Probate Advice

sd77

I'm just looking for a bit of advice as I'm beginning to get concerned with regards to the solicitor dealing with my dad's will.

My dad passed away early November last year. When he drew up his will he appointed a local solicitor as his executor due to worrying about other members of the family getting money from his will that they weren't entitled to. My brother and myself are the only beneficiaries from the will.

My dad didn't own any property or had any debts. We just needed to close his bank accounts and insurance polices. All of that was done by the end of last year. Due to the amount of money he left we were advised it had to go to probate. We've been waiting months now. Every time my uncle asks for an update the solicitor doesn't seem to know what's happening. The application for probate was supposedly left in a drawer when one of his admin assistants went on maternity leave. Then we were told they were waiting on either myself or my brother, as executor, to come and sign the application when they know we aren't the executor, it's the solicitor himself! We were then told at the start of March the money would be released at the end of the month at the latest as it can take up to 21 days to get the probate back. My uncle met with the solicitor last week and he still couldn't give us an update.

So I am gearing up to make an extremely impatient call on Tuesday wanting an update. I don't know much about probate or how it works. I'm just looking for advice on what to ask? Will this solicitor be basing his fee on the time spent dealing with it? If so, due to the issues on their side should i be requesting a reduction in his fees? Also, who can I report him to if he fails again to give us a update?

Any advice is appreciated as I'm worried this solicitor is holding off for deliberately.

getmore4less

Why is your uncle involved?

How much money was there?

Did you and yopur brother consider doing it yourselves and asking the solicitor to stand down.

Asuming you are both over 18 with the above.

Mojisola

sd77 wrote: »

My dad passed away early November last year.

My brother and myself are the only beneficiaries from the will.

Every time my uncle asks for an update the solicitor doesn't seem to know what's happening. My uncle met with the solicitor last week and he still couldn't give us an update.

Why is the solicitor having meetings with your uncle and not you and your brother?

If your Dad had trusted him, wouldn't he have made your uncle the executor?

sd77

The solicitor was appointed executor by my dad because he thought my mum would outlive him and her brother was such a money grabber and caused problems in the past with family wills on her side. He just wasn't that close to his brother. It wasn't that he didn't trust him.

My uncle has only been dealing with it for me due to me not living near where the solicitor is based. He's been through this several times before with my aunts parents passing away and we just felt he knew more about how to deal with it. My brother is useless when it comes to anything to be honest and has been with my uncle when he's met with the solicitor. My uncle is having a few health issues lately so I think chasing this up is causing him a bit of stress as he has to deal with my his older sister's finances etc due to her having dementia. I didn't know we could have done it ourselves as we had to do the tracing of all my dad's accounts/polices on the advice of the solicitor to keep his fees down.

sd77

Sorry, just to clarify I'm in Scotland so I know the probate is different as to what it is in England and there was over £30k left by my dad.

Mojisola

sd77 wrote: »

The solicitor was appointed executor by my dad because he thought my mum would outlive him and her brother was such a money grabber and caused problems in the past with family wills on her side. He just wasn't that close to his brother. It wasn't that he didn't trust him.

My uncle has only been dealing with it for me due to me not living near where the solicitor is based. He's been through this several times before with my aunts parents passing away and we just felt he knew more about how to deal with it. My brother is useless when it comes to anything to be honest and has been with my uncle when he's met with the solicitor. My uncle is having a few health issues lately so I think chasing this up is causing him a bit of stress as he has to deal with my his older sister's finances etc due to her having dementia. I didn't know we could have done it ourselves as we had to do the tracing of all my dad's accounts/polices on the advice of the solicitor to keep his fees down.

If you don't get satisfaction from the phonecall, I would write to them and ask to explain very precisely why the estate is still not finalised. They will charge you for the letter but, if it gets answers or makes them speed things up, it could be worth it.

sd77

Thanks for the advice. I will definitely do that if they don't give me any update over the phone.

Do you know if there's a way to find out if they have actually submitted the probate? Can I contact the court to find out?

dzug1

It's only 4 months It's very unlikely that a solicitor will have applied for probate this soon.


But you can register a standing search at the Probate Office and you will be advised when it is granted (not applied for - you won't get told that). I think it's a £6 fee

Mojisola

dzug1 wrote: »

It's only 4 months It's very unlikely that a solicitor will have applied for probate this soon.

Four months isn't very long when a solicitor is dealing with things - but there's no good reason for the solicitor not to have explained what the process is and how far along the estate is.

Crabapple

It's also worth asking about their fees. As you and your brother are entitled to the residue of the estate you should have been given an estimate of costs.

I don't think the timescale is unreasonable for not having completed matters, however if you have been told that things were nearly finished then they should have been. The lack of communication is very poor client care.

sd77

We were first given a date for the end of February to have it completed and then we found out his admin assistant had gone on maternity leave and left the probate application in her drawer. We were then told a date of the end of March at the latest which is why I'm calling for an update on Tuesday.

The fact that a couple of you have said it's not unusual to be waiting this long has made me feel a bit better about the whole thing so thank you for that. I will also ask about the fees when i call.