DIY Probate

Tuesday_Tenor

Sues48 wrote: »

I think the most difficult bit will be getting an appointment at the Probate office at a time that both myself and brother can attend,not so much for me as I only work 3days and live quite near, but for my brother who has a pretty "full on" full time job and lives about an hours drive away.

1) Consider Withabix's suggestion that you don't both apply for probate. Could be just you. Brother reserves rights.

2) Alternatively, you may be able to choose to go to a Probate Office more convenient for him, if you can travel. Last time my sister and I did probate we assumed we would go to the local (to Dad's estate) Probate Office in a Midlands town. However, they gave us a date MONTHS ahead because they were only being staffed one day a fortnight with staff from the Birmingham Probate Office! So of course there was a backlog! We were easily able to get a date much sooner by going to the Birmingham probate office instead. (Only 30 mins on train; didn't make much difference to either myself or sister coming up from London anyway.).
HTH

Savvy_Sue

Sues48 wrote: »

Does anyone have any experience of applying for probate without using a solicitor? How easy was the process and what problems if any did you encounter?

Very straightforward.

Sues48 wrote: »

we have been advised that we need to apply for probate before the house can be transferred into her sole name.

Do you actually need to make this transfer? We've left Dad's name: advice we received is that Mum can't sell the house without Dad's executors signing forms, BUT as she has no intention of selling then there's no particular advantage in changing the ownership.

John_Pierpoint

I have been the personal representative 5 times - starting aged 21.

The simplicity depends on the simplicity of the deceased's affairs, the quality of the record keeping, and the tax situation.

Don't forget that there is likely to be at least a part year for income tax outstanding, in addition to any capital tax due.

Work carefully through the steps keeping good accounts and correspondence files.

The "Which?" books are pretty good:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/What-To-When-Someone-Dies/dp/1844901270/ref=pd_sim_b_6

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Wills-Probate-David-Bunn/dp/1844901335/ref=pd_sim_b_2

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Giving-Inheriting-Which-Essential-Guides/dp/1844901181/ref=pd_sim_b_4

If you get stuck, we are here to help.

Some estates can turn up nearly every trick in the book before they are settled.

Try pasting the following into Google:

“Mr Dog” site: forums.moneysavingexpert.com

PennyForThem_2

Yes, you will need to ensure that his tax is sorted from April 2012 to date he died.

I found the tx office really really helpful. I made an appointment for 30 minutes advice, but what the young lady did was to take me step by step through filling out the form and I ended up with 4 questions I needed to answer before submitting it. She pencilled in all the details for me too - some of the stuff they had on their computer.

Probate was fine too though I had to read the form and guidelines several times. I used excel spreadsheet to work out all the maths (simple adding and taking away mostly but I am never very good with that)

Sues48

I'm not sure about the tax TBH, his income wasn't high enough to pay income tax. We are taking mum away for a weeks holiday on Saturday, so will have to look into this further when we get back.

Sues48

Savvy_Sue wrote: »

Very straightforward.

Do you actually need to make this transfer? We've left Dad's name: advice we received is that Mum can't sell the house without Dad's executors signing forms, BUT as she has no intention of selling then there's no particular advantage in changing the ownership.

The solicitor who drew up their wills has advised her that it needs to be done, she has contacted the land registry who have advised that there is no charge for this but can't be done until probate has been granted.

trulys

I have recently been through the Probate process following my father's passing earlier this year. It is a fairly simple process. Fortunately my father left notes of all his various accounts and policies, so it was quite easy to contact everyone who he held money with and gather all of the necessary information.

One recent change to the Probate process for personal applicants, which isn't widely known of, was made in March 2012. Since March, applicants do not need to attend an interview at the local Probate Registry, and can choose to swear the oath at a local solicitors' office instead. To do this, all you need to do is write "Solicitors' office" in the chosen venue section on the Probate application form. Assuming the Probate Registry are happy with everything, they will send you the Oath which you can take to a Solicitors/Commissioner for Oaths, and swear the same for a fee of £5 for the Oath, and £2 for any exhibit (the copy Will). This is a lot easier than having to travel to a Probate office, which isn't always in your home town!

Search for "Justice - How to apply for probate" and see the section headed "At a commissioner for oaths" for more info. Sorry, but I can't post the link as I'm a new user!

John_Pierpoint

Thanks "trulys" for publicising the new fiscal year arrangements for swearing the oath to obtain grant of probate, which could save the executor(s) the expensive and time consuming journey to a court venue.

I found the information on the http://www.justice.gov.uk web site confusing though in terms of logic, from the court's perspective, it makes sense:

The search gives the following options:

Apply for probate (without a solicitor)

12 Apr 2012
Apply for probate ( without a solicitor). Share this. ... A guide for applicants acting without a solicitor. This guidance is produced to help you obtain probate if you have decided not to employ a solicitor. www.justice.gov.uk/courts/probate/obtain-probate

Applications for probate

26 Mar 2012
How to apply for probate. Share this. ... The charges made by a probate practitioner ( either a solicitor, notary or barrister) to their clients vary according to a number of factors ( including the complexity of the case),..... www.justice.gov.uk/courts/probate/applications

Only when one ventures into the second of these links is this information revealed:
At a commissioner for oaths

If you chose to go to a solicitor to swear the oath you may be able to swear your papers closer to your home or place of work than if you attend at a probate venue. The probate office will send the oath to the first named applicant which they must then take to the solicitor of their choice. All applicants will be required to swear the oath. The commissioner has no involvement either in your application or the administration of the estate; your only contact with him/her will be for the formal swearing of the oath – normally no more than 5 minutes. A charge of £5 for each oath and £2 for each exhibit is made by the commissioner for this service (an exhibit is any document referred to in the oath and usually consists of a will in these circumstances). You will need to contact the solicitor to make appropriate arrangements to swear the oath and you will need to take ID with you. If you are outside England or Wales, different charges may apply and you may wish to check the fee beforehand.

So the message is "go to the court appointed venue if it has convenient opening hours and does not involve appreciable travelling costs - otherwise pay an appropriate solicitor to administer the oath" ?

Court venues here:
http://hmctscourtfinder.justice.gov.uk/courtfinder/forms/pa04-eng.pdf

[In my experience of two recent estates the journeys were home counties to Lincolnshire & Hampshire to meet co-executors and swear the oath.]