Self probate looks easy but should I get solicitors to do if risk of contest?

Fromez

Although property is involved, the estate left me by a parent is worth below £325,000 and so I am considering doing probate myself.

The only concern is I have a sibling who could always try to contest the will if they wished.

I was wondering what benefit I could gain from a solicitor doing the probate rather than me, as presumably their fees will only cover the probate application and process, and if a contest occurred I'd need to consider a further legal arrangement then anyway?

DigForVictory

Nothing to stop you starting on probate yourself & consulting lawyers as needed.

Indeed the sooner you start the better your position against sibling shoving an oar in, as there are clear boundaries over which those not involved in the settling of an Estate are potentially at risk of expensive legal hassle if they overstep.

Crack on, do your best by the deceased & give sibling a chance to be sensible & possibly even helpful. The forum will be here to help (albeit at erratic times & not necessarily qualified.)

All sympathy with your grief, all support in moving the estate forward.

pphillips

Contentious probate is a specialist area that most high street solicitors are not equipped to deal with.

Keep_pedalling

You will need legal help if your sibling challenges the will but chances are it will never happen, so just get on with it in the mean time.

Dox

Your sibling will either contest or they won't, regardless of is handling the probate application.

If you're happy doing it yourself, then do. If the need arises to take legal guidance, you can always do so at a later date.

AnotherJoe

Fromez wrote: »

Although property is involved, the estate left me by a parent is worth below £325,000 and so I am considering doing probate myself.

The only concern is I have a sibling who could always try to contest the will if they wished.

I was wondering what benefit I could gain from a solicitor doing the probate rather than me, as presumably their fees will only cover the probate application and process, and if a contest occurred I'd need to consider a further legal arrangement then anyway?

None whatsoever since whoever is doing probate is doing a specified process and your brother wont be challenging that process, he'd be challenging the will.
As others have said, start the process, its not difficult and the workload on you is pretty much the same whether a solicitor is used or not because all the info they will need has to come from you anyway, eg whats in bank accounts, whats value of house and house contents and so on.

badger09

Fromez wrote: »

Although property is involved, the estate left me by a parent is worth below £325,000 and so I am considering doing probate myself.

The only concern is I have a sibling who could always try to contest the will if they wished.

I was wondering what benefit I could gain from a solicitor doing the probate rather than me, as presumably their fees will only cover the probate application and process, and if a contest occurred I'd need to consider a further legal arrangement then anyway?

Are you the sole executor? Or is your sibling also an executor?

Talc1234

Probate involves all the executors. I assume that by saying you will doing the probate, you are the sole executor, not jointly with your sibling

A solicitor will help smooth out the process, not mediate disputes. If you enter a dispute you will each need your own solicitor

You can do your own probate and people do but it isn't easy. One other thing is that there are significant delays at the moment, any mistakes on the forms and they will be sent back and you'll rejoin the back of the queue

fred246

Talc1234 wrote: »

You can do your own probate and people do but it isn't easy. One other thing is that there are significant delays at the moment, any mistakes on the forms and they will be sent back and you'll rejoin the back of the queue

Theses forums always have people posting on them that work in the industry. They charge a fortune for filling in a few relatively simple forms. I had POA for a relative and a solicitor was handling the sale of their house when they died. I had to do probate quickly and was faster than a solicitor would have done it but they made it clear that they wanted to do the work for me (at a large cost of course). I phoned the probate office up and they processed the forms for me immediately on receipt. Very helpful. I remember just saying to the solicitor's "How long does probate take to come through?"."We don't know.""But you're solictitors I thought you would know"."Well we know how long it takes if we send it off but we've no idea how long it takes if you send it off."

pollypenny

I was in a similar situation with a sibling and a simple estate

I was more than happy to let our solicitor deal with it and the cost was quite small.

AnotherJoe

Talc1234 wrote: »

Probate involves all the executors. I assume that by saying you will doing the probate, you are the sole executor, not jointly with your sibling
It doesnt have to if one reserves powers (or relinquishes)


A solicitor will help smooth out the process, not mediate disputes. If you enter a dispute you will each need your own solicitor

Bwaahahahahahaha . A solicitor will add delays (inherently) at several stages. Nearly the questions asked on the form, eg who are the relatives, what are the assets, bank accounts and so on, who do you think the solicitor will ask ? Yes, you the person paying them !


You can do your own probate and people do but it isn't easy.
I found it very easy, as have many other posters here
One other thing is that there are significant delays at the moment, any mistakes on the forms and they will be sent back and you'll rejoin the back of the queue

Well, i found it so easy i didn't make any mistakes, which in my case means, it was very easy.