Has anyone had any experience of managing the process of probate? Is it something that I should undertake myself or should I instruct a professional? Any ideas about costs? Any advice or recommendations would be appreciated.
just get in touch with your local probate office .. they'll tell you or send a leaflet explaining the process .. I take it that there was a will ?
There is a will. the situation is that my girlfriends mother died last week. The funeral was only yesterday but an advisor from Barclays Bank has already been around to offer his services for £7k. It seems a huge fee to me but I was wondering if it's standard for this sort of thing and whether it's worth paying to avoid any legal pitfalls.
Parasites! I think that often the probate can be based on value of estate. You do not need their sort of legal service. Go with the probate office advice.
When my Father-in-law died his estate went to probate. We looked at doing it ourselves but in the end decided to employ a probate solicitor. I was glad we made that decision. The process took over a year. We didn't need that sort of stress at that time. Yes, we had to pay, but in view of the work involved, I thought the amount was within reason.
I work in law firm and one of the Probate Partners advises that whilst it is something you can deal with yourself it would be sensible to get some legal advice and support. As for the £7k quote this would be considered to be quite a lot if it's a simple estate and a solicitor would almost certainly be cheaper than the bank.
I did all the necessary probate work in the case of both my parents. It's mainly form filling. Laborious but not difficult. You certainly don't need a lawyer or banker to do it for you, although you will be required to swear an oath (either with a solicitor or at the Probate Office) regarding the accuracy of the information you have provided. It could take several weeks to get an appointment at the Probate Office but most solicitors will do it straight away for a small fee.
Are there other relatives, half relatives, step relatives etc? In other words potential flashpoints for dispute as to interpretation of the Will.
Bear in mind that the prospect of money can cause disputes in even the most conventional, seemingly close well adjusted families so an independent arbiter can be worth it to avoid accusations of favouring your lot, her lot, his lot etc in your interpretation of the will.
How complicated / organised are her finances? Is inheritance tax likely to be a factor? Is your girlfriend the named executor or is it someone else?
Just a few questions to consider.
My personal view would be to employ somebody reputable and qualified (not necessarily the bank) as emotionally such clinical analysis when it is a loved one can take its toll but others are probably more resilient than me.
If you do take on the task of Executor yourself make sure that you advertise nationally (in The Gazette formally the London Gazette) and locally for claims against the Estate and leave a minimum of 2 months for a response. That way you avoid being personally liable as Executor for any subsequent claims against the Estate. By doing this it will also demonstrate, if a later claim is made against you as a beneficiary, that you have taken all reasonable steps to locate and advise creditors and aid your case in any action.
Thanks for the responses. The estate seems to me to be very straightforward in that it just encompasses a property and savings (no bonds and shares). My gf is an only child and although she has been verbally instructed to leave money to a handful of other people there's nothing in the will so I cant see how they can be anything other than happy to receive the amounts that they do. My gf is sole executor. I take the point that it would be sensible to use a professional if their were more fingers in the pie but it's not the case with this probate. I'm going to relay the advise posted on here later and I'm sure she'll appreciate all your posts. Thanks once again you've been really helpful.
I did it for my mum and it was fairly easy. But my sisters and I got on, her affairs were straightforward and there were no other relatives or friends feeling they should get something.
So as long as it is straightforward do it yourself otherwise get a lawyer.
Thanks for the responses. The estate seems to me to be very straightforward in that it just encompasses a property and savings (no bonds and shares). My gf is an only child and although she has been verbally instructed to leave money to a handful of other people there's nothing in the will so I cant see how they can be anything other than happy to receive the amounts that they do. My gf is sole executor. I take the point that it would be sensible to use a professional if their were more fingers in the pie but it's not the case with this probate. I'm going to relay the advise posted on here later and I'm sure she'll appreciate all your posts. Thanks once again you've been really helpful.
It can take a long time and there are lots of forms. Also you and even more so your GF may not feel like having to do all this.
I got a solicitor to do my mothers as neither I or my two brothers wanted to. Cost about £2k and that was fixed in advance not a %.
Doing my Mum's at the moment and as there is a trust involved it was better to seek legal help. However if the estate is straight forward then do it yourself.
