Do I approach another probate solicitor?

Cuilean

My grandfather passed away in February. My sister and I are next of kin, joint executors and the only beneficiaries. The estate is a house (Tenanted, but the tenant moves out soon), and two bank accounts, so probate was needed. There are no other belongings, as my grandfather had been living in a care home.

I approached a local solicitor (I'll call her Mrs A) in a multi-branch firm at the end of February. She prepped the oath and IHT forms to draft stage, but resigned three months later. At this point, the firm managed to misplace all our paperwork and conveniently didn't return my calls for three weeks. It took another week for them to find the file and hand our case to her replacement, Mr B. Mr B looked at the work Mrs A had done, and found it was all incorrect, and needed to be done again, from scratch. We lodged a complaint, and they suggested we transfer the case to Mr C, the senior partner, who worked at another office, an hour away.

Today, one week after the case was transferred to Mr C, his secretary tells me he's not even looked at the file yet. I asked her to have him call me before the end of business today. It's now gone 5pm, so I'm guessing he's not going to do that.

I'm having serious doubts that Mr C is going to be in a hurry to get this work done, or that he's going to be any more reliable. We're now over three months into the case being with them, and they've literally achieved nothing for us. The way I see it, I can either grit my teeth and hope Mr C gets his behind in gear, or I can take my business elsewhere (If that's allowed). This is not a field I'm experienced in, so I'm after the wisdom and experience of others please.

jalvpa

Would you be liable to pay them anything if you moved to another solicitor? You could move as you instructed them, its not part of the will. Probate has to be applied for within 6 months of date of death

Cuilean

jalvpa wrote: »

Would you be liable to pay them anything if you moved to another solicitor? You could move as you instructed them, its not part of the will. Probate has to be applied for within 6 months of date of death

Thank for the info - I didn't realise there was a six month limit :eek:

At the moment, the bill is zero. They agreed in writing that I would not be charged for the incorrect work done by Mrs A, and since Mr C has not started work, I can't imagine there's any chargeable work been done by him either.

Yorkshireman99

Cuilean wrote: »

Thank for the info - I didn't realise there was a six month limit :eek:

At the moment, the bill is zero. They agreed in writing that I would not be charged for the incorrect work done by Mrs A, and since Mr C has not started work, I can't imagine there's any chargeable work been done by him either.

Stick with them and resist the temptation to keep asking for progress reports. Each phonecall or email will increase the bill.

mrschaucer

Tell the firm of solicitors that you have been very patient, but due to their inability to do what you have asked in a timely fashion you are now going to deal with probate yourself. (It's not difficult - help on here and lots of advice available from various sources including the Probate Office.)

sammyjammy

mrschaucer wrote: »

Tell the firm of solicitors that you have been very patient, but due to their inability to do what you have asked in a timely fashion you are now going to deal with probate yourself. (It's not difficult - help on here and lots of advice available from various sources including the Probate Office.)

This , they've had more than a fair chance.

Yorkshireman99

mrschaucer wrote: »

Tell the firm of solicitors that you have been very patient, but due to their inability to do what you have asked in a timely fashion you are now going to deal with probate yourself. (It's not difficult - help on here and lots of advice available from various sources including the Probate Office.)

Not practical. Having started dealing with the estate the solicitor cannot legally renouce the executorship nor can anyone take over without their agreement and an application to the Probate Office or Court. The OP has no choice at this stage and it would cost even more in legal fees to try to do it.

Yorkshireman99

sammyjammy wrote: »

This , they've had more than a fair chance.

See my post #7

Flugelhorn

Yorkshireman99 wrote: »

Not practical. Having started dealing with the estate the solicitor cannot legally renouce the executorship nor can anyone take over without their agreement and an application to the Probate Office or Court. The OP has no choice at this stage and it would cost even more in legal fees to try to do it.

Is the solicitor actually an executor? OP says it is 2 siblings, presume Solicitor is just doing some of the work

Owain_Moneysaver

Yorkshireman99 wrote: »

Not practical. Having started dealing with the estate the solicitor cannot legally renouce the executorship

Has the solicitor acted as executor, or as legal advisor to the executors? There's a very big difference.

If the solicitor has indeed become the/an executor it will be difficult to shift him, but if he's only drafting forms for the executors named in the will he can be dismissed - and from the sound of it, should be.

With only two bank accounts and one house (which might need a RICS valuation if close to the IHT threshold) I would estimate it would take about 2 hours to complete the IHT205 and PA1. (As a layman with a very slow computer.)

It's very hard to see how a solicitor could make a mess of such a simple job.

Yorkshireman99

Owain_Moneysaver wrote: »

Has the solicitor acted as executor, or as legal advisor to the executors? There's a very big difference.

If the solicitor has indeed become the/an executor it will be difficult to shift him, but if he's only drafting forms for the executors named in the will he can be dismissed - and from the sound of it, should be.

With only two bank accounts and one house (which might need a RICS valuation if close to the IHT threshold) I would estimate it would take about 2 hours to complete the IHT205 and PA1. (As a layman with a very slow computer.)

It's very hard to see how a solicitor could make a mess of such a simple job.

Anyone who has ever done even a simple probate application know that there is far more than just filling out the forms. To suggest otherwise is simply untrue. Dismissing and executor named in the will is not going to be easy or cheap quite apart from the further delays such action would involve. If the solicitor was unwilling to renounce it will cost the OP a lot to start legal action and there is no guarantee he would succeed. Some work having been done already done then the Court would be be very reluctant to dismiss him. Although the OP's solicitor has not performed well he would be better stcking with him.The OP should be able to get some reduction in the fees.