Probate & solicitors?

Megandlg

Hi all. My father died in May suddenly and unexpectedly. I found a copy of his will, which named two executors- the firm of solicitors who wrote the will & my Mum, with me as a reserve if Mum had died, which she has. That firm of solicitors has gone out of business and the original will is held at a different firm. 

When I phoned that company, I was told they would do the entire probate application and administer the estate. I explicitly asked if I had any choice or if I was committed to using them, and was told that I had to use them, at an estimated cost of £2k. 

Throughout the process, the solicitor has been very frustrating- slow to do anything and with poor communication. The application was made 6 weeks ago, and we are still waiting for the Grant. Its a fairly simple estate and I cannot see anything the solicitor has done that I could not have done myself, and I could probably have done so more quickly. 

I am just wondering therefore- should I have been locked in to using that solicitor, as they advised me? Or should I have been given the choice to do it myself or to choose a different solicitor? 

JGB1955

You could have asked them to renounce (or reserve) their executorship but there is no requirement for them to do so.  Your father set the rules and you're stuck with them.  £2k seems relatively 'cheap'.... but, of course, it all depends on the total value of the estate.....

I don't think you had any choice and six weeks for an application for probate seems optimistic, although not impossible (mine took 10 days, others take months).

Marcon

Megandlg said:

Hi all. My father died in May suddenly and unexpectedly. I found a copy of his will, which named two executors- the firm of solicitors who wrote the will & my Mum, with me as a reserve if Mum had died, which she has. That firm of solicitors has gone out of business and the original will is held at a different firm. 

When I phoned that company, I was told they would do the entire probate application and administer the estate. I explicitly asked if I had any choice or if I was committed to using them, and was told that I had to use them, at an estimated cost of £2k. 

Throughout the process, the solicitor has been very frustrating- slow to do anything and with poor communication. The application was made 6 weeks ago, and we are still waiting for the Grant. Its a fairly simple estate and I cannot see anything the solicitor has done that I could not have done myself, and I could probably have done so more quickly. 

I am just wondering therefore- should I have been locked in to using that solicitor, as they advised me? Or should I have been given the choice to do it myself or to choose a different solicitor? 

I think you're being unrealistic about timescales. If the application was made 6 weeks ago, that means the solicitor would have submitted it during August. Your father only died in May, so the submission was anything but slow - it was actually very quick. 

Once the application has been made, nothing anyone can do except wait patiently for the grant. 

£2K looks extremely good value.

You've only recently lost your father, suddenly and unexpectedly. It's entirely understandable that you may be feeling more sensitive than usual and keen to 'tie up things', but there really doesn't seem to be anything unreasonable going on here.

Thrugelmir

Obtaining probate isn't a race. The executors carry personal legal liability should there be unidentified debts.