legal costs to pay when inheriting property
Discussion
I was a little surprised that the legal costs involved on inheriting our parents' property jointly with my brother were similar to buying a new property. Approx £2500- £3000, as the solicitor can't give an exact quote. Is this normal?
I realise that my brother and I would need to be tenants in common and there would be a charge for that - but well over £1K +VAT for land registry and then there are a lot of additional costs for unknown sums, all with +Vat.
Has anyone else experienced this when they've inherited property?
I realise that my brother and I would need to be tenants in common and there would be a charge for that - but well over £1K +VAT for land registry and then there are a lot of additional costs for unknown sums, all with +Vat.
Has anyone else experienced this when they've inherited property?
speedyman said:
As long as you have probate and a will it's legally yours. Just register it, you don't need a solicitor.
The solicitor is the executor and has probate and the will. A conveyancing colleague will be in charge of the property transfer work - if my brother and agree to their extra charges, we can use our own solicitor ( which neither of us have one). The solicitor has already charged £15K to the estate so far.This includes -
Applying to the freeholder for the licence which, because the flat is leasehold, will be required before the title can be transferred.
Registering the transfer (once signed by the Executors) with HM Land Registry
Serving formal notice on the freeholder in accordance with the lease.
Aside from land registry fees of approx £1K +Vat there are Freeholder's transfer fee and Freeholder's charge for approving the licence which are unknown. Also £150+Vat to prepare a Declaration of Trust. Solicitors charge £260+Vat/hour.
My brother and I don't want the flat, we've agreed to taking it so as to remove it from the solicitor and stop delays with the pay out of funds and also to stop the solicitor from keep charging us. Our father died over a year ago ( April 2019) and we're still waiting for the estate to be settled.
It is frustrating, and I'm sorely tempted to put in a formal complaint against them. To who? the Law society? However, it's very difficult when they are the executors and are in total control and can do what they like.
It is frustrating, and I'm sorely tempted to put in a formal complaint against them. To who? the Law society? However, it's very difficult when they are the executors and are in total control and can do what they like.
But I think that shows how little one can do, as a beneficiary, to stop solicitors charging excessive amounts.LetsTryAgain - I don't know. I also have little knowledge of the procedures. What I think should happen, I then discover doesn't happen. I've been waiting nearly 2 weeks to find out if there is a possibility that we'll be needed to sign paperwork in their offices. We both live approx 200 miles away and effectively shielding, so would need some time to organise a visit. Emailed them again last week and still no reply. Each email costs us £30 too.
Simpo - I think there should be warning notices about having solicitors as sole executor to your will.
catweasle said:
Probate was granted in October and we've been told 1st August for initial payouts ( to charities and minor beneficiaries). Simpo - I think there should be warning notices about having solicitors as sole executor to your will.
The delay is that my father remarried about 5 years ago. Both were in their mid 80s. There was no provision for his widow in the will so just in case the will was challenged the solicitor said we had to wait 10 months after probate had been granted. Hence 1 August is the date we've been given for when beneficiaries can receive funds from the estate.
We're not entirely certain how much the estate is worth. Roughly £100K in cash and his retirement apartment which we valued at £175K ( It has very large management costs and hence difficult to sell).
There are tenants in the apartment as my father lived with his 2nd wife in her home. The solicitor is the family solicitor used by his 2nd wife.
As an aside, my father's sister died 2 months after him and the solicitor dealing with her estate has also charged a similarly large interim sum to her estate, though another aunt is the main beneficiary of that will.
We're not entirely certain how much the estate is worth. Roughly £100K in cash and his retirement apartment which we valued at £175K ( It has very large management costs and hence difficult to sell).
There are tenants in the apartment as my father lived with his 2nd wife in her home. The solicitor is the family solicitor used by his 2nd wife.
As an aside, my father's sister died 2 months after him and the solicitor dealing with her estate has also charged a similarly large interim sum to her estate, though another aunt is the main beneficiary of that will.
catweasle said:
Who wrote the Will....the Executors' firm?...what grounds do they have for thinking it may be challenged and by whom? If they did their job right when the Will was drafted and executed then there should not be any way it can be challenged.
