Solicitor slow over probate

Trix2

Hi Maggie, thanks for your reply. I'm so sorry it is all taking such a toll. I do understand what it is like, H and I have had health problems. It's one of the hidden costs, and something the solicitors don't seem to acknowledge at all.

I tried writing a response but it became so very vicious when referring to our solicitor:mad:, I think it is better if I quote yours in response.


If solicitor has been very slow, it's possible to complain via the Legal Complaints Service. We are waiting to see if we get a bill from S1 - if we do we will most certainly be making a complaint and also asking the LCS to look at it.

I contacted the Legal Complaints Service (practically wept over the phone to them - v. embarassing) and in response - They forgot to send out the complaints pack. How like solicitors. I will have another go when we are finished with this bearing in mind the huge bill (£30k) based on a value at the height of the share boom.

S2 is hoping to transfer the shares at their value at time of deaths -......

Beware selling anything before you get the shares. Get proper advice. We ended up paying tax on a share that had made money. Our broker, trying to cash it in on a high, actually cost us more than it would have done otherwise. Possibly our fault as we didn't understand the impact of this - but then neither did our solicitor tell us.

So we're still waiting for the shares - some have dropped to about a tenth of their value at the time of deaths.

We just have to hope they go up again - I know we paid a phenomenal IHT bill because the shares were on a high when H's Dad died, and don't think there is anything we can do. If they were worth what they are now we wouldn't have had to pay IHT at all!

Are you finally through the maze yet?

We had got final Accounts, although there have been 3 different versions of these - none of which we really understand. I believe that when HMRC has finally ok'd the most recent one we should be finished. Mind you I thought that at the beginning of November, and here we are in January. It would have helped if the solicitor had not paid the wrong amount out on one of their bills from the previous year.

Very best of luck with the flat clearing - I know how painful and uncomfortable it can all be. In fact I cannot think of my in-laws house any more. I only remember the problems, the dementia etc, and not any of the good times, which is a huge shame.

We are both completely and utterly worn out. I spend most of my time muttering "Oh dear, oh God, sorry" and in a state of free floating anxiety.

I completely understand the anxiety. Both my husband and I have been suffering and our health has deteriorated over the past year and a half, in a way that it didn't when we were actually looking after his parents. I think it is to do with wanting it all to be over, when it really should be. My best wishes for your improved health. Just keep laughing - it is the only way.
Husband joked he felt like graffiti-ing front door to S1's office with "Incompetant b*****d inside"! My suggestion was "abandon hope all ye who enter here"! :rotfl:

See my suggestion in the title!

The money for the flat will be sent as a cheque to S2, and I'm hoping they will then feel able to pay out the rest of daughters' inheritance and also money left to husband .

With regard to this - a possibly useful suggestion. We wrote to the solicitor and asked what the situation was with regard to protection, if the money was still in their account. Amazingly they paid out most of it - except for a sum probably designed to make sure we didn't refuse to pay them.

Very best of luck with it all. Hope it is over soon.

ukmaggie45

Trix2 wrote: »

Very best of luck with the flat clearing - I know how painful and uncomfortable it can all be. In fact I cannot think of my in-laws house any more. I only remember the problems, the dementia etc, and not any of the good times, which is a huge shame.

Hi Trix, not sure how I will feel when we go to the flat for the final time tomorrow. Last time we found a bag full of papers which we'd overlooked, so I went through it yesterday. It was awful. Found a share certificate, which we think is now defunct, but husband has sent it to S2 anyway, plus S2 can sort out the postal re-direction for us without needing the death certificates.

Also found a lot of other painful stuff, most of which I have now shredded or otherwise recycled. But some of it we have to hang on to for now. It just brought it all back. I got horribly drunk, and have a hangover today - serve me right I guess! :rolleyes:

S2 contacted S1 about the death certificates, and he insists he only has a single one, not sure if it was for mother or father. We gave him 3 of each as we'd been warned it was a good idea to have more than one, so we got 4 when we registered the deaths - one we kept, and 3 to S1. Yet another indication of his incompetence. :mad:

Trix2 wrote: »

I completely understand the anxiety. Both my husband and I have been suffering and our health has deteriorated over the past year and a half, in a way that it didn't when we were actually looking after his parents. I think it is to do with wanting it all to be over, when it really should be. My best wishes for your improved health. Just keep laughing - it is the only way.

Thanks for that - here's hoping that you and your husband's health improve once things are finished for you.

