In 8 months my probate solicitors have done nothing. What can I do?

[Deleted User]

kazwookie said:

Have you checked that the house insurance is upto date for an empty property?

I don't know how to check this for another property. I am concerned about vandalism or arson as the property clearly looks unoccupied even from google street view.

JGB1955

Deleted_User said:

Is it normal that 8 months later the property is still not up for sale?

Yes - the property can't be sold until probate is granted.

Can probate solicitors take as long as they want?

Sometimes it feels like that, but there is no particular incentive for them to work faster.  They are not YOUR solicitors, they are acting for your late grandmother and they are at liberty to just ignore any approaches from you....

Answers in bold

GDB2222

JGB1955 said:

Deleted_User said:

Is it normal that 8 months later the property is still not up for sale?

Yes - the property can't be sold until probate is granted.

Can probate solicitors take as long as they want?

Sometimes it feels like that, but there is no particular incentive for them to work faster.  They are not YOUR solicitors, they are acting for your late grandmother and they are at liberty to just ignore any approaches from you....

Answers in bold

I disagree. The Legal Ombudsman will definitely deal with complaints from beneficiaries. See the link below, which gives a wealth of detail. Of course, you need to complain to the solicitors first, but failure to obtain probate within 8 months needs some explanation.



https://www.legalombudsman.org.uk/information-centre/news/leo-mythbusters-article-beneficiaries/

tooldle

Is the house the only asset? If there are investments etc to consider, probate valuations can take some considerable time. Until a full picture of the finances is available, the application for probate cannot be made. My MIL’s simple estate was granted probate some four months after the application went in. 

GDB2222

tooldle said:

Is the house the only asset? If there are investments etc to consider, probate valuations can take some considerable time. Until a full picture of the finances is available, the application for probate cannot be made. My MIL’s simple estate was granted probate some four months after the application went in. 

Absolutely. But, I would suggest that 8 months into the process, I'd need to know when the application for probate was made, what queries have been raised, what answers sent, etc. 

In this case, I suspect that little has been done. 

As a rule of thumb, executors are usually given a year to wind the estate up completely. 8 months into that year, and probate hasn't been granted. 

tooldle

GDB2222 said:

tooldle said:

Is the house the only asset? If there are investments etc to consider, probate valuations can take some considerable time. Until a full picture of the finances is available, the application for probate cannot be made. My MIL’s simple estate was granted probate some four months after the application went in. 

Absolutely. But, I would suggest that 8 months into the process, I'd need to know when the application for probate was made, what queries have been raised, what answers sent, etc. 

In this case, I suspect that little has been done. 

As a rule of thumb, executors are usually given a year to wind the estate up completely. 8 months into that year, and probate hasn't been granted. 

Possibly, I guess it depends on the solicitor and whether they feel additional communications should be added to the accumulating costs. 

When I’ve been an executor, I’ve managed to clear things up in 13-14 months. My friend is currently 21 months in and still trying to get the estate of her parent sorted. In that particular case there exists a trust which is causing problems. There can be many complexities and there is little factual info provided in the OP’s post so we are just guessing.

tooldle

Deleted_User said:

I am one of three beneficiaries. I just read the last letter I received and it states that the partners in the law firm have been named as the executors.

Are the same solicitors the named executors on the actual will? 

[Deleted User]

tooldle said:

Is the house the only asset? If there are investments etc to consider, probate valuations can take some considerable time. 

I believe she also had some kind of savings bond. She certainly didn't buy stocks or shares.

[Deleted User]

tooldle said:

Are the same solicitors the named executors on the actual will? 

The solicitor we initially dealt with is not an executor. The will states that the "partners in the firm" are the executors.  I don't know much about the new solicitor who has taken over.

I wonder if there was an issue with the original solicitor leaving the firm and the new one taking over - perhaps a mistake was made while her workload was transferred.

[Deleted User]

tooldle said:

there is little factual info provided in the OP’s post so we are just guessing.

This is pretty much all the information that I have and I know absolutely nothing about probate law.  My mother was the original executor; however she died a few years back and since then we've received very little information about my grandmother's arrangements.  She seemed to change her will on a monthly basis so we all gave up trying to follow it.

The only person with the answers is refusing to take my calls or return them...