Take over Probate from solictior.

snowbike

My Brother sadly passed away a few years back and I did DIY probate for his estate.
The process was not too complex took about 2 months to get probate. (he very kindly kept good records).
My Mother passed away November last year and similarly kept good records. I am sole Executor. Due to other commitments I decided to use a solicitor to get probate. I now bitterly regret this.
Initial meeting they believed they would have probate forms ready in about 8 weeks as all information was readily available. This meeting convinced me to allow them to do this 
An email just before Xmas stated they had all information and are compiling the probate and IHT forms ready for signing.
Just after XMAS i was told the solicitor had gone  on maternity leave and the case would be taken over.
The new solicitor (same company) was not engaged on the case for a while and once they started, they asked many questions and information i have already answered and provided.
Only on prompting did they action anything and the funeral was paid TWO Months after the actual funeral.
They now say they have probate forms ready for signing (only after asked how this can be moved to another company).
Can I back out of the solicitor ?
I am sole executor.
I would prefer to let the probate be done and back out after i have probate and take over the administration myself. (gather monies - sell house etc).
Can i do this?
I have no money myself so will be unable to pay for the existing work. Is it normal to get solicitors to wait?
Advice please
SNowbike

Flugelhorn

I would have thought that if you haven't signed the forms and you are remaining as executor then yes you can tell them to stop doing the work, however need to check your contract with them to see what the agreement is over payment for work done, notice to be given  etc etc 

TBagpuss

If you are the executor then yes, you can instruct them to stop work and return the paperwork to you to complete However, they are likely to want paying. Where they were dealing with the estate they may have been willing to wait to be paid as they would be pretty secure, with the funds going through them, but they are very unlikely to be prepared to wait if they are no longer doing the work - they would effectively be giving you a loan, and there isn't any reason for them to do that. You would however be entitled to use funds from the estate to pay them, also check the original terms of business you singed to see what the terms for payment are.
Also check it for their complaints process. If you feel it wasn't dealt with well, tell them - they may be able to put it right  - it sounds as though they have done the work, just not as fast as you had hoped. If they made errors then you shouldn't have been charged for them correcting those, or for a new person getting up to speed, so check the bills 

Flugelhorn

One of the problems with getting probate done by a solicitor is that it is just one of many that they are dealing with and hence the rate of progress can be slow. When you are doing it yourself you can spend a lot of time chasing things and being proactive, in the case of a close relative this can be a helpful distraction.
I would tell them that you want to take it all back, better for you to do it - but be prepared for an irritatingly large bill  that needs paying now for what seems very little effort