How long should probate take? Already waited 14 weeks.

Gaz971

So my parents are currently purchasing a flat. They had the offer accepted in May, but was told they'd have to wait for seller to receive a grant of probate before deal could be completed. They had no problem with it because they're not in a rush, but it's now been 14 weeks since the seller applied for it. Originally they were told it would be a wait of 8-12 weeks. The seller doesn't understand why it's taking so long as there's only 1 property and 2 bank accounts involved so it should be pretty simple. Everything is else is sorted, there's no mortgage involved as they're buying outright, so this probate is the final piece of the jigsaw. I was just wondering if this wait time is normal at the moment or should they be getting a bit worried. 

propertyhunter

It took 14 weeks for the executors to obtain grant of probate after my seller died in March. Look at these threads for an idea of what other people have experienced this year.

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6363017/probate-problems

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6361730/probate-no-will-timescales#latest

Your seller may be able to prompt the probate office to look at their application using this chat link: https://www.apply-for-probate.service.gov.uk/avaya-webchat. Give this to your EA and ask them to ask the executors to use it to prompt the probate office into action. Some people have had success in the past: https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6365143/probate-was-granted-while-i-was-in-the-web-chat-with-them#latest