Thanks for the responses. The estate seems to me to be very straightforward in that it just encompasses a property and savings (no bonds and shares). My gf is an only child and although she has been verbally instructed to leave money to a handful of other people there's nothing in the will so I cant see how they can be anything other than happy to receive the amounts that they do. My gf is sole executor. I take the point that it would be sensible to use a professional if their were more fingers in the pie but it's not the case with this probate. I'm going to relay the advise posted on here later and I'm sure she'll appreciate all your posts. Thanks once again you've been really helpful.
It can take a long time and there are lots of forms. Also you and even more so your GF may not feel like having to do all this.
I got a solicitor to do my mothers as neither I or my two brothers wanted to. Cost about £2k and that was fixed in advance not a %.
Can only echo what some have said, unless there's something a bit different about her Will then do it yourself. Did it for my grandad and was relatively easy.
Thanks for the responses. The estate seems to me to be very straightforward in that it just encompasses a property and savings (no bonds and shares). My gf is an only child and although she has been verbally instructed to leave money to a handful of other people there's nothing in the will so I cant see how they can be anything other than happy to receive the amounts that they do. My gf is sole executor. I take the point that it would be sensible to use a professional if their were more fingers in the pie but it's not the case with this probate. I'm going to relay the advise posted on here later and I'm sure she'll appreciate all your posts. Thanks once again you've been really helpful.
It can take a long time and there are lots of forms. Also you and even more so your GF may not feel like having to do all this.
I got a solicitor to do my mothers as neither I or my two brothers wanted to. Cost about £2k and that was fixed in advance not a %.
I recently did it for my mother and can confirm it was very straightforward as there was a will and everything split between heirs equally. Most solicitors charge a % which will then be costly. However if it's complicated you may need some professional advice. If assets are over £325,000 inheritance tax could also be an issue. Also worth noting is that banks have a threshold where they don't even need probate to pay out. Barclays and Nationwide, for instance, will pay out on any sums of less than £30,000 on sight of death cert and will. They are very helpful. The former had a dedicated helpline; the latter has a dedicated helpline and will see you in person at a branch.
If you do it yourself definitely go for getting probate verified at a solicitors though; this cost £10 and was arranged at 2 hours notice whereas probate office was goodness knows when.
SC do it yourselves, a long and laborious form to fill in but the Probate office are more than helpful and sympathetic. Some solicitors/banks are like ambulance chasers looking for an easy buck. Have done the job twice and found it challenging but rewarding when you think of the money saved on "professional fees " Good luck
Parasites! I think that often the probate can be based on value of estate. You do not need their sort of legal service. Go with the probate office advice.
This is my experience. When my Mum died we went for a solicitor. The main reason being that she lived in Cardigan so I wanted somebody local imagining that it might be best to have someone with local knowledge (it doesn't seem to be). At a time of distress and thinking it was just a small town solicitor I hired the first bloke we saw without checking prices. When the bill came in I found that he had charged both an hourly rate and a percentage of the estate. I complained (to put it mildly), but was told it was a common practice and that this double charging was all above board. He put me in touch with his professional body, The Royal Society of Racketeers, Swindlers and Shysters, who told me the exact same thing. The work done all seemed pretty straightforward; with hindsight, nothing I couldn't have done myself.
The moral of this story is, if you think it will be straightforward do it yourself. These people are 'earning' a very fat living pretending things are trickier than they are. If it genuinely is likely to be complex, make sure you get their full schedule of prices before commissioning the work.
I've done it twice; once for my mother and once for my Uncle, who left no will.
Both times it was a fairly straight forward process and the Probate Office produce some simple and easy to follow guides.
Neither took a long time - indeed my mother's was wrapped up in about a month, but as a Head Teacher, she was very organised. Even my Uncles didn't take too long - the main wait was to find out if he actually had £650k worth of BT shares. Of course, being a true Communist, he had never actually taken up the share offer he'd been offered at Privatisation.
I found it a very cathartic process.
Though I was a bit pissed he hadn't thought of his poor little nephew back in '82. Though did find out that he was a great friend of Leslie Crowther through AA.
Honestly, it is a relatively simple process. I got all the forms, and sat down ready to spend hours filling, them in. One hour later all done. Ok, you have to contact a lot of people, banks, building society, gas, electric etc. however, they all have specialist teams to deal with this, so the process in most cases, is simple and you deal with sympathetic people. £7000 ! Blimey £700 would be to much.
