Probate tips/experience
Discussion
leef44 said:
2 GKC said:
I applied for probate 6 weeks ago. They haven’t even looked at the documents yet
I guess this partly due to cut backs of staff everywhere after austerity
Don’t think we ever got any notification they had looked at documents: GKC: what makes you think they haven’t?
Just as an example:
Wife’s application went in last Dec (delayed due to postal strike)….
….got confirmation of receipt….
….then confirmation they were awaiting info from tax office (to confirm receipt of IHT421, which they had separately confirmed they had got)…
….….then probate granted in March.
So spanned the mail strike and Christmas.
Nothing overly complex, but still a shedload of forms
Good luck everyone….some things are never straightforward, & sadly dealing with the passing of loved ones proves that point in many ways
2 GKC said:
You can track status on the gov web site; it still shows as “documents received”.
Interesting, thanks.Googling that takes me to this page.
Curious that it states this (my bold) right at the start:
“if a deceased person’s estate is in excess of £5,000, which it usually is if there is a property to be included in the value of the estate, the executors will have to apply for a Grant of Probate in order to manage the estate, settle any tax due with HMRC, value and sell the assets, and distribute the estate in accordance with the deceased’s wishes in their will.”
That is not accurate!
The ‘official’ government page here (our bible for this time last year!) correctly points out that if property is joint tenants and the person only had savings and/or accounts jointly owned, then probate is not needed.
This is likely to be the case for most husband and wife situations when the first one passes away.
Only making this point because we had one relative who was very insistent years back when FIL passed that probate was needed, & it absolutely wasn’t….IANAL, just a guy who supported his very thorough wife through the process, but there are clearly some misunderstandings in the broad process, & perhaps a lot of amateur experts….
I can’t see any detail on the gov website to state what progress steps it will confirm….but the cynic in me has a lingering suspicion it might leap from ‘documents received’ to ‘probate granted’ without too many steps in between……as mentioned, we had notification when they asked HMRC for the tax form, but the next one was effectively ‘probate granted’.
Again, good luck all, it can be a stressful time, & grieving can hit people at odd times in odd ways.
2 GKC said:
Anyone received probate recently. Seems a bit of a disaster. I’m well over 16weeks and no one seems to be able to give any update other than there is a backlog
Official advice is still 'within' 16 weeks'.Has your case been one which required submitting further information?
Simpo Two said:
Blue Mk8 Golf R said:
Next week it will be 8 weeks in I was told by my solicitors that it will be 20 weeks
How much of that is due to the solicitors? It seems they work at a glacial speed when it comes to probate while they charge like a wounded bull for it.As affairs were straightforward, I've done it twice - they key is a good spreadsheet and reading the very many guides out there that help. I have an Excel beauty with lots of supporting notes! Sadly. ISA's can be a PITA but you get there... Banks will let you pay funeral costs even though they will have locked out all accounts.
If you use solicitors you, as an executor, will have to feed them vast amounts of info and usually chase them! I felt it simpler to DIY BUT I got my solicitor to look over my 2nd one and submit it for a few hundred quid. A fair balance.
If IHT is looking likely then you may well be advised to step up the pro support - but I find I usually get stuck in the 'Ask your solicitor/ ask your Accountant/ ask your IFA' loop of utter frustration.
If you use solicitors you, as an executor, will have to feed them vast amounts of info and usually chase them! I felt it simpler to DIY BUT I got my solicitor to look over my 2nd one and submit it for a few hundred quid. A fair balance.
If IHT is looking likely then you may well be advised to step up the pro support - but I find I usually get stuck in the 'Ask your solicitor/ ask your Accountant/ ask your IFA' loop of utter frustration.
mikeiow said:
The ‘official’ government page here (our bible for this time last year!) correctly points out that if property is joint tenants and the person only had savings and/or accounts jointly owned, then probate is not needed.
This is likely to be the case for most husband and wife situations when the first one passes away.
Even then it might not be required.This is likely to be the case for most husband and wife situations when the first one passes away.
For reasons I still don't understand, our house was registered as 'tenants in common'. First marriage for both of us, no kids from previous relationships etc, we must have asked for that but surprised the solicitor didn't ask 'are you sure', I do find the terms confusing.
The mortgage company pointed this out, when I tried to change the mortgage into my name
Despite the above; by being able to prove I was the sole beneficiary of the will, Land Registry allowed me to transfer the house into my name only. After which the mortgage company followed suit. No probate needed.
BTW, my mate is still waiting for probate 15 months after his Mum passed away!
I’m beginning to think that the Probate service isn’t fit for purpose ! My much loved mum passed away in April of 2023 and we submitted a paper application for Probate in June ‘23.
It’s now 11 months on and we are still waiting. We received no confirmation of receipt from them and their department is impossible to contact. Back in March, out of frustration we resubmitted the application online. Still nothing, no explanation and no apology for holding our lives in limbo.
My mums will leaves everything to my dad whose health isn’t the best, he’s very distressed about all of this as he wants to complete his bucket list before he dies but hasn’t been able to start yet as these probate people are blocking him from what is rightfully his !
My mum’s estate includes two buy to let properties and maybe £600k in various accounts, shares and premium bonds. Dad wants to start gifting away all of this wealth to family and then live 7yrs to avoid inheritance tax. He could have started this process a year ago
When the time finally comes what response should I expect if I request the 7yr rule be amended to 6yrs in the circumstances ! Or maybe I could suggest that compensation might be appropriate…..in the way a fine is appropriate if I’m late paying my tax when it’s due !!
It’s now 11 months on and we are still waiting. We received no confirmation of receipt from them and their department is impossible to contact. Back in March, out of frustration we resubmitted the application online. Still nothing, no explanation and no apology for holding our lives in limbo.
My mums will leaves everything to my dad whose health isn’t the best, he’s very distressed about all of this as he wants to complete his bucket list before he dies but hasn’t been able to start yet as these probate people are blocking him from what is rightfully his !
My mum’s estate includes two buy to let properties and maybe £600k in various accounts, shares and premium bonds. Dad wants to start gifting away all of this wealth to family and then live 7yrs to avoid inheritance tax. He could have started this process a year ago
When the time finally comes what response should I expect if I request the 7yr rule be amended to 6yrs in the circumstances ! Or maybe I could suggest that compensation might be appropriate…..in the way a fine is appropriate if I’m late paying my tax when it’s due !!
It seems to vary considerably - for reasons that are not clear. Lots of stories on here and elsewhere on the web about how long it takes so, when dad died in Jan this year we expected a long wait.
Probate for his c.£400k estate was submitted mid-March and we had the grant back in about five weeks. It was a completely online application with no IHT and a simple will which may have helped but if they can do some this quick then not sure why so many take so long?
Probate for his c.£400k estate was submitted mid-March and we had the grant back in about five weeks. It was a completely online application with no IHT and a simple will which may have helped but if they can do some this quick then not sure why so many take so long?
It's so long ago, I forgot starting this thread.
Finally received probate on my mum's modest, below IHT estate last week. 15 months after applying. Could barely have been a simpler affair - me and my sis, split equally. No one else involved.
We both complained to our MPs about how long it was taking, no idea if that made any difference. There is no other mechanism for raising a formal complaint as far as I know.
Finally received probate on my mum's modest, below IHT estate last week. 15 months after applying. Could barely have been a simpler affair - me and my sis, split equally. No one else involved.
We both complained to our MPs about how long it was taking, no idea if that made any difference. There is no other mechanism for raising a formal complaint as far as I know.
dontlookdown said:
It's so long ago, I forgot starting this thread.
Finally received probate on my mum's modest, below IHT estate last week. 15 months after applying. Could barely have been a simpler affair - me and my sis, split equally. No one else involved.
We both complained to our MPs about how long it was taking, no idea if that made any difference. There is no other mechanism for raising a formal complaint as far as I know.
One minute on Google produced this, not saying it will work though:Finally received probate on my mum's modest, below IHT estate last week. 15 months after applying. Could barely have been a simpler affair - me and my sis, split equally. No one else involved.
We both complained to our MPs about how long it was taking, no idea if that made any difference. There is no other mechanism for raising a formal complaint as far as I know.
HM Courts & Tribunals Service
Make a complaint if you’re unhappy with the Probate registry service
You might want to make a complaint. Our complaint process looks at how your case was handled by our staff. We’re not able to change the decision in your case or investigate how a judge or magistrate acted towards you.
To complain about the Probate Registry service:
complete our online Probate Registry complaints form
contact our courts or tribunals by email, phone or in writing – emailing co************@ju*****.uk and copying in your MP.
We aim to respond within 10 working days.
Review
If you’re not happy with the reply to your complaint, you can ask a senior Probate Registry manager at the office to carry out a review. You should explain why you’re not satisfied. The manager will aim to respond to you within 10 working days.
Appeal against the Probate Registry’s Review
If you’re not satisfied with the senior manager’s review of your complaint, you can appeal to the Customer Investigations Team. The manager who reviewed your complaint will give you their contact details. The Customer Investigations Team will take a fresh look at the way your complaint has been handled. They will aim to respond to you within 15 working days.
If you remain unsatisfied at the end of the HMCTS complaints process, you can also ask your member of Parliament to refer your case to the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman.
If you’re unhappy with the result of your case
If you’re unhappy with the result of your case, you can appeal the decision, for example, if you think the decision was incorrect. You might want to seek legal advice if you decide to do this. You can find out how to appeal a decision with the judiciary on GOV.UK or through your legal representative.
dontlookdown said:
It's so long ago, I forgot starting this thread.
Finally received probate on my mum's modest, below IHT estate last week. 15 months after applying. Could barely have been a simpler affair - me and my sis, split equally. No one else involved.
We both complained to our MPs about how long it was taking, no idea if that made any difference. There is no other mechanism for raising a formal complaint as far as I know.
Wowsa. That is a HORRENDOUS timeframe. Finally received probate on my mum's modest, below IHT estate last week. 15 months after applying. Could barely have been a simpler affair - me and my sis, split equally. No one else involved.
We both complained to our MPs about how long it was taking, no idea if that made any difference. There is no other mechanism for raising a formal complaint as far as I know.
I wonder how common that is now, or indeed what exactly caused the delays: that isn’t just someone taking a bit longer.
If you paid someone to do it all, I would be pretty demanding on them to understand WHY things took so long. Might be that they failed to do their side correctly, and resulting ping-pongs between them and HMRC…
Good luck getting answers from the MP.
Still, pleased that you are finally getting there.
Think I might have said earlier in the thread that MrsMikeIOW did all the paperwork for her mum’s estate, and her application took almost exactly 15-16 *weeks*. Of course she got the notification the day we had left on a 2 month Interrail adventure, so nothing happened for a bit whilst we travelled…
The inflation crunch and resulting stagnation of property sales meant her mum’s house is only now *finally* approaching the end - after well over a year on the market - with the buyers looking at a completion date in 2-3 weeks. That will be a load off her mind. And a lot less mowing/hedging for me!
Well done
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