Use a solicitor for probate or do it all myself?

wife-spent-it-all

My dad passed away the other day and being an only child his will names me as executor and sole beneficary, therefore there will be no arguments over distribution of assets, etc. My mum died a few years ago leaving all her things to my dad.

My dad had a number of investments (mainly ISA's) - i'm still going through the pile of paperwork so its possible their may be shares, and then there is his house which is fully paid for and worth about £100K. I would say that ISA's and bank accounts may be worth in the region of £30K or so and they are probably with a number of different organisations (Lloyds, Nationwide and maybe some others) as well.

I know I will need probate, but is this something i should do myself or get a solicitor to handle it for me. I dont mind form filling and chasing things up but if sorting out the above is likely to become a big hassle then should I get a professional to do it?

NAR

Sorry for your loss.

The estate is well below IHT levels and sounds reasonably straightforward, so I would suggest you do it yourself. Read the "sticky" at the top of this section, which contains a lot of useful info on what to do. If you get stuck you can always ask questions here and I'm sure good advice will be forthcoming.

RAS

Hi

Sorry about your loss.

Since IHT is not an issue, you can take your time sorting this out. and with one beneficiary, scopwe for arguenment is limited. No need to a solicitor. However, if there is a specific problem, you can always book a single appointment to clarify the rules.

If you were not advised to do so, get several certified copies of the death certificate, as the account providers will require them. Most account providers will release small amounts (less than £5000 although one bank set the limit at £25000) to the executor on sight of the death certificate and will.

MotownFox

When working in Probate I found it better to use Original Death certificates as some organisations will not accept copies, even certified ones.
Original Death certificates as long as ordered when registering the death cost the same whereas they cost more when ordering these later.

Apply for Probate yourself, I would say, you need this to deal with the property. You can ask for help when needed either on here or if it needs more expert advice you can try asking on one of these legal advice sites or a local Solicitor.

wife-spent-it-all

Thanks for the quick replies. Seems like its a resounding DIY job so thats the way i'm going.

pattycake

My father passed away in October last year. My brother and I were executors and sole beneficiaries. The estate came in at just under £200k.

We decided to give DIY probate a go reasoning that if it was beyond us we could always turn it over to a solicitor. We did not look at it until after Christmas, giving ourselves time to grieve. It was surprisingly simple. Within six weeks we had the Grant. We did not attend court but took the oath at local solicitors.

TonyMMM

Definitely do it yourself, I found it surprisingly simple to do - but take your time, there is no rush.

Mrs_Supersaver_1

I'm sorry for your loss.

Please register your fathers' death before you do anything else. You will need a green slip to arrange the funeral.
I have just paid £4 each for death certs, if you go back and re order the price would then be £10 each.
I went directly to my local jobcentre who were very helpful, copied my husbands death certificate and certified a further 2 copies FREE of charge, I have used the 'certified copies' without a problem.

I am completing Probate on my late husband. Do a google search and get your PA1 forms together with ?205IHT forms - lots and lots of free information on the web:
www.hmrc.gov.uk/inheritancetax and a phone helpline:
0845 3020900.

PA1 forms - Probate Application Form into your web browser.

As soon as you notify the banks etc. all accounts are 'frozen' from the date of death.
Do not struggle about paying the furneral expenses, your furneral director can issue you a 'bill' and you take it to your dads' bank who are able to release the funds for burial/cremation.
Hope this is of a little help, if not come back and ask.
Let us know how you are getting along. Hugs.

billieboy_2

Hi, so sorry for your loss. I agree with what everyone else has said. My mum died November 2010 and I was advised by a solicitor friend to do it myself. It was really easy. You can get all the forms you need on-line and the probate office is very helpful as is the HMRC website. I got half a dozen death certificates at the time of registering the death. Most institutions sent them back straight away. The main bank account will usually release a cheque to pay for the funeral costs (made out to the funeral director). I reckon I saved over £2,500 doing it myself. My condolences again.

getmore4less

Go to the library and get books(check the dates some things change over time) on probate

as has been said the 2 forms you start with are

PA1
IHT205

There are notes that go with these that explain how to fill them in

Get the forms and do a trial run ASAP to get you started with the info you need.

As well as the IHT there will be tax returns to DOD and for the period of administration, these should be simple but may not be obvious imediately.
Form r27(HMRC) deals with the tax to DOD. I just sent a letter for the administartion period and HMRC sorted it out.

There is no rush but I found it theraputic to do the reading and start the process.

Goldiegirl

Hi, I'm sorry to hear that your dad died.

I just wanted to mention I was in a similar position when my mum died.

I obtained probate myself and found it all quite straightforward.

As getmore4less said, there is something quite therapeutic in doing the paperwork and writing the letters.

If you don't mind a bit of paperwork, then you'll have no trouble doing it on a DIY basis