How long did it take?

keithmac

I'm a month in and will likely be another month before applying for Probate as a Decree Absolute Certificate hasn't been found and they said 45 days to look for it and produce a copy.

You'd think one department could talk to the other.

Nothing goes quickly it seems..

tooldle

No property to sell in the case I’ve just been dealing with. Twenty five months from beginning to end. Might have been quicker were it not for an HMRC error with personal tax and a significant delay in confirming their satisfaction with capital gains tax calculations. 

Mothman

It took 18 months to wind up my late mothers estate. It was selling the property that took the time as the market took a bit of a dive as soon as we listed it and ended up reducing the price twice to get it sold. Other than that everything else was sorted within 6 months.

Baldytyke88

Date of death was the beginning of August, probate was granted on 13th Jan; if the executor has been proactive in sorting out some affairs, finalising of the estate should not take that much longer, although the house isn't up for sale yet, which I believe was a mistake.

RAS

People do sometimes put property on the market before obtaining probate but it will put some buyers off even offering, and there's always the risk the sale falls through because of delays.

Better to wait until HMRC respond if IHT is payable, and until they have at least filed for probate. 

There's also the possibility of debts or complicated assets about which you know nothing.