The Probate Journey Begins

DancingBadger

Treetops66 said:

I started off thinking I could do all the forms myself but did employ a tax accountant to work out the situation with regards to trusts and for general advice. So you could consider this? My advice would be start looking at the forms. IHT 400 will lead you to all the suplemental forms. She charged £115 per hour and has probably done 5 hours of work. Far cheaper than a solicitor and she answered my many questions the same day. I was worried that a solicitor would have a pile of files sitting on their desk and the process would take far longer.

Thank you.  An accountant's advice would certainly be worth considering if the tax forms become too onerous.  I received a copy of the Will today and it all seems pretty straightforward, but I'm sure the process is full of bear pits even for the simplest of Wills.

thegreenone

I paid an 'almost' fixed fee for the solicitor to do my Mum's probate which came in more or less what they quoted.  I did all the legwork (closing bank a/cs etc), handed everything to the solicitor and they did all the forms for IHT (none to pay) and Probate application.  Approx £1200.  Would have to look up the exact figure.  1% is ridiculous.  A proper firm of solicitors would also have a conveyancer who could do the Land Registry work.

p00hsticks

thegreenone said:

I did all the legwork (closing bank a/cs etc), handed everything to the solicitor and they did all the forms for IHT (none to pay) and Probate application. 

I think this is what made me decide that I'd at least have a go at handling it myself - even if you engage a solicitor, I assume that they'll rely on the family / executors to find out and provide them with all the information of what assets (bank accounts, possessions, property etc) were in the estate, which is the generally the difficult / time consuming bit. Once you've gathered all that information then I reckon it's generally just as straight forward to fill in the forms yourself as to pay a solicitor to do them.

JGB1955

You're going to have to do 90% of the work - then pay them for the extra 10%.  It really doesn't make sense.  Have a go, and if you struggle, THEN employ a solicitor to sort it out.

BooJewels

I was exactly the same as you @p00hsticks - I figured the work was in getting to the numbers - so why pay a solicitor to write a number you gave them into a box.  I too have a pen that works.

I can see with complex or high value estates that there is a case for using financial/tax help - but I don't really see it as legal work.  I too was quoted 1% and then looked at the form and thought beggar that.  I'll effectively pay myself (very handsomely) for doing it.  It was granted, so I must have got it right.

Frogletina

I've dealt with probate twice now. Only once did I need help with where to put a figure and I rang the probate office (the contact number is on the form), and they were very helpful. 

I also found it quite easy to prepare the estate accounts too.

YBR

My mother did all the probate forms after my father's death. She paid her accountant to check them over. 
Can't say how much it cost, but it might be an option for OP to investigate.

Cameron1590_2

I have recently applied for probate for my late Fathers estate. 

It took me approx. three months to get everything valued. It then took me a couple of hours to fill out the IHT400 (for estates worth over £325k) and about an hour to do the probate forms. 

My advice is to make sure you are super organised. File everything away neatly in folders and preferably, start yourself off a spreadsheet for your valuations/liabilities. I managed to find a few good websites on google that gave lots of very good templates for free. 

As for the forms, I found the probate/HMRC helplines very helpful.

I had been quoted £5k by one solicitor and £1,600 by another both were grant only. I can safely say that it’s a huge amount of money for such an easy task of filling out a few forms. 

Another family member has gone through probate with a large firm of solicitors. They are a year down the line and have only just applied for probate. The estate was very small/simple and highlighted to me how slow solicitors are and of course the shear amount they charge for the privilege. 

I personally found that it helped take my mind off the bereavement by keeping me busy. It was also nice knowing that my Father would be very proud/happy that I was doing it and not passing his hard earned money to a firm of solicitors.  

DancingBadger

Cameron1590_2 said:

 

"I found the probate/HMRC helplines very helpful."

That and the rest of your post is very encouraging.  Thank you for posting.

Currently, we've hit a brick wall as my BIL has no current photographic proof of identity, having surrendered his driving licence, an out-of-date passport, and no idea about the whereabouts of his bus pass or original birth certificate, which I understand could have been used in conjunction with a recent photograph signed by someone who knows him (GP, etc).

From what I've read, he can use a letter from the Benefits Agency (re his pension) to prove his address, but the photographic evidence is really problematic - and the will-writing firm won't release either my sister's original Will or his own original Will to him without it.

If anyone has any advice as to how to surmount this problem I would be really grateful.

JGB1955

Have they said they won't accept the out-of-date passport?  Ask them what, in the circumstances, they WILL accept.  Make your problem, their problem...after all, BIL is their client.