My grandma died today

Dan-Dan

Hi All

our grandma died today , we were live in carers , at the moment things are a blur but the best way is too stay busy..

So far we have seen the undertaker and made all those arrangments, we then phoned the solicitor who has the will in their strongroom , who called me back to say that myself and my brother were executors and trustees

She said we can let the solicitors `do everything` or we can DIY , she sounded strongly againts the latter , we know my Nan left her house to us , and that is the only assett she had , she had no money

I am not thinking that we should get the solicitor to do things for us , at £180 an hour , especially as we dont know et what we will do with the houe anyway , and aparenly the solicitors bill comes at the end of the `process`.....what happens if we didnt wnat to sell for a year or so..??

Anyway , i think that we should apply for probate ourselves and only get the solicitors involved when we have to..

has anyone got any pointers , advice , or questions

would love some thoughts from others

Dan

Polmop

No pointers for you, but so sorry for you all

Dan-Dan

Thanks polmop , she was 91 , and pneumonia got her , before the dementia got too bad , for which we are greatful, it doesnt seem to matter that she `lived a long life` and other such nice things , when it happens , it seems just as painful as if it was a younger healthier person

Mojisola

Dan-Dan wrote: »

I am not thinking that we should get the solicitor to do things for us , at £180 an hour , especially as we dont know et what we will do with the houe anyway , and aparenly the solicitors bill comes at the end of the `process`.....what happens if we didnt wnat to sell for a year or so..??

Anyway , i think that we should apply for probate ourselves and only get the solicitors involved when we have to..

Main advice - nothing has to be done in a hurry. Give yourself some time to let it all sink in. When someone you have been a carer for dies, it's such a massive change in your life that you need to be kind to yourself.

Don't get pressurised by the solicitor. It sounds like a very straightforward will and you'll probably be able to handle it yourself.

If you want to start with the practicalities - look for the Which? books - "What to do when someone dies" and "Wills and Probate". If you get them from a library, make sure they are the latest edition as the figures change from year to year.

Dan-Dan

thank you , not rushing is really good advice (along with the comments about the which books!)

thank you

one general question , when someone passes and they leave a will , is it ALWAYS probate required if the value is over 5k?

so everybody has to find the £105 fee etc if they are named as executors ?

RAS

Hi Sorry to hear your news

I would do very little about the will and probate until after the funeral and then give yourselves some time.

What (very roughly) is the value of the house? This affects whether you need to pay IHT and therefore the timescales in which you need to work.

What is the relationship like with brother?

Things I would do sooner rather than later.

Read all the meters as this will help you identify any debts of the estate.

Depending on how soon the funeral is, talk to your brother about putting the Council Tax in your names, as you are the current occupiers. And get a couple of estate agents in to give a free valuation for a probate sale, so you establish the value for probate purposes.

It is actually reasonably easy to do probate yourselves, but you need to agree these actions with your brother before you do them.

RAS

Dan-Dan wrote: »

thank you , not rushing is really good advice (along with the comments about the which books!)

thank you

one general question , when someone passes and they leave a will , is it ALWAYS probate required if the value is over 5k?

so everybody has to find the £105 fee etc if they are named as executors ?

If there is a house involved, you will need probate unless you were joint tenants. Unless you are survivors of a joint tenancy, you cannot transfer the house into the names of the inheritors or sell it without probate.

Mojisola

When you go to register the death, take advantage of the "Tell us once" service - https://www.gov.uk/tell-us-once

Dan-Dan

RAS wrote: »

Hi Sorry to hear your news

I would do very little about the will and probate until after the funeral and then give yourselves some time.

What (very roughly) is the value of the house? This affects whether you need to pay IHT and therefore the timescales in which you need to work.

What is the relationship like with brother?

Things I would do sooner rather than later.

Read all the meters as this will help you identify any debts of the estate.

Depending on how soon the funeral is, talk to your brother about putting the Council Tax in your names, as you are the current occupiers. And get a couple of estate agents in to give a free valuation for a probate sale, so you establish the value for probate purposes.

It is actually reasonably easy to do probate yourselves, but you need to agree these actions with your brother before you do them.

Hi RAS

Thank you for your time
My relationship with my brother is really good
The value of the house is roughly between 250/300k , there is NO money to speak of in her bank account , literally £250 odd

When i ask the EA to come in , do i tell them its a valuation for probate or just pretend iplan to sell with no further details ?

Things we were planning to do between now and the funeral were:

Contact the gas company
Contact the electric company
Contact the water company
I have previously sent them proof of POA so i will give them my bank account details IF they agree to transfer the account to my name , of final readings if we must close the accounts

Use the `tell us once service` after registering the death , and i kno that the CTAX office are a mandatory dept that receives that notice so i amasuming they will generate a bill to `the occupiers` and send it to us...

have i missed anything...?!

Jewels-L

Hi Dan

I am so sorry to hear your sad news. I am sure you will get good practical advice from people on here but I just wanted to say that my aunt died in October and I applied for probate myself. It is a fairly time consuming process, with lots of forms to fill in for inheritance tax, but I found it to be quite straightforward - just take your time and do what is required when. The Probate Registry are there for advice and of course, this forum.

I didn’t feel the need for a solicitor and glad I dealt with it myself. I was actually granted probate yesterday.

Best of luck

Dan-Dan

Thanks Jewels , i am glad you have got probate now!
just a question , did you do the oath at a solicitors office ?