Probate tips/experience

[dontlookdown]

My Mum died over the Xmas break. A sad moment, end of an era and so on. But she was an old lady with dementia who had lived a full life, with the exception of the final decade or so. I am relieved that she popped off before the dementia completely claimed her personality tbh.

So, to probate. What is it, and how much does it cost? How long does it take? Can I do it myself or do I need a solicitor? Her affairs are not complicated. Any tips or experience welcome.

[dontlookdown]

Geoff391 said:

Hi ,
firstly sorry for Your loss , I lost My Mum back in May and was Executor for Her small estate.
We had already sold Her house to pay care home fees using the LPA which expired on the passing of the person covered.
I did the grant of probate online and it was very straight forward and was not costly ( sorry can’t remember exactly but ball park £150 ?). It says it can take 8 weeks and mine took nearly that long.
Check with the agencies that you have to deal with that they want a grant as some don’t if the sum is small.
Good luck
Geoff

Tks Geoff. That sounds encouraging for DIY which I am up for if it's not too much faff.

My mum's estate includes a retirement flat which is currently let but will need to be sold I guess. No shares or other assets apart from some cash in National Savings and a few bits of decent jewellery.

Sis and I are sole beneficiaries and we are also trustees and executors.

[dontlookdown]

Tks all for your v helpful replies. If I can get a solicitor to do it for a couple of grand I will prob go for that option. Couple of friends who said that it cost them ca 10k set me thinking about DIY as that is a fair chunk, but 2k or so I can live with for the sake of a simple life;)

[dontlookdown]

I am still waiting for the grant of probate, in case anyone is interested! So be prepared for delays.

I was told 20 weeks but it is now a month past that. Probate office say we should get it before Xmas...

I got a local solicitor to do it in the end. DIY looked fairly doable but I just didn't want to do it. I am happy I made the right choice for me.

[dontlookdown]

eliot said:

As others have said, if there’s a will and the estate is simple - do it yourself, because like the pro’s can prey on you at an emotional time.

Whereas I chose a solicitor for precisely the same reason;)

I think the point is that you can do DIY if it's a simple estate, but do you want to? Some may find it helpful or cathartic, others will not. No right or wrong choice.

[dontlookdown]

mikeiow said:

That’s quite interesting.
Are you saying that from the point where your solicitor actually applied for probate, it has taken 24 weeks and a further 10-12 expected?
Or from the point you appointed the solicitor?

One of the siblings in our case (see times stated above) had suggested probate would have been faster to get had they paid to use a solicitor.
Aside from suggesting she could give up a 5-figure portion of her share to my wife if she wanted to pretend they had, your comment makes it feel like probate can be faster for DIY than using your solicitor.

I’m not suggesting you didn’t make the right decision - it sounds like you know you’ve done the right thing.

FWIW, we had a friend who has been actively working recently on ‘speeding up’ the online process for applying for probate. If the time you state is from the point your solicitor applied for it, then either something has gone very wrong in that process, or perhaps your solicitor has misled you as to what is going on. According to the government, you should get it within 16 weeks of applying.

That's from the date the application was submitted in May. The probate office actually say we should get it in another month, the before Xmas bit is my own interpretation based on what has happened already;)

[dontlookdown]

mikeiow said:

dontlookdown said:

That's from the date the application was submitted in May. The probate office actually say we should get it in another month, the before Xmas bit is my own interpretation based on what has happened already;)

Yikes.
Maybe the solicitor had to go back with missing information? Has the solicitor given you any explanation for the delays?
Given what our friend told us and what that government page states, you are heading for 10 weeks more than it should be

Hope things get sorted out, & of course, sorry for the loss of your mum.

As you suggested above, the process of DIY was quite cathartic for MrsMikeIOW: as she put it, her Scottish father would never have forgiven her for paying someone a large chunk when she was capable of doing it herself, but it is indeed a large chunk of time and paperwork….we lost the use of the pool table due to the weight of papers spread out on it!

No explanation, but a good friend who's dad died a couple of weeks after my mum is on a similar timescale. And his sister is a solicitor so she has been v 'on it' the whole time. The system remains clogged up and slow at the moment, whatever the government might claim to the contrary...

Grief takes people on different ways doesn't it? I am glad your Mrs found it helped her.

[dontlookdown]

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.