Can't afford probate.

dzug1

!!!!!! wrote: »

I would have thought that the probate costs come out of the estate?

They do - but they have to be paid upfront and recouped later

Mrs_Supersaver_1

I'm sorry for the loss of your mum.

I do not understand why the 'executor' - your aunty is not stressed and doing all that she can to secure you a home? Surely she is sensible enough as a adult to deal with these things?
Could your aunty not go to the B.society/bank or wherever the mortgage is held and explain the situation with you? Or even take a loan of £150 to get 'probate' started?

I have just completed probate documents for my late husband, and with a straightforward 'wil' it is not difficult to fill the pages in, there is also a lot of help online/ phone support and guidelines you can follow.

Try making the above suggestions to your aunty, and failing that tell her you will have to go and live with her IF you are made homeless.
I am really surprised the mortgage provider 'probate team' have not been a bit more supportive, helpful and understanding with your situation.

I wish you well, try and get your aunty to be a bit more proactive, the 'will' situation is her respobsibilty as executor, really.
Good luck.

NAR

Rev wrote: »

The will basically says my mothers house passes to me, she had no money etc. .

!!!!!! wrote: »

I would have thought that the probate costs come out of the estate?

dzug1 wrote: »

They do - but they have to be paid upfront and recouped later

But if there is no money in the estate, as per OP, how can aunty recoup?

OP is there nothing of any value in the house that belonged to your mother that could be sold to pay probate?

securityguy

The will basically says my mothers house passes to me, she had no money etc. I have no siblings and she was never married. There is some mortgage to be paid on the house,

If you have no money, your aunt has no money and your mother had no money, just who was paying the mortgage? Out of what? And how do you intend to continue paying it?

It's certainly not impossible to get a mortgage without life insurance. But for someone old enough to have written a will in the 1980s, it would be very unusual for there not to be life cover over the outstanding balance.

Rev

My Aunty is doing all she can, she is almost 70 and has a part time job to make ends meet. I don't expect, or want her to get into debt on my behalf. And she'd be perfectly willing to put me up if the need arose. She has spent the last three months trying to locate my mums will, the solicitors that she used closed down and nobody seems to know where there documents went, a letter had to be written to the law society asking permission to accept the copy of the will given to my mother instead of the one in the solicitors because that's now classed as lost. She is and has done all she can.

My mother left no money, her and my combined income covered bills and food just about. Leaving no money is different to having no money while you're alive. We didn't buy expensive items because we couldn't afford them. The TV is about the only thing of value in the house, anything of value I had has been sold to cover day to day living, mobile phone etc. She didn't have jewellery etc. Her only 'luxury' item was a gold watch given to her by her parents on her 21st birthday. I'm not selling that.

Her life insurance just about covered funeral costs. She was disabled, I as her carer from the age of 6, I'm 33 now. The house is my home, its been my home all my life, it's all I have left of my mother, I have no siblings, my father was never in the picture. I don't want to move.

I'm trying to get an appointment with the CAB, so will ask them if there is anyway my Aunty can refuse to go through with probate and I can apply.

There is just under £3000 owing.

nom_de_plume

The obvious question is are you not / can you not work and earn an income yourself? I see you were your mother's carer pretty much all your life. Was this full time?
I'm assuming you're receiving benefits of some description at the moment. Have you spoken with the DWP about your situation? Maybe they could arrange some kind of hardship loan to help you through this?
For an outstanding mortgage of £3,000 the simplest solution would be to get a personal loan and pay it off although getting any sort of loan does depend on individual circumstances and your's, reading between the lines, don't sound ideal.

zzzLazyDaisy

Rev wrote: »

She has spent the last three months trying to locate my mums will, the solicitors that she used closed down and nobody seems to know where there documents went, a letter had to be written to the law society asking permission to accept the copy of the will given to my mother instead of the one in the solicitors because that's now classed as lost.

There is some confusion here. The law society cannot give permission for a copy of the will to be accepted in place of the original will. That is a matter for the Probate Office, and requires a formal procedure, including obtaining affidavits.

As there is no valid will, it might be easier for you to rely on the Intestacy Rules

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/cto/customerguide/page14-1.htm

Under the Intestacy Rules, the estate would go to you anyway, as the sole surviving child. As there is no valid will, you can apply personally to the Probate Office for 'Letters of Administration'. Any application for fee exemption would be determined by your own financial circumstances, not your Aunt's.

My mother left no money, her and my combined income covered bills and food just about.

Even if you get Letters of Administration in your own name, this is not the end of the matter. You cannot inherit a mortgage. This means that in order to have the house transferred into your own name, the estate must first pay off the mortgage. If there is no money in the estate, you must find the funds to pay off the mortgage, which may involve obtaining a mortgage in your own name, this means you need to satisfy the lender's lending criteria. If there is not enough money in the estate to discharge the debts (including the mortgage) and you cannot raise the money to do this, then the house will have to be sold, and the debts paid. You will then inherit any money left over once the estate has been dealt with. It is therefore very important that you take steps to deal with this situation as the unpaid mortgage payments are accumulating as a debt against the estate

I don't want to move.

That is understandable, but you need to sort out how to pay the debts of the estate so that the house can be passed to you. If you cannot do this, the house will have to be sold to pay the outstanding debts.

Hope this helps

Dx

NAR

Rev wrote: »

My mother left no money, her and my combined income covered bills and food just about.

So you now have to address how you are going to live. I know you have been through a very hard time and losing your mum must have been very distressing. However it is now "YOU" time. You need to now focus on how you are going to get by in this world. Sounds like you need to get a job, nearly any job, so that you have enough money to live on and hopefully pay a £3000 loan (to clear the house debt). Easier said than done in the current climate I know, but for your own mental well being you need to start being positive about your own future.

Her only 'luxury' item was a gold watch given to her by her parents on her 21st birthday. I'm not selling that.

Of course not, that must be so precious to you.

I'm 33 now. The house is my home, its been my home all my life, it's all I have left of my mother, I have no siblings, my father was never in the picture. I don't want to move.

So all the more reason for you to take positive steps to hold onto your home. BIG HUGS Rev and I'm sure we all wish you all the best for the future.

jackyann

This is a hugely difficult time for you. I can't answer about probate, but I do think that you need help in decisions about your future.
You will have a branch of the Carers' Association (or something similar) locally. CAB will point you at them, or maybe the nurses who visited your mum at some point, or google them.

Tell them your situation, and they will offer support in organising your future. You sound very isolated, and you really need someone to help you through.

Rev

Sorry for the late reply.

We have the will given to my mum by the solicitor when she made the will. But not the will that is kept by the solicitor. So whatever had to be done for the probate office to accept that has been done. But I do know there needed to be a letter from the law office.

I'm on ESA right now due to extreme anxiety and depression. To the point I'm passing out from panic attacks. I'm on medication and have just started counselling. As soon as I'm able I will be looking for a job. But it's not happening right now.

I am trying to sort the debt out, which is why I'm trying to sort probate. I know it won't just go away and I'm not ignoring it. The lender are being kept informed and up to date. £105 is a huge amount of money when you don't have it.