House purchase and probate

[SkemJazzer]

I had an offer accepted on a house at the beginning of February and just as contracts were about to be exchanged it was decided that the lady whose house I was buying wasn’t mentally competent which led to the lady’s son applying for deputyship through the court of protection.

During this process the lady unfortunately died (98 so a good age) which now means that the son dad to apply for probate before the sale can be completed.

This leads me to my question. I believe that there was a new computer system put in place to help probate applications to be processed but it has been a disaster and led to a backlog of approximately 12 weeks. My only bit of hope is something I read that stated that as the house sale was agreed before the lady died, the probate application can be “fast tracked” as there is a danger that the delay could cause the sale to fall through. Does anyone have any experience with the process that could give any advice?

Thanks

[anonymous-user]

I can’t advise on your exact issue, but as a former Sales Neg in an Estate Agency, I am aware that it can take weeks or months for probate to be granted following a death, resulting in a lot of frustrations. It’s linked to the complexity of the estate.

What has your solicitor said, as I assume this transaction is fairly well advanced and that lawyers are instructed?

[W124Bob]

My FiL died on new years and then my own mum in early Feb, FiL estate is complicated because of his own reluctance to tell anyone anything, thankfully MiL has sufficient funds off her own. My mums estate was modest but just above the Nottingham Building Society probate limit(£20k) both Probates have only just been issued.

[Russ T Bolt]

Probably not much help but my own experience was that things can move more quickly if people try.

My Mother moved in with us start of 2011 and we put her house on the market Feb 2011. She unfortunately died May 2011 from memory we had just accepted an offer (may have been a week or two after death, but around that time).

I applied for Probate, hand delivered the forms, spoke to the helpful staff and explained the situation. Offered to attend for interview anytime, including short notice with an hours notice etc.

The new owners moved in in July or August 2011.

[Seight_Returns]

I sold an elderly relative's house after she passed away and left the house to my family last year.

It was a very simple estate with a value below the IHT threshold and probate was granted within a month of application.

The solicitors on both sides would not allow exchange of contracts until probate had been granted.

If you're buying with a mortgage, I doubt the mortgage provider would allow the sale to proceed, since until grant of probate you don't know for sure whether the property is actually the seller's to sell.