It's not difficult when it's not difficult. The form filling is not that hard and there are examples of what to do if you google. I suspect if there is no will or it may be contested, it is not so easy. If you do involve solicitors, be careful. My mother's solicitors had managed to convince her that they should be joint executors. I had to threaten them with misrepresentation and going to the Law Society to get them to resign so that they didn't grab a big fee for doing nothing. If you do involve solicitors, be careful what you sign.
My parents have done it for all my grandparents, and the experiences varied. Mum's dad had money squirrelled away all over the place, so finalising what his estate actually was took ages, but as he'd left everything to my Nan, once that was done it was pretty straightforward. Dad's parents didn't really have much to leave, it was all done in less than a month. The really long drawn out one was my Mum's mum, because not only did they have to sell her house, but there was also some kind of trust involved which took a long time to sort out.
At the end of the day, she needs to decide whether it's worth the money to save the stress of going through all the paperwork when she's recently bereaved, or she'd rather save the money and do it herself, particularly if it looks like a simple estate. But yeah, getting several quotes and recommendations is the way to go, rather than just going with the first guys to offer their services
Comments
I was glad we made that decision. The process took over a year. We didn't need that sort of stress at that time.
Yes, we had to pay, but in view of the work involved, I thought the amount was within reason.
Bear in mind that the prospect of money can cause disputes in even the most conventional, seemingly close well adjusted families so an independent arbiter can be worth it to avoid accusations of favouring your lot, her lot, his lot etc in your interpretation of the will.
How complicated / organised are her finances? Is inheritance tax likely to be a factor? Is your girlfriend the named executor or is it someone else?
Just a few questions to consider.
My personal view would be to employ somebody reputable and qualified (not necessarily the bank) as emotionally such clinical analysis when it is a loved one can take its toll but others are probably more resilient than me.
If you do take on the task of Executor yourself make sure that you advertise nationally (in The Gazette formally the London Gazette) and locally for claims against the Estate and leave a minimum of 2 months for a response. That way you avoid being personally liable as Executor for any subsequent claims against the Estate. By doing this it will also demonstrate, if a later claim is made against you as a beneficiary, that you have taken all reasonable steps to locate and advise creditors and aid your case in any action.
But my sisters and I got on, her affairs were straightforward and there were no other relatives or friends feeling they should get something.
So as long as it is straightforward do it yourself otherwise get a lawyer.
Good luck.
I got a solicitor to do my mothers as neither I or my two brothers wanted to. Cost about £2k and that was fixed in advance not a %.
Wesley Morris and Kennedy in Sidcup
My condolences
The problems start when people don't make wills!
http://www.wmk-law.com/
Used a solicitor for my father-in-law as my mother-in-law was not in a state of mind to help.
Also worth noting is that banks have a threshold where they don't even need probate to pay out. Barclays and Nationwide, for instance, will pay out on any sums of less than £30,000 on sight of death cert and will. They are very helpful. The former had a dedicated helpline; the latter has a dedicated helpline and will see you in person at a branch.
If you do it yourself definitely go for getting probate verified at a solicitors though; this cost £10 and was arranged at 2 hours notice whereas probate office was goodness knows when.
Have done the job twice and found it challenging but rewarding when you think of the money saved on "professional fees "
Good luck
The moral of this story is, if you think it will be straightforward do it yourself. These people are 'earning' a very fat living pretending things are trickier than they are. If it genuinely is likely to be complex, make sure you get their full schedule of prices before commissioning the work.
Both times it was a fairly straight forward process and the Probate Office produce some simple and easy to follow guides.
Neither took a long time - indeed my mother's was wrapped up in about a month, but as a Head Teacher, she was very organised. Even my Uncles didn't take too long - the main wait was to find out if he actually had £650k worth of BT shares. Of course, being a true Communist, he had never actually taken up the share offer he'd been offered at Privatisation.
I found it a very cathartic process.
Though I was a bit pissed he hadn't thought of his poor little nephew back in '82. Though did find out that he was a great friend of Leslie Crowther through AA.
At the end of the day, she needs to decide whether it's worth the money to save the stress of going through all the paperwork when she's recently bereaved, or she'd rather save the money and do it herself, particularly if it looks like a simple estate. But yeah, getting several quotes and recommendations is the way to go, rather than just going with the first guys to offer their services