Probate and solicitor possibly dragging their heals.

mooman1000

Back in March my nan passed away, not quite a shock as she had been ill from around xmas but gut wrenching none the less. My Mum, Brother and myself knew about the will and all savings/cash were to be divided equally (no property as she lived in a residential home and all items were for my mum).

So it started, they asked us all to prove our ID for money laundering purposes, easy for my mum and me as live locally however my brother is in London was told to get your local bank to fax the relevant info down to them.

Fast forward to July 14, Mum calls at 9 to find out if probate has been completed, their answer not heard anything yet, 9.30 gets a call its done you will have something in 2 weeks, my mum was told the full amount we each would get and how the much the bill would be for. Eventually something is available on the 5 August (1/7th of the total amount and funnily a nice round number no odd pounds or pence), cheque arrives in the post the next day, however upon opening the file they say my brothers photocopy is no good as cannot identify him easily so no he has to make the trip of some 170 miles just to sort this out (obviously no one opened the file until they needed to).

I call up the solicitor today to ask when we are likely to see the rest of the settlement and he says 6 weeks?? and also mention the bill and really didnt get a clear answer just that one would be sent when ready to my mum.

So things I am puzzled about:

1) 1st payment a nice round number - as i recall from my nans accounts my mum and i looked through there was no account that held an amount divisable by 3 to make even payments to the 3 of us, so where have they got this from?

2) How can they pay some money and not the rest - all saving were either bank or shares so should have easily settled.

3) Are they dragging their heals, if so what is the best course of action.

I know this will be difficult to answer as each case is unique but would be handy to have something to back to him with or just keep my mouth shut for the time being

Elaine_Wilson

As they have paid out some money I assume that probate has been granted.

The round sum payments seem to be on account so you wonder why this is. They may not have received all the money in. I agree that bank deposits should cause no problem but cashing in shares may be delayed if the certificates were not available. Another reason could be that they are retaining money to cover possible liabilities. Tax is the usual one that springs to mind. They are probably awaiting clearance from HMRC about this.

They could, of course, just be rather slow at dealing with this. We are in the holiday season and they may give priority to larger, more complex cases.

If they hold on to your money for a certain length of time (which varies with the amount of money held) then they have to pay interest on this. The Law Society has a scale which is probably published on its web site.

For the moment, though, I'd probably give them the six weeks and then ask for an update. If the answer then is vague ask what assets are still to be realised and what the retained money is intended to cover.

mooman1000

Yep probate has been granted which is why we have had something just strange not to get it all or an odd amount.

They have already told us there is no inheritance tax to pay as quite a bit under it and after looking through my nans finanaces, the only thing to pay was the phone bill so should be easily sorted.

As an example, my workmates nan died 3 days later and everything was left to him mum, house, savings, shares bank etc the lot and it was all sorted and transferred to her over a month ago (maybe we should have had them).

Mrs_Organised_2

mooman1000 wrote: »

Yep probate has been granted which is why we have had something just strange not to get it all or an odd amount.

They have already told us there is no inheritance tax to pay as quite a bit under it and after looking through my nans finanaces, the only thing to pay was the phone bill so should be easily sorted.

As an example, my workmates nan died 3 days later and everything was left to him mum, house, savings, shares bank etc the lot and it was all sorted and transferred to her over a month ago (maybe we should have had them).

I worked at a solicitors in conveyancing, divorce and then the dreadful probate. To say I hated it was an understatement. People do drag their feet especially banks. Usually we would pay something on account and that would be a nice round figure. Once all the bills from funeral directors and HMRC etc were in then we would do a full account showing whom and what were paid and then we would pay the beneficiaries from the residual estate. One thing to watch is your solicitors bill - everything should be time costed and at the outset you should have had a letter with costs etc from your solicitor. If you think the bill is high, ask to see the file so that you can see the amount of work that has been done. Occasionally even basic probate work would cost more as certain people i.e. banks took at least 5 letters before they responded and that all adds to the costs. Another problem would be that the HMRC would need to see that your nan had not paid out any cash lump sums at least seven years before her death otherwise that would be subject to inheritance tax. I would defintely check your solicitors bill, in my opinion it appears to have dragged. If you are not on a fixed fee with your solicitors and the bill is high ask for a renumeration certificate. The Law Society stipulates that this must be available. Solicitors dont tend to like this course of action as it is a way of justifying their time and costs. I would stress that I have not worked in this field for 5 years so the law may have changed, it constantly evolves. Good luck and push the solicitors twice weekly from now on - they may get the message!!!!! Good Luck:j

sloughflint

Elaine_Wilson wrote: »

