Challenging Solicitor's Bill for Probate

Pauline007

Hi, I hope someone can provide a speedy answer! I am a beneficiary of a will, and we've just been provided with Estate Accounts which include the solicitor's bill. It's just over £6,000 - for a straightforward will with around £120,000 of assets. I'm appalled about this, and have asked the Executor to provide more details, but in the meantime the solicitor has just emailed to say the disbursement cheque is ready for collection. Do I collect it? If I do, am I signing away the right to challenge these fees? I really need the money, but it's such a large amount. Any advice would be most welcome.

g6jns_2

Accepting the cheque is not an admission that you agree. You can make a formal complaint to the firm afterwards. Just don't sign anything saying you agree the fee.

TonyMMM

Is the the solicitor the executor or is it someone else who then employed a solicitor to work on their behalf ?

It is quite usual for a solicitor to charge for their time taken on an hourly basis plus a % of the estate value for probate work. If the executor was not the solicitor, but they chose to instruct one to do the work, then the charges should have been made clear and agreed at the time.

A charge between 1-2% of the estate value is pretty normal, so a total of £6000 on a £120,000 estate isn't excessive.

Of course an executor can always carry out the work themselves in most cases and save almost all of that cost.

Mojisola

Pauline007 wrote: »

It's just over £6,000 - for a straightforward will with around £120,000 of assets.

It sounds a fairly normal bill to me.

g6jns_2

Mojisola wrote: »

It sounds a fairly normal bill to me.

Charging on a percentage basis is iniquitous. There is no reason why the charge should not be just for the work actually done. There is seldom any correlation between the work done and the estate valuation.

PasturesNew

I think we paid £170/hour or so. It's what they charge, so it's what you pay as you're not usually in a mental fit state to start shopping around. Oh ... and plus VAT!

I think our straight forward estate was about £4600 or so.... can't remember. You just pay it as there are more important things to be turning your attention to.

TBagpuss

whether you think charging a percentage is appropriate is irrelevent to the OPs issue.

OP - are the solicitors the executors, or is there an executor who has instructed the solicitor?

If there is a separate executor, then they, not you as a beneficiary, are the solicitors clients. They will (or should) have had terms of business at the outset and to have agreed terms. Any complaint about the costs would normally need to come from the executor.

As Mojisola says, the figure does not seem excessive for an estate of that kind - and do bear in mind that just because the will is simple, it doesn't automatically follow that the administration of the estate is.

g6jns_2

TBagpuss wrote: »

whether you think charging a percentage is appropriate is irrelevent to the OPs issue.

OP - are the solicitors the executors, or is there an executor who has instructed the solicitor?

If there is a separate executor, then they, not you as a beneficiary, are the solicitors clients. They will (or should) have had terms of business at the outset and to have agreed terms. Any complaint about the costs would normally need to come from the executor.

As Mojisola says, the figure does not seem excessive for an estate of that kind - and do bear in mind that just because the will is simple, it doesn't automatically follow that the administration of the estate is.

How the charge is made up is very relevant to the OP's case. The solicitor needs to be able to justify the charges.

getmore4less

Beneficiaries are never the client.

Ask for the breakdown,

When we did this on the bill for two estates turned out they included charges for work they did not do(because I did it).

The issue is even a simple estate can rack up quite a few hours if they deal with everything.

g6jns_2

getmore4less wrote: »

Beneficiaries are never the client.

Ask for the breakdown,

When we did this on the bill for two estates turned out they included charges for work they did not do(because I did it).

The issue is even a simple estate can rack up quite a few hours if they deal with everything.

They can be if they are joint executor with the solicitor. Also the fees impact most on the residuary beneficiary.

Pauline007

TBagpuss wrote: »

whether you think charging a percentage is appropriate is irrelevent to the OPs issue.

OP - are the solicitors the executors, or is there an executor who has instructed the solicitor?

If there is a separate executor, then they, not you as a beneficiary, are the solicitors clients. They will (or should) have had terms of business at the outset and to have agreed terms. Any complaint about the costs would normally need to come from the executor.

As Mojisola says, the figure does not seem excessive for an estate of that kind - and do bear in mind that just because the will is simple, it doesn't automatically follow that the administration of the estate is.

The executor was appointed with the express intention of the relative who died to avoid solicitor's expenses! At the start of the whole thing, my husband asked (he was the second named executor) if he wanted her to take over the job as he was fit enough, she declined and said she'd do it all herself. So the bill was a massive shock, we thought she'd just got the solicitor to deal with probate.