Executor vs Administrator for estate funds

WobagUK

We have appointed solicitors who have applied for probate which is due shortly.

They have control of the bank account funds which will contribute to the estate, and in their T&Cs they say they will retain the value of the estate for 6 months post grant to allow for unexpected claims, which I understand is standard.

We have in parallel been managing the sale of the house in the estate, which the solicitors are aware of, and hope shortly to close a sale and the Executor will receive funds.

The exectutor commits to retaining the proceeds for the same 6 month period but would rather keep hold of the funder herself, not least in fear that a solicitors could go under in the waiting period as has been seen in the news recently.

Do the solicitors have the right to insist on the funds from the estate being given to them to hold?

Keep_pedalling

This is why it is rarely a good idea to hand probate over to a solicitor it just drags the process out for months. If the executor is handling the house sale and using a different solicitor for the conveyancing then there is no reason why the need to lodge the proceeds with the probate solicitor or to hold on to the entire proceeds for 6 months unless they really have no knowledge of the testator’s finances. It would be prudent to hold some back but they could make an interim distribution. 

There is no risk anything would be lost if the solicitor went to the wall, client money is held in a client account and cannot be touched by the solicitors creditors.

thegreenone

WobagUK said:

Do the solicitors have the right to insist on the funds from the estate being given to them to hold?

I would say no, but it would depend what your contract with them says.  

When my Mum died, I closed banks accounts and gathered all the money but engaged her solicitor to do the Probate application.  The same firm did the conveyancing and as soon as they received the sale funds, they pushed it straight onto me to distribute.