Probate help required. Do not have a clue.

InNeedofHelp

My dad died last week. My mum & uncle (mums brother) have been named as executors.
We've gone through some things - phoning the death insurance policy. Tax office, funeral arrangements, phoning various companies.
My uncle was in touch with the solicitor today who dealt with my dads will & said that they want paperwork (not sure whether originals or copies) to deal with this "probate" thing. Insurance policies paperwork, pension paperwork etc. He said they're looking to get a final figure of my dads "worth" basically.

From the sounds of it, it's ANYTHING to do with money.

My mum gets all flustered with money so the collection of paperwork etc is likely going to be where i'll need to help.

* first thing is, FINDING a lot of this paperwork is a task. Dad had a lot stashed in a briefcase type thing, but he also had papers in cupboards etc. What if we miss something?

* What do you include and what don't you include? There will be paperwork for the insurance policies & such like, but no paperwork on things such as vehicle values (the logbook's have now been posted off anyway, signing his 3 vehicles over to my mum, my sister & my brother).

* Is there a way to organise this paperwork that'll be beneficial to us/the solicitor? When i say beneficial, i mean to make things easier to work through, not money-beneficial.

* Just help in general on what we should do. What we should include, what doesn't need to be included, how we should piece it all together.

Many thanks to anyone who can help.

EDIT:

In case you're needing a rough idea on the will, it's as follows...

This is the last will & testament of "xyz" who lives at address "xyz" & the date is "xyz" revoking all former wills & testamentary dispositions heretofore made by me.

1. I appoint "Joe Bloggs" & "Mr. Smith" to be the executors & trustees of this my will

2. I give to my [daughter from 1st marriage] absolutely all my share & interest in the freehold property "address" aforesaid and the proceeds of its sale (this is the house he had with his first wife & said daughter, before my mum & any of us came on the scene)

3. I give all my property not otherwise disposed of by this my will unto my trustees upon trust to sell the same (with power to postpone sale) and out of the monies to arise from such sale to pay my funeral and testamentary expenses death duties debts and legacies and to hold the residue of the said proceeds of sale upon trust for my said wife [my mum] for her own use and benefit absolutely

4. It is my express wish that my said wife [my mum] makes arrangements to continue such payments (if any) that i was making at the date of my death until such time as those payments would have ceased in any event in accordance with the agreement i entered into to sponsor a child with "organization".

In witness whereof i the said [my dad] have hereunto set my hand the day and year first before written

Signed by the testator as his last will in the presence of us both being present at the same time who in his presence at his request and in the presence of each other have hereunto subscribed our names as witnesses

Signed:

dad
witness x1
witness x2

EDIT: I've just noticed that OUR house doesn't get mentioned in this will. Only his first house. Or does #3 address the house we currently stay in when it says "all my property..."?

TonyMMM

My advice would be to take your time - these things do not need to be done immediately, there is no rush. It is quite normal for the granting of probate to take months, if not longer.

Also - if your mum and uncle are executors , what is the involvment of the solicitor ?

I dealt with the will and probate when my father died, and although seemingly a complex thing to do, it was actually quite straightforward and easy. Getting a solicitor to do it for you is an option, but can be a very expensive one.

**curlywurly**

Agree with TonyMMM about using a solicitor - this is something you can do yourself, and it will be very expensive to involve a solicitor.

I can highly recommend this book: http://www.amazon.co.uk/What-When-Someone-Dies-Essential/dp/184490072X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1317844950&sr=1-1 which will guide you through what you need to do in order to obtain probate.

InNeedofHelp

Thanks for the replies.

The involvement of the solicitor is because i don't think my uncle & mum are sure/confident in what they're doing. I don't know. I know this would be the case most certainly with my mum though. She gets baffled over basic maths bless her.

I know the solicitor said that in my dads case, the fee could range from about £300 to £900/£1000. My mum appeared to be quite pleased with this as she was expecting £1000s - £10,000s, but she's a terrible worries (saying that, so am i).

Thanks for the link on the book, i'll tell her. If we go for the solicitor option though, what should we do?

As for taking time - the whole ordeal is something we want to get through. We don't want things hanging over us. My dad wouldn't have 'hung about' either, he'd have got on with it & would've wanted us to do the same. It'll be more beneficial (emotionally really) to get these things tied up asap.

**curlywurly**

Be clear about the solicitor's charges, and what the estimate includes. Many solicitors charge on a percentage basis for dealing with an estate when the majority of the work is simply form filling (ie they will charge x% of the value of the estate).

