obtaining Probate in convenient and prompt fashion.
Ultimately we are in HMRC's hands, but at least we will not be in the hands of a Solicitor* and any extra time we might need will not end up lining the pockets of someone our parents did not wish it to.

*I am not anti-solicitors nor wishing to prolong a negative and mostly unwarranted stereo-type.
I am merely relating an incident of which I have some knowledge.
My own business solicitor was involved with me for almost two years (I've now sold the business to my partner) and insisted on taking very little financial compensation for work and efforts he made on our behalf during that time.
He also entertained me and my partner on numerous occasions, alternating paying the bill at the end of the lunch/evening.