Grant of Probate

harkessmd

All,

After a bit of advice from those who know.
Appreciate this may open the can of worms like the how long is conveyancing process however someone may know.
What is the "usual/experienced" time for the grant of probate for a sale?
Our sellers EA advises top of the chain have submitted this end of March, and we are unaware of an estimated time-scale.

All advice gratefully recieved.:D

letitbe90

I am in the same situation, they also sent it off sometime end of March (or beginning of April).

Originally it was assumed it will be granted within 2-3 weeks of application (will in place, below IHT threshold, simple estate etc) - but it has now been pushed from end of April to end of May.

Apparently the probate office has been bombarded with applications following news that the government will increase the fees for probate and now the probate office has a backlog, with an estimated delay of ~4 weeks.

They say it should be granted and recieved by solicitor by the 27th of May, I hope so..

harkessmd

Not buying in the south west are you! could be in the same chain, sounds very similar at least :rotfl:

babyblade41

It depends on "applying" really means ..it could be sent off to the probate office to get the grant or it could mean the executor is gathering information to submit to probate

If it's the former then weeks, if it's the latter than months.It depends if everything is in order when it has been submitted

letitbe90

harkessmd wrote: »

Not buying in the south west are you! could be in the same chain, sounds very similar at least :rotfl:

Haha nope.

Topcatk

Hello, I am in the same situation but definitely not in the same chain!

We are currently sitting in an Airbnb having sold our house and waiting for probate to be granted on the property one above us (top of chain). We have been told that probate was applied for the 29th March, with the registry office receiving it the following week. Since then no news.�� I have rung the likely office (Oxford) , whose answerphone message indicates waiting times have increased from 20 working to 25 workings days. I estimate we have been waiting at least 30 working days. Supposedly the IT system that was introduced in Jan is also adding to the delays ��

shorty31

That probate question is a bit like how long is a piece of string. We were in your position last year.

No chain, sellers needed to obtain probate, we were told this was being processed when our offer was accepted in April 2018, apparently the forms were not completed correctly, they eventually obtained probate in October 2018.

I hope you don’t have to wait that long.

Topcatk

shorty31 wrote: »

That probate question is a bit like how long is a piece of string. We were in your position last year.

No chain, sellers needed to obtain probate, we were told this was being processed when our offer was accepted in April 2018, apparently the forms were not completed correctly, they eventually obtained probate in October 2018.

I hope you don’t have to wait that long.

Hi Shorty, wow! hope you don’t mind me asking but what made you wait that long and were you kept updated throughout?

kinger101

There is no standard amount of time. It depends on a number of complexities, including the size of the estate, by whom it is administered, and whether any will has been contested.

At best, in a relatively straight-forward scenario where there's no IHT and a solicitor isn't involved, it could take a few weeks.

Slithery

It all depends on the complexity of the will and estate.

The last one I was party to was granted within 2 weeks but that was as simple as they come. If it's more complicated then you could be talking months or years.

I believe that the record in this country is the Jennens vs Jennens case which only collapsed on all sides after 117 years when the entire estate had been consumed by legal fees.


If it looks like a piece of string...

shorty31

Topcatk wrote: »

Hi Shorty, wow! hope you don’t mind me asking but what made you wait that long and were you kept updated throughout?

We wanted this property, a bungalow on a good sized plot in a village we wanted to live in. We were in a fortunate position as have not sold our previous home, we rented it out so didn’t have to worry about that aspect.

It wasn’t without issue though, the executor accepted our offer then a nephew got involved and wanted more money. We sat tight, the original executor was upset by her nephews actions and as she was elderly we actually felt upset for her. Told the agent our offer remained on the table, the property went back on the market but any one potentially interested was put off by the fact the sellers did not have probate.

We exchanged and completed on the same day, 9 days after they received probate. At the price originally offered.

Good Luck with your purchase.