...has someone made a Larke v Nugus request?.............as long as all the correct procedures were followed and he had capacity then he can leave his assets to whoever he wants to.............. IANAL but I am an executor in the middle of a legal Will challenge and unless they have really good grounds to suspect a potential challenge then, IMO they are taking the piss, unless there is something they are not telling you.
I think it was the Executor's office - I don't have the will easily to hand. The will was rewritten following my mother's death and just before my Dad remarried - his future wife also wrote one at the same time. His future wife had already given her house and money equally to her 2 adult children following the death of her husband, presumably to minimise inheritance tax. Their mother was allowed to stay in her house but it was only after my father died that I discovered he was paying rent to his 2nd wife's family and had been since before they married. ...has someone made a Larke v Nugus request?.............as long as all the correct procedures were followed and he had capacity then he can leave his assets to whoever he wants to.............. IANAL but I am an executor in the middle of a legal Will challenge and unless they have really good grounds to suspect a potential challenge then, IMO they are taking the piss, unless there is something they are not telling you.
No idea about Larke v Nugus, had a google about t and don't think it's relevant.
I had a long chat with my brother earlier today and we've had to accept there's very little we can do about this. After minor beneficiaries and charities, my brother and I receive 40% of his estate each and his 2 adult children 10% each. His 2 adult children are looking to get on the property ladder themselves and have been looking forward to receiving their inheritance start of August. Hence, why my brother and I have chosen to take my father's apartment as part of our share.
It is galling, but there's no way we're going to win without it costing a lot more.
It is galling, but there's no way we're going to win without it costing a lot more.
Yes, it was 'in contemplation of marriage'. I did say to my Dad he needed to write it after he had married, but he obviously thought what he'd done was sufficient.
His rental income covered the apartment's management costs, which are expensive as there is a resident warden couple on site for 24/7 support. Also the letting agents fee and the various repairs/certificates needed. He might have made £4K/year income from it.
Mr-B yes, the solicitor has the money from the estate and takes his fees from it and then tells us. There was an initial estimate of costs which he then informs us will need to increase as that's already been spent. We get a bit confused as the solicitor's letter is actually telling the senior partner/executor and we get a copy of this letter.
His rental income covered the apartment's management costs, which are expensive as there is a resident warden couple on site for 24/7 support. Also the letting agents fee and the various repairs/certificates needed. He might have made £4K/year income from it.
Mr-B yes, the solicitor has the money from the estate and takes his fees from it and then tells us. There was an initial estimate of costs which he then informs us will need to increase as that's already been spent. We get a bit confused as the solicitor's letter is actually telling the senior partner/executor and we get a copy of this letter.
I received a reply from the solicitors late today. Part of which states:-
The period for claims under the Inheritance ( Provision for Family and Dependants) Act is due to elapse on the 1st August 2020 and that the Executors would look to pay the legacies and move to the distribution stage of the Estate after that date,
Further blurb means my brother and I won't be getting our share till late September, but my brother's adult children should get theirs by end of August.Though there was a warning that it was up to the Executors when they paid out, and presumably ruffling feathers would delay things.
The period for claims under the Inheritance ( Provision for Family and Dependants) Act is due to elapse on the 1st August 2020 and that the Executors would look to pay the legacies and move to the distribution stage of the Estate after that date,
Further blurb means my brother and I won't be getting our share till late September, but my brother's adult children should get theirs by end of August.Though there was a warning that it was up to the Executors when they paid out, and presumably ruffling feathers would delay things.
Too right
New email says that the management company are the owners of the Freehold. They want £285 +vat to even look at doing anything that might require documentation. Then a notice fee of £100 +Vat then an Admin fee of £500 + vat.
Once again, my brother and I seem to be stitched up with ever increasing costs and nothing we can do to say this is OTT re fees.
New email says that the management company are the owners of the Freehold. They want £285 +vat to even look at doing anything that might require documentation. Then a notice fee of £100 +Vat then an Admin fee of £500 + vat.
Once again, my brother and I seem to be stitched up with ever increasing costs and nothing we can do to say this is OTT re fees.
Edited by condor on Monday 3rd August 05:59
Gassing Station | Homes, Gardens and DIY | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff