Is this solicitor taking the proverbial
Discussion
My grandad passed away 01/01/2024 and my aunt who's the executor instructed a solicitor to deal with his estate which afaik was a simple one. one bank, one property. Grandad had 4 children but 8 months before his death my father (2nd eldest child) passed away so his share of the estate stays on the bloodline to myself, brother & sister.
In January 2024 we recieved one letter offering condolences and asking for ID & address proof, February another letter was recieved along with a copy of the will, May saw a 3rd letter stating probate had been granted but no distribution of funds would be completed due to a 6 month period in case the will was disputed in anyway, since then nothing, not a peep.
Fast forward to this year, for whatever reason Grandads flat wasnt completed til the first week of April (conveniently before the increase in stamp duties) again since then, nothing, we've called & been told we'd recieve letters & updated but there's been nothing
Is this normal to take this long, anyone have any advice to approach the solicitor with or if we get fobbed off with BS is there anyway to take any complaints forward to?
In January 2024 we recieved one letter offering condolences and asking for ID & address proof, February another letter was recieved along with a copy of the will, May saw a 3rd letter stating probate had been granted but no distribution of funds would be completed due to a 6 month period in case the will was disputed in anyway, since then nothing, not a peep.
Fast forward to this year, for whatever reason Grandads flat wasnt completed til the first week of April (conveniently before the increase in stamp duties) again since then, nothing, we've called & been told we'd recieve letters & updated but there's been nothing
Is this normal to take this long, anyone have any advice to approach the solicitor with or if we get fobbed off with BS is there anyway to take any complaints forward to?
Time between dod and beneficiaries receiving monies can be anything up to 18 months depending on complexities etc.
Assuming the will wasn't contested in any way and the instructions were clear your case it does sound a relatively simple estate to administer though especially as there was Solicitor involvement.
The 6 months wait is usual and can be sped up slightly depending on circumstance's.
I've nearly completed my recent Executor duties on a relatives estate which was further complicated by the incoming inheritance from a third party whose will was contested and the fact her own estate also contained music royalties.
My relative died in November 2023 ,probate was granted in July 24 and 90% of her total estate was paid out in Feb 2025.
In your case I would have been chasing the Solicitor long before now and certainly before you make a complaint.
In fact ring them or better still email them today with a polite but firm stance.
Assuming the will wasn't contested in any way and the instructions were clear your case it does sound a relatively simple estate to administer though especially as there was Solicitor involvement.
The 6 months wait is usual and can be sped up slightly depending on circumstance's.
I've nearly completed my recent Executor duties on a relatives estate which was further complicated by the incoming inheritance from a third party whose will was contested and the fact her own estate also contained music royalties.
My relative died in November 2023 ,probate was granted in July 24 and 90% of her total estate was paid out in Feb 2025.
In your case I would have been chasing the Solicitor long before now and certainly before you make a complaint.
In fact ring them or better still email them today with a polite but firm stance.
Hey I did it myself and it was wrapped up in about 4 months. (Except some money in Ireland which, due to poor advice from solicitors I had to use over there - took about 18 months)
Also LR on the house was granted in the original 4 months, but took a few more months to update (This is a known issue)
Your solicitor is royally taking the piss, I would doorstep them
Also LR on the house was granted in the original 4 months, but took a few more months to update (This is a known issue)
Your solicitor is royally taking the piss, I would doorstep them
If completion on the flat was early April then in solicitors’ time-frames that’s not long at all.
I don’t remember the exact length of time it took but wife’s godfather’s estate was handled by his solicitor and that, including selling his house took a few months - I was surprised it was within the 6 mths that many suggest is pretty well standard for solicitors to wait after probate in case of claims on the estate.
And that was with his solicitor who seemed to be on holiday a lot. I’m aware the other main beneficiary chased the arse off the solicitor though - she’d put his house on the market on Monday after he’d died the Friday before - the solicitor’s face was a picture when she told him - and arranged to meet the solicitor the same week.
I don’t remember the exact length of time it took but wife’s godfather’s estate was handled by his solicitor and that, including selling his house took a few months - I was surprised it was within the 6 mths that many suggest is pretty well standard for solicitors to wait after probate in case of claims on the estate.
And that was with his solicitor who seemed to be on holiday a lot. I’m aware the other main beneficiary chased the arse off the solicitor though - she’d put his house on the market on Monday after he’d died the Friday before - the solicitor’s face was a picture when she told him - and arranged to meet the solicitor the same week.
rlw said:
leyorkie said:
Don't forget to ask for the interest on money held in their account for such a long time.
This always comes as a surprise to the solicitors but it's not theirs.
Not necessarily correct - depends upon how much it is and their T&C which you have agreed to............This always comes as a surprise to the solicitors but it's not theirs.
The rate of interest in each case appeared much lower than I could obtain though !
alscar said:
rlw said:
leyorkie said:
Don't forget to ask for the interest on money held in their account for such a long time.
This always comes as a surprise to the solicitors but it's not theirs.
Not necessarily correct - depends upon how much it is and their T&C which you have agreed to............This always comes as a surprise to the solicitors but it's not theirs.
The rate of interest in each case appeared much lower than I could obtain though !
Thanks for everyones replies so far
Going to see them isnt an option, they’re in Dover & my family emigrated to Birmingham 30 years ago!
As for his house, the sale was actually agreed in the November before he died, obviously his death delayed things but surely not 14months (the same solicitors are the ones dealing with the sale too)
I’m slightly annoyed that my aunt got a solicitor involved in the first place, I work in banking & have some experience with how to deal with an estate but she completley ignored that & it’s probably going to cost the estate well over £3k
Going to see them isnt an option, they’re in Dover & my family emigrated to Birmingham 30 years ago!
As for his house, the sale was actually agreed in the November before he died, obviously his death delayed things but surely not 14months (the same solicitors are the ones dealing with the sale too)
I’m slightly annoyed that my aunt got a solicitor involved in the first place, I work in banking & have some experience with how to deal with an estate but she completley ignored that & it’s probably going to cost the estate well over £3k
ralphrj said:
alscar said:
rlw said:
leyorkie said:
Don't forget to ask for the interest on money held in their account for such a long time.
This always comes as a surprise to the solicitors but it's not theirs.
Not necessarily correct - depends upon how much it is and their T&C which you have agreed to............This always comes as a surprise to the solicitors but it's not theirs.
The rate of interest in each case appeared much lower than I could obtain though !
Executors have a legal duty to maximise any estate quantum’s.
I just looked back at the email trail with the solicitor - wife's godfather passed away in mid-March and the solicitor emailed in mid-July to say everything was done and he was going to send over the estate accounts for wife to approve.
There's then a final email from wife in mid-Sept asking how things were going and when was he going to send the accounts! So it seems like from it all being done to the final step (which seems to be where you are) took at least two months, probably due to another extensive holiday. I think he then sent the individual bequests out (there were a fair number of those) and waited for confirmation of receipt before the residual estate went to wife and a relative).
The bill was ~£2500 inc VAT and that included the conveyancing on selling the house. I recall thinking that seemed OK at the time (2011) as I'd feared a lot more, however you may be being a little ambitious hoping the bill in your case will be £3K.
There's then a final email from wife in mid-Sept asking how things were going and when was he going to send the accounts! So it seems like from it all being done to the final step (which seems to be where you are) took at least two months, probably due to another extensive holiday. I think he then sent the individual bequests out (there were a fair number of those) and waited for confirmation of receipt before the residual estate went to wife and a relative).
The bill was ~£2500 inc VAT and that included the conveyancing on selling the house. I recall thinking that seemed OK at the time (2011) as I'd feared a lot more, however you may be being a little ambitious hoping the bill in your case will be £3K.
zsdom said:
I’m slightly annoyed that my aunt got a solicitor involved in the first place, I work in banking & have some experience with how to deal with an estate but she completely ignored that & it’s probably going to cost the estate well over £3k
I once had a hair-cut. I've got a pair of scissors. Would you like a trim?Fiddly-Dee said:
I executed my mother's estate. Probate granted in 6 hours! All done and dusted within 6 weeks of her death. No property sale, granted, but no solicitors either.
Can you explain how probate was granted in 6 hours? Was that the time between you submitting the application online and actually receiving the grant of probate? If so, it must be a record, and is radically different to the average wait of several weeks.We have 2 ongoing
- MiL died in March 2024. The DWP have been conducting an investigation into how much Pension Credit was paid to her since she moved into care homes. This has been on going for over 6 months now. Last moth they wanted copies of all bank statements going back 5 years so that they could see how much pension and pension credit THEY had paid her!
- Uncle died in January this year and was intestate. His sole next of kin is my FiL who was too infirm to sort out his affairs so he signed it over to myself and my wife via a solicitor. We have yet to receive the Letters of Administration (no probate as no will) so can't sell his house. Also despite a letter stating that everything was to go to his brother (my FiL), as there was no will, half the estate is going to his late sisters kids...who had nothing to do with the late uncle at all. Never saw him, wrote to him, nothing. Plus we have to engage the services of a family search company to try and find these kids!
- MiL died in March 2024. The DWP have been conducting an investigation into how much Pension Credit was paid to her since she moved into care homes. This has been on going for over 6 months now. Last moth they wanted copies of all bank statements going back 5 years so that they could see how much pension and pension credit THEY had paid her!
- Uncle died in January this year and was intestate. His sole next of kin is my FiL who was too infirm to sort out his affairs so he signed it over to myself and my wife via a solicitor. We have yet to receive the Letters of Administration (no probate as no will) so can't sell his house. Also despite a letter stating that everything was to go to his brother (my FiL), as there was no will, half the estate is going to his late sisters kids...who had nothing to do with the late uncle at all. Never saw him, wrote to him, nothing. Plus we have to engage the services of a family search company to try and find these kids!
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