Emergency repairs to a house during probate

getmore4less

The biggest time consumer will be establishing the extent of the estate assets and debts from a pile of paper. the distribution side looks to be fairly straightforward.
What I recommend is a multi pass. 
First is, keep(multiple piles if space), not sure, scrap. 

Don't try to sort as you go it takes too long, just get through everything once.
 
Second pass is the sort, get same things together then time order the important stuff(the rest can get ordered if needed). 

Again don't try to understand what's there just sort to do a full pass. 

From that you can start to make lists of accounts, payments, debt etc.
to build up the full picture. 

Then pick stuff off one at a time to analyse. 

Some should be straight forward like utilities some accounts may have in/outs that need investigating. 

Do you have space to do some of this outside? 
Got anyone that can help, sometimes having a uninterested party sorting can go a lot quicker.(2 can get through in less than 1/2 the time of one). 

This stuff takes time, make notes as you go as it is easy to forget stuff.
Try not to do to much in a single session when it requires thinking. 
These exercises are one of the times a to do list is a must have, they can get quite long. 

Once on top you can spend a lot of time waiting it can get frustrating when it takes a week to turn around an enquiry with an institution. 

Flugelhorn

If there is no sign of a will then it is likely that your mother has inherited the lot and be the administrator of estate - anyone handling an estate has a duty to protect it, so would be reasonable to somehow get the flat roofs sorted. Appreciate mum can't do it so you are the next in line for administering. 
Real problem is if there is a will leaving it all to someone else. Is there anyone you can think of who she may have lefty money to if she had left a will?

Hope all goes OK - you have so much on at the moment 

beavere38

Thanks for the replies. The only people I have to help are my kids and they don't like going to the house as they find it distressing. There isn't really anywhere to work outside at the property, the garden is 6ft high with brambles.
I have made a spreadsheet and I think I have all assets and liabilities listed. I have also started contacting banks etc to inform them she has died. I did speak to a solicitor and I have a telephone appointment with them later today. They did say I can get a builder to sort the roof and even if the whole estate turns out to have been left to someone else the builder would still get paid from the estate. Also there is no problem me acting on Mum's behalf for now. 

My sister had a small circle of friends, I have spoken to most of them after going through her phone and nobody has mentioned being asked to be executor or mentioned a will either. I have asked the solicitor to help me do whatever is possible to find a will so I can be covered should a will turn up later though I doubt it would, I am certain she would have had a copy of it or even a solicitors bill - she kept everything especially important stuff like that and after all the idea of a will is that it can be found easily, you don't hide it away so nobody finds it. 

I asked one good friend of my sister if they ever had one of those chats where you discuss what you would like to happen when you die and he is sure they did so he is going through his emails and messages to try and find something so I can at least give her the kind of send off she would have wanted.