If they hold on to your money for a certain length of time (which varies with the amount of money held) then they have to pay interest on this. The Law Society has a scale which is probably published on its web site.

They do pay interest on funds between closure of accounts and distribution. When I queried the rate, I was dissatisfied with it so requested for funds to be immediately passed to the beneficiary which was done ( some 11 months :eek:prior to finishing the case and being billed). That is why I cannot understand Op's problem.
Some serious pushing required, I feel.

sloughflint

Mrs_Organised wrote: »

People do drag their feet especially banks.

People do drag their feet especially [strike]banks[/strike] solicitors.

I am sorry but I could not resist. I did all the donkey work prior to a complication that required solicitor input.The matter dragged on for months. I assumed things were progressing in the background. I eventually started to query the timescale. Nothing had been done at all.
Agree with you on your last point:
Chase Chase Chase!

sloughflint

Thinking about your brother. If the bill was to go to your Mum, I'm guessing that she was executor to your Nan's Will and the three of you are beneficiaries.
As executor, I did have to prove my identity ( photocopy was enough) but the beneficiary did not if that's any help. Not sure which solicitor is behaving correctly on that score.

That is a minor irritation though. I'd be more concerned with the payment if you already know what sums were involved.
Why a cheque? Was there no explanation letter with the cheque?

mooman1000

None of us are the executors just the beneficiaries it was decided by my grandparents that the solictor would be so we did not have the stress of sorting it all out.

About 2 months ago they told us roughly how much we each would get would be about (high) £x0,000 and that the final bill for their services would be 3k but as yet nothing in writing, do not even think my mum has had a letter explaining their charges.

My mother-in-law used to do probate for 20+ years and thinks this is a bit odd (but didnt want to say anything) however she said they really can drag their heals if you start to kick up a fuss.

sdooley

If your mum is the executor they will be more likely to be responsive to her requests for information as she is the client. Beneficiaries have absolute rights to information only where the firm of solicitors is the executor (although it is good practice to give out information directly to all parties if the client, i.e. your mum, gives permission).

If they pay out too early and a debt showed up your mum would be on the hook - they may be waiting for statutory notices to creditors (in the newspapers) to expire.

sloughflint

mooman1000 wrote: »

however she said they really can drag their heals if you start to kick up a fuss.

On the contrary, things start to move once you kick up a fuss and book an appointment to see the named solicitor for complaints.

mooman1000 wrote: »

None of us are the executors just the beneficiaries it was decided by my grandparents that the solictor would be so we did not have the stress of sorting it all out.

About 2 months ago they told us roughly how much we each would get would be about (high) £x0,000 and that the final bill for their services would be 3k but as yet nothing in writing, do not even think my mum has had a letter explaining their charges.

My mother-in-law used to do probate for 20+ years and thinks this is a bit odd (but didnt want to say anything) however she said they really can drag their heals if you start to kick up a fuss.

It's all rather strange then. Your Mum should not get a bill. It should be deducted from the estate.Also strange to verbally give you figures.
You say nothing in writing? What about with the cheque? No explanation?

I'd book an appointment and get clarification.If not satisfied, see the 'client care' partner.

mooman1000

The only thing that came with the cheque was a letter saying :

"We are pleased to enclose our cheque in the sum of £x being an interim distribution of residue. Kindly acknowledge safe receipt."

My mum is coming up to see me tomorrow so will have a word with her about it as she does not know I spoke to him and have been given the '6 weeks' before its all sorted.