No will - 4 siblings - 1 not agreeing to solicitor and probate

Flugelhorn

krs77 said:

So what they are being told by Co-op is incorrect? They can just apply for probate themselves without agreement from the other siblings? 

co-op just want the business 

OP what is the issue over the funeral, can that be sorted out?

Keep_pedalling

krs77 said:

So what they are being told by Co-op is incorrect? They can just apply for probate themselves without agreement from the other siblings? 

Yes, although a sibling can make things difficult by slapping a caveat on the application so where possible it is best to get everyone on board. Any of the siblings can apply so I would suggest one or 2 of them just get on with it and keep the difficult one out of the loop. Once LOA are obtained then there is little he/she can do about it. 

The probate process has been greatly simplified for for deaths occurring from 1st Jan this year where IHT is not required so no need to waste money on a solicitor.

krs77

Flugelhorn said:

krs77 said:

So what they are being told by Co-op is incorrect? They can just apply for probate themselves without agreement from the other siblings? 

co-op just want the business 

OP what is the issue over the funeral, can that be sorted out?

It can be and will be, they just wanted a full breakdown of costs which can easily be provided and will have to be as the funds will come out of the estate, an ongoing power struggle with too long a tale 🙄

Flugelhorn

often the way with families, often the way ....  probably the only time in my life I was glad to be an only child. 

macman

krs77 said:

Flugelhorn said:

krs77 said:

So what they are being told by Co-op is incorrect? They can just apply for probate themselves without agreement from the other siblings? 

co-op just want the business 

OP what is the issue over the funeral, can that be sorted out?

It can be and will be, they just wanted a full breakdown of costs which can easily be provided and will have to be as the funds will come out of the estate, an ongoing power struggle with too long a tale 🙄

So do that and move on. A disputed distribution of the estate will cost a great deal in legal fees. Avoid at all costs.
If the 'awkward one' is the one buying you out, then expect further battles over the valuation of the property.
Don't expect a funeral director to know the first thing about probate, unless you'd expect a solicitor to bury a relative.

getmore4less

picking up on..

Looking for a little advice please, in a nutshell re the above, 1 sibling is being an absolute gem and point blank refuses to agree to a solicitor until questions regarding the funeral (happened over a month ago) are answered.

Why has this information not been distributed by the person that organized the funeral to everyone already.

Given there is only the house and that is where the work is involved the person living there could do it.

First step is close all house accounts for the deceased and pass them to the occupier

Tally up the final amounts including funeral for everything/.

Agree valuation for property 

estate obtains the money from the occupier for 3/4 share of value and 1/4 of the debts

Pay out the estate debts

Distribute the cash to the 3 not occupying and do the legal transfer of the property.

msb1234

You are not applying for probate as such as there is no will. One (or more) of you apply for Letters of Administration - here’s the link
https://www.apply-for-probate.service.gov.uk/start-eligibility?_ga=2.218318046.676553771.1549454378-418831393.1545119317%20
If only 1 of you apply you can do it online. If more than 1 apply you need a paper copy from the link above.

Make sure you get a valuation of the property asap - I just called a local estate agent and asked for a desktop valuation (maybe don't tell them you're not going to be selling the property!)

Give your sibling a copy of the funeral expenses - I can’t see why this didn’t happen when they requested it, after all, the costs will come out of the estate of which they are a beneficiary. 

You don’t need to do anything about changing the deeds of the house yet. Once your sister has purchased it, then she will just change the name on the deeds. This will be able to be done by whomever carries out the house sale - in effect, thats whats happening. 

p00hsticks

msb1234 said:

Make sure you get a valuation of the property asap - I just called a local estate agent and asked for a desktop valuation (maybe don't tell them you're not going to be selling the property!)

I'd suggest in these circumstances, where the proerty isn't going to be sold straight away, one sibling is buying others out and it could possibly get contentious, that you pay for a proper RICS valuation rather than just rely on an estate agent. It'll probably cost a couple of hundred pounds depending on where you are and the type of property.