Conflicting info RE Probate and possible contested Will?

roxhas123

First time buyer here, 3 months into the journey.
I am being told so many differrent things from all the people involved i am loosing the will to live, so thought i would come here for some advice! 
my EA is saying to me that the probate has been granted and waiting on forms to be given into their Solicitor, however... I have spoken to a close friend to the Vendors (they are also a family friend of mine) and they have disclosed to me that there is a dispute with the way the money has been divided between the family members! 
If this is the case and they are contesting the will, this can take so long!! and im not sure im prepared to wait. However, The EA is claiming probate is granted and sorted so i have no idea what I am getting myself into? and also who to believe.
Can anybody shed any light on this and please tell me if its worth going forward? Im happy to wait for another 6 months but any longer i cannot commit to.

Please please help me with any knowledge you can give

p00hsticks

If you know the full name of the person who died and roughly when they died you can check yourself to see if probate has been granted (and, if you're nosy, for £1.50 purchase a copy of the will) here

https://probatesearch.service.gov.uk/#wills

If you don't know the full name of the person and the estate agent / seller hasn't told you then you should be able to get it from the property title at the Land Registry (that'll cost £3)

https://www.gov.uk/search-property-information-land-registry

It sounds as if the dispute is over division of the money rather than inheritance of the property itself - if that's the case I don;t see that that should hold up the sale at all. The only issue might be if some of the beneficiaries decide that they could now get a better price from the property than the one they've accepted from you - but in a rising market like this one that's always going to be a risk whether it's a probate property or not.

TBagpuss

It's tricky - it may be that probate has been granted but that someone is making a claim against the estate - it might still be possible for them to sell the house and then the executors would hold the finds until the claim was settled, but it's difficult to be sure.

I would suggest that you speak to your own solicitor and get them to explicitly ask the vendors:
-has probate been granted?
- can they confirm that either there is no dispute or that the executors will complete the sale and any dispute relates or will be dealt with on  how the funds are then distributed, so will not delay completion of the sale. 

It's entirely possible that both things you have heard may be true - if the issue is how the funds are distributed then that won't necessarily delay the sale, just the distribution of the proceeds of sale (which is not your concern) and it's also possible that family members are grumbling but that no one is formally raising any dispute. 

That said, if someone has entered a caveat to stop probate being granted, or if someone is disputing the will, those things could result in very lengthy delays so it's reasonable to ask your solicitors to clarify it with the vendor as a matter of urgency. Do it via your and their solicitor, not the agents

doodling

Hi,

There is no way to predict how this will turn out.

If, for example, there isn't any doubt about who should be the executor and there is consensus between all the beneficiaries and the executor that the house should be sold then arguments about how the money should be split need not affect the sale.

On the other hand, it is not unusual for those who feel wronged to take actions which could hold up a sale to make their point, even if they do want the house eventually sold.

The first question is are you certain that probate has been granted?  I would ask the EA for a copy of the probate documents - they are a matter of public record so there is no reason why you should not have a copy.  It might be worth looking for them on the UK gov website but I don't know how quickly that is updated - can't do any harm to check though.

Another question is whether there is anyone living in the house at the moment?  If there is, who are they and what do they want?  It is very easy for someone living in a property to delay its sale.

If probate has been granted then there is some chance that the sale will proceed in reasonable time, but it is not guaranteed.  If probate has not yet been granted then arguments over the will could delay matters for a long time (years), or they might not.

roxhas123

p00hsticks said:

If you know the full name of the person who died and roughly when they died you can check yourself to see if probate has been granted (and, if you're nosy, for £1.50 purchase a copy of the will) here

If you don't know the full name of the person and the estate agent / seller hasn't told you then you should be able to get it from the property title at the Land Registry (that'll cost £3)

It sounds as if the dispute is over division of the money rather than inheritance of the property itself - if that's the case I don;t see that that should hold up the sale at all. The only issue might be if some of the beneficiaries decide that they could now get a better price from the property than the one they've accepted from you - but in a rising market like this one that's always going to be a risk whether it's a probate property or not.

Thank you so much for your info, i know the name and month but cannot find them (distress face)
Upon our offer being accepted, we were chosen over a higher offer because of our circumstances. We did offer the asking price also.
Im really hoping its a case of squabbling within the family and holding documents back to be spiteful to other members wanting their share! 

roxhas123

doodling said:

Hi,

There is no way to predict how this will turn out.

If, for example, there isn't any doubt about who should be the executor and there is consensus between all the beneficiaries and the executor that the house should be sold then arguments about how the money should be split need not affect the sale.

On the other hand, it is not unusual for those who feel wronged to take actions which could hold up a sale to make their point, even if they do want the house eventually sold.

The first question is are you certain that probate has been granted?  I would ask the EA for a copy of the probate documents - they are a matter of public record so there is no reason why you should not have a copy.  It might be worth looking for them on the UK gov website but I don't know how quickly that is updated - can't do any harm to check though.

Another question is whether there is anyone living in the house at the moment?  If there is, who are they and what do they want?  It is very easy for someone living in a property to delay its sale.

If probate has been granted then there is some chance that the sale will proceed in reasonable time, but it is not guaranteed.  If probate has not yet been granted then arguments over the will could delay matters for a long time (years), or they might not.