I suggest you get the book, and work through it. You need to make a list of all your dad's assets - bank accounts (current and savings), ISAs, pensions (work, personal, state), insurance policies etc. List them all down and then try and find a policy/pass book/statement for each. Look at a few bank statements and see what direct debits were going out - car insurance, house insurance, telephone, council tax, magazine subscriptions etc. Then list all those down. Create a standard letter to write to all these organisations, get a lot of copies of the death certificate, and send a letter to each. Keep a list of who you are sending letters to, and chase up after two or three weeks.

Some organisations will want an original death certificate (or a "certified" copy - the solicitor can help with that). Some will be happy with a copy.

It occurs to me that the actual house your mum lives in may have been owned jointly by your parents as "joint tenants" (which means that upon the first death it automatically passes to the survivor, no matter what the will says) but this is something you need to check. The Land Registry can help with this, and there is also a form to fill in to transfer it to the sole survivor.

It all sounds like a lot of work. It's not quick, but it doesn't take a genius either. One step at a time.

Finally, sorry for your loss, and apologies that I didn't START my earlier post with that.

Curly

Errata

* first thing is, FINDING a lot of this paperwork is a task. Dad had a lot stashed in a briefcase type thing, but he also had papers in cupboards etc. What if we miss something?

Go through the house with a fine toothcomb and gather any and all paperwork together. Sort it into piles depending on what it's about. List what you think should be there and isn't. Ask your mum what she thinks should be there and isn't. This will give you a base to start from. Take your time, it's not a competition.

His first house is bequeathed to you, and everything else is "I give all my property not otherwise disposed of by this my will unto my trustees upon trust to sell the same (with power to postpone sale) and out of the monies to arise from such sale to pay my funeral and testamentary expenses death duties debts and legacies and to hold the residue of the said proceeds of sale upon trust for my said wife [my mum] for her own use and benefit absolutely". So your mum as executor , with the agreement of your uncle can postpone the sale of 'everything else' indefinitely - it would appear.
NB funeral expenses have first call on an estate, followed by debts, if any, then the bequests are made from whatever is left over.
HTH

ETA if he and your mum were joint tenants then the house automatically becomes hers, as does any money in joint bank accounts.

InNeedofHelp

Thanks guys.

I think we did that land registry online. Is that possible? We paid credits for some .pdf file i remember, which said that both my dad & my mum own this house together. It had a map of the area too with our house boxed in red (detached).

Errata wrote: »

His first house is bequeathed to you,

I'm his son from his second marriage. I think you may have misunderstood me for his daughter from his first marriage?

Savvy_Sue

There is nothing to stop you doing the work, as long as your mum and uncle are prepared to go to the probate office to sign the forms. Alternatively they can step down as executors in your favour. The book will have info on that. The Which guide is also good, and you might be able to get either from the library, but make sure they're recent editions.

Armchair23

In the not too distant past I did my step father's and grand father's probate. They were both pretty easy to do and the online HMRC and phone help were useful and appropriate.

My husband died a couple of months ago, and although I have gathered together probably all the information that is needed to file for probate I've asked a solicitor to do it for me. I absolutely do not want to have a 'wobble' and end up with endless correspondence and grief.

From what I can see probate is mainly information gathering. The next part is translating that into the data that fits on the relevant forms. If you are happy with form filling and boy do the HMRC have a form for you then go ahead and do it yourself.

Most importantly take your time if you can, I know there are some time limits, but they aren't weeks. have a good sift through everything and it will probably all become clear.

Errata

InNeedofHelp wrote: »

Thanks guys.

I think we did that land registry online. Is that possible? We paid credits for some .pdf file i remember, which said that both my dad & my mum own this house together. It had a map of the area too with our house boxed in red (detached).


I'm his son from his second marriage. I think you may have misunderstood me for his daughter from his first marriage?

Sorry - I misread. You need to find out if your parents owned the house as Joint Tenants (each of them owns all of it and it automatically passes to the survivor) or Tenants in Common (each owns a percentage, very often 50/50).
HTH

InNeedofHelp

Who tells us this? The solicitor?

I loaned that book that got linked from amazon, from the library today.

I've only had chance to have a quick scan through it but it does seem like a minefield. Saw a flow chart. I was able to answer some of its questions, but others were "i don't know" & it's often tail off to "seek professional help". I'll be able to make a better call once i've fully read it.


A workmate of my partner said to her not to go to a solicitor regarding probate as they will charge so much & instead go to [insert wherever she said here - my partner can't remember]. Where else would you go?