Guide discussion: Probate: How to do it yourself

reddeb

Hi there, could anyone tell me how long letters of Administration took to arrive? Had email saying approved and should receive within 5 days, this was 11th of January and not arrived, starting to worry they maybe lost, do they use any special delivery?
 Is there a phone number to contact them, everything as been done via email so far. TIA

Slowplod

My grant of probate just came in the normal post not special delivery. Mine did take about 7 days after email from them but that was before the post strikes. There is a good chance yours are just delayed in the post after the strikes. 

p00hsticks

reddeb said:

Hi there, could anyone tell me how long letters of Administration took to arrive? Had email saying approved and should receive within 5 days, this was 11th of January and not arrived, starting to worry they maybe lost, do they use any special delivery?
 Is there a phone number to contact them, everything as been done via email so far. TIA

They just come via the ordinary post - there have been a few people here recently reporting delays in receiving them, partly put down to delays in the post but also apparently to dealys in printing them.  

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6418640/grant-of-probate-lost-in-post-twice/p1

I've no personal experience of contacting them by phone, but I believe their number is HMTCS Probate on 0300 303 0648

blindman

So
Aunt has just died.
Two executors and a will. 
Closest family are Brother and I (and I believe we are named in the will)
No other family.
House worth around £250,000. Total estate most likely £300,000 tops.

My brother who is one of the execs (I am not) wants to give Probate to solicitors.
They quote £5000 to complete it.

Fair price or rip off as DIY possible?

Live in UK

Savvy_Sue

I'd talk to your brother about his reasons for wanting to use a solicitor which will be slower, possibly much slower, expensive, and won't necessarily reduce the amount of work he and his co-executor will have to do.

But if he and the co-exec don't get on well or don't trust each other, a solicitor may be the sensible way to go.

If he's feeling overwhelmed or under pressure then he may see it as money well spent. You may be able to help reduce those feelings.

Draviiid

Hi 

My brother & I are executors of my late mums estate along with her partner, they were not married or in a civil partnership.

He currently lives in her home which he paid under market rent (up until her death) he had 2 other mortgage free investment properties one of which he has just sold and the other he rents out which is near to Mum's property. 

He & mum had completely separate finances and mum was the sole owner of the home which was purchased before they met, she left 80% of her estate to my brother & I and 20% to him.

Since her death he has refused to allow us to collect some sentimental belongings of mums and refused to allow my brother into the house, they have never gotten on but my brother has never had a cross word with him (he also collected all of mums ashes and told us to bring a plastic container & a trowel to collect our half) 

He has always wanted to purchase the house and caused mum severe distress in her last days of Alzheimer's by continuing to bring it up and refused to let us sign a power of attorney unless he bought the house, even though he legally could not purchase the property from someone with late stage Alzheimer's, this severely impacted our ability to access mums funds to care for her.

He  had it valued independently which has resulted in a far lower valuation than the property is worth (we suspect he persuaded the valuer to low ball by saying it was for IHT purposes only) he is refusing to allow three agents to value the property and to pay the average and believes he deserves to purchase the property for less than it it worth as he's lived there for 20 yrs whilst solely benefiting from his investment properties and paying very low rent.

At the price it has been valued the best thing for Mum's estate if for my brother & I to buy out his 20% and renovate the property and sell for more profit or rent it out thus maximizing the value of the inheritance which is our duty as executors but her partner is clearly going to object and try to remain in the house.

As there are thee executors, would a majority vote be taken or would we all need to agree?

Any help or guidance with this would be greatly appreciated!

Bigphil1474

Draviid, i think you need to speak to a solicitor really, before it's too late. You may get advice on here, but it is very tricky if executors aren't all being reasonable.  

Keep_pedalling

With three executors you all have to be in agreement two can’t simply overrule the third. You also have a property with a sitting tenant which does negatively affect its value.

if you can it would be best to avoid getting solicitors involved as this could drag on for years and cost you big time and not just in monetary costs. The simplest solution would be to sell to him and have done with it, providing that you get a reasonable price.

What is the difference in his valuation and what you think it’s worth? 

Edit - I think you would be better to add this as an update to your original thread rather than post here. 

Thorny123

Hi all,
I wonder if someone could help understand the probate process please

My Dad passed away in July and I have been trying to help my mother cope with all the administration. My Dad has a sole account, the balance of which is over the bank's limit for probate to be required. They also own a house approx £200k in joint tenants. My Dad has a will which leaves all the money/property to my mother (who is the administrator)  - we can see that it is under the threshold for IHT to be due. He lived/ died in Wales all his life (if this makes a difference)

Please would someone advise me of the process that I need to follow. I have been told that we need to complete form PA1P but am unsure whether or not I need to submit any IHT forms as well.

Many thanks for any advice given.

bunnygo

Sorry for your loss.

The gov.uk probate site also offers guidance in Welsh, so it appears that the process is the same as for England. Here's what I learned doing this last year, with the usual 'I'm an internet random' disclaimer.

If your mother is the executor she needs to apply; if at all possible do it online as this is easier and could be quicker. If you can do this yourself you'll save a big solicitor fee and get probate through quicker. 

Form PA1P is the paper version of the form. Assuming your parents were married, then there is no inheritance tax to pay. However you still need to work out some figures for the probate application.

https://www.gov.uk/valuing-estate-of-someone-who-died/estimate-estate-value

the link includes an inheritance tax estimator; follow it through and you'll almost certainly come out with a zero. To do that you need to make a list of the assets; for jointly owned assets, divide the value by 2. (i.e. the house; your mother already owned half of it so only inherits half)

you need five figures for the probate form:

inheritance tax gross (value of assets), net (value of assets less any debts) and qualifying value (net less value left to spouse, i.e. zero). There are no IHT forms to submit if this is the case.

probate gross

probate net

you calculate the last two following this information

https://www.gov.uk/applying-for-probate/before-you-apply

then just complete the form, most of which should be self-explanatory. You need to pay the £273 probate fee before submitting this; call the number given and give a debit card number, they will give you a reference number which goes on the form. (BTW I found kindness coming down the phone when I rang to pay). You also pay £1.50 for each copy of the grant of probate that you need, four should be enough in this situation.

finally you need the original will. This will not come back so take any copies that you need - but do NOT dissasemble the will in any way. It gets posted to their scanning department which is where most of the blunders happen. The point of probate is 'proving' the will has not been tinkered with, so do no damage. Tracked postage is good so you know it got there.

Since I did this in 2022, they appear to have produced an online progress checker once you have submitted the application - current timescales are a shocking 16 weeks. If there are any problems and your application gets 'stopped' reply to their queries ASAP (you get notified by email). That stops the clock, they will tell you when you can chase it. Do chase it when the time given has elapsed, if nothing has happened ask to escalate. That did the trick for me. Not hassle you need.

hope this essay is of some help.