No one is living in the house, it is completely empty. 
Ive just got the word from the EA that it has been granted - waiting for the forms to be given to the solictors (in all fairness the solictors are absolutely awful - everyone ive spoken to have winced when ive mentioned them)  I will speak with my solicitor and get them to obtain the probate document, Then i will really know what state this is in!
Thank you so much, i honestly didnt know what to do or where to start but all this info is so helpful

doodling

Hi,

roxhas123 said:

doodling said:

Hi,

There is no way to predict how this will turn out.

If, for example, there isn't any doubt about who should be the executor and there is consensus between all the beneficiaries and the executor that the house should be sold then arguments about how the money should be split need not affect the sale.

On the other hand, it is not unusual for those who feel wronged to take actions which could hold up a sale to make their point, even if they do want the house eventually sold.

The first question is are you certain that probate has been granted?  I would ask the EA for a copy of the probate documents - they are a matter of public record so there is no reason why you should not have a copy.  It might be worth looking for them on the UK gov website but I don't know how quickly that is updated - can't do any harm to check though.

Another question is whether there is anyone living in the house at the moment?  If there is, who are they and what do they want?  It is very easy for someone living in a property to delay its sale.

If probate has been granted then there is some chance that the sale will proceed in reasonable time, but it is not guaranteed.  If probate has not yet been granted then arguments over the will could delay matters for a long time (years), or they might not.

No one is living in the house, it is completely empty. 
Ive just got the word from the EA that it has been granted - waiting for the forms to be given to the solictors (in all fairness the solictors are absolutely awful - everyone ive spoken to have winced when ive mentioned them)  I will speak with my solicitor and get them to obtain the probate document, Then i will really know what state this is in!
Thank you so much, i honestly didnt know what to do or where to start but all this info is so helpful

"waiting for forms to be given to solicitors" seems extremely vague and could mean anything.  It could mean that the forms for probate haven't yet been completed and they need to go to solicitors before going to the probate office, in which case probate has not been granted, or it could mean that probate has been granted and the grant of probate needs to be supplied by the executor to the solicitors, or it could mean almost anything else (the solicitors are waiting for a form to fill in confirming their lunch orders for next week?).

I wouldn't bother chasing your solicitors (who may not need to see the grant of probate themselves and may charge you for writing a letter asking for it), this is a confidence thing between you and your vendor.  The vendor (via the EA) has said "we've got probate" and now you are saying "show me".  Either they have probate, in which case emailing you a copy today will take around 90 seconds for someone with a smartphone (take some pictures of the grant of probate, add to an email and press send), or they are not quite telling the truth, which might influence how you deal with them in the future...

roxhas123

doodling said:

Hi,

roxhas123 said:

doodling said:

"waiting for forms to be given to solicitors" seems extremely vague and could mean anything.  It could mean that the forms for probate haven't yet been completed and they need to go to solicitors before going to the probate office, in which case probate has not been granted, or it could mean that probate has been granted and the grant of probate needs to be supplied by the executor to the solicitors, or it could mean almost anything else (the solicitors are waiting for a form to fill in confirming their lunch orders for next week?).

I wouldn't bother chasing your solicitors (who may not need to see the grant of probate themselves and may charge you for writing a letter asking for it), this is a confidence thing between you and your vendor.  The vendor (via the EA) has said "we've got probate" and now you are saying "show me".  Either they have probate, in which case emailing you a copy today will take around 90 seconds for someone with a smartphone (take some pictures of the grant of probate, add to an email and press send), or they are not quite telling the truth, which might influence how you deal with them in the future...

I spoke to the solictors and they said they would need the probate document before they would begin the legal work, its apart of their contract pack (which hasnt been sent to my solIcitors yet - not sure if this would be a flag?) but they are happy to attain some kind of confirmation that the proabte has been granted for me just for my peice of mind.
The Vendors solictors as mentioned are really bad at responding to my solictor, EA and even the Vendors themselves.
Im hoping to god that its the fact that the solictors are non responsive and that one vendor is being spitful and holding back the documents to offically get the ball rolling.
My situation is very odd... The Vendor were my Grandparents neighbours so im really hoping they would be honest with us and not lead us along with false hope

TripleH

It is amazing that people squabble over who gets what from a share of a property and forget that it will cost them money sat empty. When it makes more sense to sell and then spend their time arguing over it whilst the funds are instead sat earning interest (albeit very little at present)

roxhas123

So I have an update... its not good. 
Probate was only just applied for so currently being processed (EA Lied to me for the 20th time)
One of the vendors has agreed for the contract pack to be sent over to start the legal work while the probate is being processed (I thought yay!!!... oh how wrong i was)
The second Vendor however has not agreed, so until she does, we are literally stuck til she says so.

My partner and I have decided to look elsewhere but keep this absolute joke of a house on a back burner til we find something else; But... should we find another house, what the hell is going to happen!? The Houses we are looking to view are same price so will our mortgage offer still stand? Also because im pulling out, would i pay legal fees? My solicitors are a no move no fee, as long as its no fault of my own which, Technically it isnt because we have been massively mislead and lied too throughout this whole Journey by EA & Vendors!

Any advice at all would be appreciated 

TripleH

If you keep using them for your new purchase, your solicitors could cut you a deal?

Let them know to pause any further activity on this house with immediate effect and advise them of your thinking.

They will be more amenable if they haven't wasted time working on a property you have concerns over.

You will need a new mortgage if you find a new property am afraid as they still need to assess if lender is happy to lend on it.