Fixed Price Probate Specialist

Marcon

valueman1 said:

@crikaus @Flugelhorn @Marcon is it possible for a layman to administer the estate, the main issue will be the sale of the former flat, from which half proceeds to go to my step siblings. I assume I will need their approval of the estate agent and put their names on the contract and before I can accept an offer? 

There's a sensible halfway house, which is to do as much as you can yourself, taking advice as and when you need it (on a time cost basis, at an hourly rate agreed with the acting solicitor before any work is done).

I'm not sure why you think the sale of a flat is going to be 'an issue' unless the will has some complicated arrangements in it. If you are the sole executor, you don't need your step siblings to agree to anything (although the more 'agreement' you can get the better, simply because it saves any squabbles further down the line).

No, you don't put their names on the contract; it is an executor sale. 

Then there are the costs of the flat pending sale, £2,500 per quarter service charge, utilities etc. Probably easiest if I pay and get them to repay me from proceeds of sale?

It might seem the easiest but these things have a habit of generating their own complexities, especially if the sale takes a long time. Check with each utility provider what happens when the account holder dies - don't just pay up assuming you have to (certainly not before probate is granted).

Several of the above are precisely the sort of points you might want to check with a solicitor - takes a matter of minutes so won't cost a fortune.

RAS

And if you struggle to complete the forms, folk here will help you.
And there is nothing to stop you spending a bit on legal fees if you need additional help for anything complex.

naedanger

valueman1 said:

@naedanger I would do the data gathering myself and appreciate there will be a lot of work.

If you are doing the data gathering then you should also consider doing the application yourself too. See the following link for details:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/how-to-obtain-probate-a-guide-for-people-acting-without-a-solicitor

crislauri

Marcon said:

valueman1 said:

@crikaus @Flugelhorn @Marcon is it possible for a layman to administer the estate, the main issue will be the sale of the former flat, from which half proceeds to go to my step siblings. I assume I will need their approval of the estate agent and put their names on the contract and before I can accept an offer? 

There's a sensible halfway house, which is to do as much as you can yourself, taking advice as and when you need it (on a time cost basis, at an hourly rate agreed with the acting solicitor before any work is done).

I'm not sure why you think the sale of a flat is going to be 'an issue' unless the will has some complicated arrangements in it. If you are the sole executor, you don't need your step siblings to agree to anything (although the more 'agreement' you can get the better, simply because it saves any squabbles further down the line).

No, you don't put their names on the contract; it is an executor sale. 

Then there are the costs of the flat pending sale, £2,500 per quarter service charge, utilities etc. Probably easiest if I pay and get them to repay me from proceeds of sale?

It might seem the easiest but these things have a habit of generating their own complexities, especially if the sale takes a long time. Check with each utility provider what happens when the account holder dies - don't just pay up assuming you have to (certainly not before probate is granted).

Several of the above are precisely the sort of points you might want to check with a solicitor - takes a matter of minutes so won't cost a fortune.

Hello, we are dealing with probate ourselves and have gone the halfway house route as you suggest.  We have gathered all data and would now need some advice from a solicitor at an hourly basis.  Would anyone know how much the typical fee would be? We have been quoted 380GBP/hour and find this quite high? If anyone could recommend a probate solicitor that would help with our final questions to avoid paying too much tax.  Thank you

naedanger

crislauri said:

Marcon said:

valueman1 said:

@crikaus @Flugelhorn @Marcon is it possible for a layman to administer the estate, the main issue will be the sale of the former flat, from which half proceeds to go to my step siblings. I assume I will need their approval of the estate agent and put their names on the contract and before I can accept an offer? 

There's a sensible halfway house, which is to do as much as you can yourself, taking advice as and when you need it (on a time cost basis, at an hourly rate agreed with the acting solicitor before any work is done).

I'm not sure why you think the sale of a flat is going to be 'an issue' unless the will has some complicated arrangements in it. If you are the sole executor, you don't need your step siblings to agree to anything (although the more 'agreement' you can get the better, simply because it saves any squabbles further down the line).

No, you don't put their names on the contract; it is an executor sale. 

Then there are the costs of the flat pending sale, £2,500 per quarter service charge, utilities etc. Probably easiest if I pay and get them to repay me from proceeds of sale?

It might seem the easiest but these things have a habit of generating their own complexities, especially if the sale takes a long time. Check with each utility provider what happens when the account holder dies - don't just pay up assuming you have to (certainly not before probate is granted).

Several of the above are precisely the sort of points you might want to check with a solicitor - takes a matter of minutes so won't cost a fortune.

Hello, we are dealing with probate ourselves and have gone the halfway house route as you suggest.  We have gathered all data and would now need some advice from a solicitor at an hourly basis.  Would anyone know how much the typical fee would be? We have been quoted 380GBP/hour and find this quite high? If anyone could recommend a probate solicitor that would help with our final questions to avoid paying too much tax.  Thank you

Probably not that relevant to you, but I used a solicitor in Scotland recently to check some forms and their cost was around £200 plus VAT per hour (possibly £225 +VAT can't remember exactly).

Your figure seems steep unless it is London.

I actually went with a fixed price quote for a specific piece of work. The advantage of a fixed price quote is they won't spin out the work (which is a risk paying per hour). The disadvantage of a fixed price is the work must be a task where the requirements are sufficiently clear for the firm to be able to quote.