Estates selling a property - do you use the the same solicitor for conveyancing or can you choose to

SuzyCam163

Background info:

Dad died over a year and a half ago leaving a house and savings to 2 beneficiaries, myself and my brother. We're not Executors, that's another relative, but we're  all 3 working together on it

and a solicitor's helping with Estate administration. We've got the Grant of Probate and all IHT due has been paid from the savings

Now we're about to market the house - it'll be sold by the Estate before what's left's transferred to my brother and I

My question - 

 Do we have to use the same solicitor who's dealing with the estate for the conveyancing? If not, is it best to anyway? or not necessarily? The solicitor we've got could do it for us but we're worried they may not be the best one as communication and other things to do with the Estate have been very slow at times and we know that that sort of thing can sometimes lead to sales being very delayed or lost. 

We've been recommended someone else for the conveyancing but could using 2 solicitors make things very complicated? Is it even possible to in this situation? Does anyone know what people do in this situation?

I'd be really grateful for help from anyone who knows or has any information or advice

Flugelhorn

Strictly the executor is the one selling the house and they can choose whoever they like to handle the sale, doesn't have to be the same solicitor who handled the probate.

Many of us dealt with the probate without solicitors so just got the conveyancing solicitor to do their bit and gave them the grant to show that the exec had the right to sell.

poppystar

No you don’t have to use the same solicitor but is the current one holding money for you or still having any involvement? If they have completed what you asked of them and you are unsure about them then move on. If they are still involved in some way I’d look carefully at whether not using them might turn out more expensive in the long run because you might have two solicitors working for you at the same time. Remember they will be being chased by the purchasers solicitor if they are slow so you might not have the same problems you have experienced up until now. 

SuzyCam163

poppystar said:

No you don’t have to use the same solicitor but is the current one holding money for you or still having any involvement? If they have completed what you asked of them and you are unsure about them then move on. If they are still involved in some way I’d look carefully at whether not using them might turn out more expensive in the long run because you might have two solicitors working for you at the same time. Remember they will be being chased by the purchasers solicitor if they are slow so you might not have the same problems you have experienced up until now. 

Thank you

Yes they are still holding money for us. They're also still dealing with certain things to do with the house, like making payments from the money they're holding for bills etc(not all) for the house. The plan was for that to continue until after the sale and then they'd complete.

So we would have 2 solicitors working for us at the same time

If we ended the current solicitor's involvement and decided to move on straight away and then get a new conveyancing solicitor, I'm not sure if they're ready to complete but I could check - last I heard there was a  delay with a bank Dad had savings with and getting that closed and the money transferred  but that might have been sorted by now

SuzyCam163

SuzyCam163 said:

poppystar said:

 If they are still involved in some way I’d look carefully at whether not using them might turn out more expensive in the long run because you might have two solicitors working for you at the same time. Remember they will be being chased by the purchasers solicitor if they are slow so you might not have the same problems you have experienced up until now. 

I also meant to say

These are good points you make as well - it could end up costing a lot more with 2

and yes may be it would be ok if they were being chased by the purchasers solicitor

SuzyCam163

I might have confused things a bit with my reply earlier

If the solicitor has finished gathering in all Dad's savings, could we ask them to finish/complete and then sell the house ourselves - ideally the Executor sell it or if that's not possible, we sell it (as long as the Executor and beneficiary were ok about it too)? 

The will just said everything was to come to my brother and me, it didn't say the house had to be sold first and then the proceeds come to us.

And is there a way that can be done where the Executor would still be the one selling it or at least that we don't 'own it' while it's selling so I don't lose first time buyer status? (I can't afford to buy out my brother for the house, or him me)

Sorry if these are daft questions. This is all new to me.

Thank you v much

Flugelhorn

If the exec sells it from the estate (which is the norm) then you are never the owner 

if the solicitor is not the exec then they just do whatever has been agreed and then you finish with them. 

SuzyCam163

Flugelhorn said:

If the exec sells it from the estate (which is the norm) then you are never the owner 

if the solicitor is not the exec then they just do whatever has been agreed and then you finish with them. 

Hi Flugelhorn

Thanks for commenting - and earlier on. This helps, makes it clearer

Savvy_Sue

It is also worth checking whether the current solicitor regularly deals with conveyancing, because I'd definitely want to have one who does on the case. You could ask whether there is a conveyancing partner within the firm, because using two solicitors in the same firm might not be more expensive. 

SuzyCam163

Savvy_Sue said:

It is also worth checking whether the current solicitor regularly deals with conveyancing, because I'd definitely want to have one who does on the case.

Thank you. That's a really good point. I've got know idea if she does - I'll try checking

thegreenone

I used the same firm but different departments for my Mum's probate and selling.  It worked well, although they had been Mum's 'solicitor' for decades, held her deeds and did a Will rewite and POA for her earlier in the year, which probably helped a little.