This is completely and utterly off topic, but it really made me laugh like a drain yesterday! So here's Star Wars: Retold by someone who hasn't seen it. Perhaps it isn't completely off topic since we are talking of laughing our way back to health! Gotta be cheaper than prescription drugs!

Trix2 wrote: »

Very best of luck with it all. Hope it is over soon.

Thank you. Likewise to you.

Trix2

Hi Maggie

Thanks for the kind wishes, and especially the 'reduced' Star Wars. Made me laugh too!

Hope the hangover:p is wearing off. Sometimes it's the only way:beer:

Cheers

Trix

localhero

Maggie,

I'm not sure if this is relevant to you, but if any of the shares that have fallen in value have been sold, then you are entitled to a refund of the IHT that you paid at the higher, probate value.

The rules are that 1) the shares must be sold within 12 months of death, and 2) this may not be a selective claim; if a loss on the sale of one shareholding is offest by the gain on the sale of another, the two must be taken together.

Any claim for repayment can be made using form IHT 35.

I'm pleased everything is now proceeding smoothly for you now. :T

ukmaggie45

localhero wrote: »

Maggie,

I'm not sure if this is relevant to you, but if any of the shares that have fallen in value have been sold, then you are entitled to a refund of the IHT that you paid at the higher, probate value.

The rules are that 1) the shares must be sold within 12 months of death, and 2) this may not be a selective claim; if a loss on the sale of one shareholding is offest by the gain on the sale of another, the two must be taken together.

Thankyou Localhero, it's not actually relevant for me as we haven't sold any of the shares, and it's now nearly a year and a half since parents died. But good to know, and this may well be useful for others.

localhero wrote: »

I'm pleased everything is now proceeding smoothly for you now. :T

Thank you! :beer:

We had a phone call from the conveyancing solicitor (S1's partner!) earlier to say the money for the flat has been paid. Husband called estate agents, and they were just handing over the keys to our purchasers.

I have to say that I feel quite strange about it all, as I have written elsewhere on the forums.

Cheque will go to S2, husband will check it arrived OK on Monday. He sent a letter to S2 the other day (posted on Tues/Wed) with the postal redirection form, and old share certificate (prob defunct, but best S2 has it), and a cheque for dividend and tax voucher from one of the shares, it hasn't arrived yet.

Am beginning to feel a bit paranoid about mail to S2 going missing - if you remember, the first Deed of Variation signed by S1 didn't arrive.

And not exactly cheered up by attempted scam on my current account via debit card (now stopped, just waiting for the new card to arrive).

Ah well, such is the rich tapestry of life I guess! :rolleyes:

Trix2

Hi Maggie,

You are not paranoid about mail going missing - it seems to happen rather a lot in the case of some solicitors. Perhaps you could ask them to use recorded delivery, and then ask to see the record which S1 would have, if they had indeed sent the letter. At only 70p a pop, it shouldn't add too much to the bill, and would be a reassurance to you.

Sorry too, to hear about the debit card scam, we had something similar with cases of wine being ordered on OH's credit card. Someone had a good party on it anyway.

Thanks too to Localhero for their share advice. Too late for us as well, but I do hope that others going through this will read through the thread and take notes. These are all things you should be asking your solicitors. And make note of the replies too - with dates preferably.

Best of luck Maggie. And to keep you updated we got a letter from our solicitor yesterday with the 4th set of Accounts, and more IHT (but no explanation). What joy! But our nasty letter has had some effect. It only took a week and a half to get a response as compared to an average of a month. Nearly finished - fingers crossed. Hope the same for you.

Trix

dzug1

Solicitors tend not to use the ordinary mail for correspondence between themselves and others in the legal/financial sector.

They use a thing called DX, a private mail service run (or was at one time) by a firm called Hayes.

I suspect mail going missing is as often the solicitor losing it rather than deficiencies in the mail or DX.

maggiem

Good luck Maggie - this seems to have been going on for ages! I do hope you manage to get evetything sorted out soon. Although you're feeling a bit sad about the flat at least you won't have to keep trying to visit and check for damp!

angelapops

Forgive me for jumping in Maggie But I worked in the Tax Office many years ago and its my understanding that P60's will not be supplied for tax tear to date of death. So if you have the details of payments made up to the require date just put those on the ITR.
The Revenue in any case will have those details already on the records. I hope this is helpful for you.

Angela

angelapops

Should have read Tax Year!