Probate minefield help!

Savvy_Sue · 8 March 2022 at 8:54PM

One option is that your mother and brothers could 'give it a go', taking advice as they need to. If they agree, you could do quite a bit of the work for them: you may need to write letters which they then sign, or write emails for them to send if they are e-literate.

The solicitors will want someone to gather information for them - how many bank accounts, who with, how much in each? That should be fairly straightforward, and some of the accounts may not need probate before they are closed and the proceeds transferred to one of the beneficiaries for onward distribution.

One question would be whether Grandma had a will, and was it sent to probate? If not, that MAY need to happen now - but you could take advice on that particular question.

They will need to decide what to do about the house - are they selling it, one of them buying the other two out, keeping it and renting it out? They need to get a valuation. Again, you can get advice on the particular question of whether it matters that the house is still in joint names (probably not).

If you use a solicitor, it WILL take a lot longer than if you DIY. They are always cautious, and they generally have no incentive for keeping things moving. So while you might think "I should have heard back about the house valuation by now", a solicitor may only do something about that after a few months of inactivity, or if you push for an update!