Goodbye Mum

[DianeW]

I too don’t think it’s daunting and can see how it can be done with organisation.

But putting myself in his shoes, don’t forget this has come out of the blue and without his prior .knowledge or even maybe consent....so for him I can see why he is concerned, maybe he thinks he needs legal advice and guidance to make sure he acts legally and even though you have reassured him you will help, he still has concerns ????

I really hope you can both do it together in order to preserve funds and that things run smoothly for you.

 

[Kikki21]

I too don’t think it’s daunting and can see how it can be done with organisation.

But putting myself in his shoes, don’t forget this has come out of the blue and without his prior .knowledge or even maybe consent....so for him I can see why he is concerned, maybe he thinks he needs legal advice and guidance to make sure he acts legally and even though you have reassured him you will help, he still has concerns ????

I really hope you can both do it together in order to preserve funds and that things run smoothly for you.

I really hope that he was aware he was executor of the Will beforehand. I can’t see my mum not asking him to be but it was 7 yrs ago so maybe he might have forgotten that he was.
I really need this to run smoothly & i’m not really sure why things sometimes take so long to sort out. I guess if I wasn’t helping him then he would be really stuck & probably wouldn’t know where to start at all & would need a probate solicitor.

 

[Kikki21]

Just looked at the cost of a solicitor to sell the house & it is still around £500 on the cheapest quote. So still struggling about this £4000 quote for probate, some people must be getting very rich from this process.

 

[Marcelle123]

£4000 does seem excessive. Our solicitor charged a little less than £1100. Of course, as I've said before, Mum's will was only about cash as her house had been sold, and was simply an equal division between her six children. But £4000? Gosh.

Thinking of you, and hoping matters will be sorted without too much time or difficulty. xx

 

[Susan11]

I really hope that he was aware he was executor of the Will beforehand. I can’t see my mum not asking him to be but it was 7 yrs ago so maybe he might have forgotten that he was.
I really need this to run smoothly & i’m not really sure why things sometimes take so long to sort out. I guess if I wasn’t helping him then he would be really stuck & probably wouldn’t know where to start at all & would need a probate solicitor.

My Uncle died intestate 2 years ago and my cousin who is dealing with things still doesn't have Probate.

 

[Kikki21]

£4000 does seem excessive. Our solicitor charged a little less than £1100. Of course, as I've said before, Mum's will was only about cash as her house had been sold, and was simply an equal division between her six children. But £4000? Gosh.

Thinking of you, and hoping matters will be sorted without too much time or difficulty. xx

And Coop Legal Services are meant to be amongst the cheapest! I will ask him
today about what exactly was included in that quote as it seems mad! My mum’s Will is about distributing cash & selling a property. It’s making my head ache to be honest.
Your solicitors fee is more like it. I know there will be fees to pay but we really need to keep them to a minimum. I would rather he renunciate & nominate me to take it all over if he feels he can’t do it. Xx

 

[Kikki21]

My Uncle died intestate 2 years ago and my cousin who is dealing with things still doesn't have Probate.

My mum has a valid will though so Probate should be granted ASAP - basically as far as I am aware, all probate is approving that the Will is valid & can be sorted out legally. It seems to have to jump through a lot of legal loops!

 

[nitram]

The Coop Legal Service operate a price match guarantee (with T&Cs)
https://www.co-oplegalservices.co.uk/probate-solicitors/fixed-fee-probate-quote/

The link also gives typical quotes for a range of estates.

 

[Bunpoots]

I have a friend who works for a solicitor and she tells me the reason they draft wills so cheaply and offer to store them for free is because if they then get the probate to do they make a fortune from it.

I certainly felt that the nearly £5,200 my dad’s funeral company’s solicitor wanted to do the probate on his very straightforward estate was extremely excessive. And this didn’t include the conveyancing that was to be dealt with separately.

I think my solicitor would charge around £600 + VAT just to fill in the forms but once I’d got all the info they needed I found it easier just to fill them in myself online which cost £215 as I got in just before the fee increase.
So there’s just estate agents and conveyancing to pay for when the bungalow is sold.


Dad’s well below the inheritance tax threshold so no complications there either.

 

[Susan11]

My mum has a valid will though so Probate should be granted ASAP - basically as far as I am aware, all probate is approving that the Will is valid & can be sorted out legally. It seems to have to jump through a lot of legal loops!

It's still a long time to wait !

 

[Kikki21]

The Coop Legal Service operate a price match guarantee (with T&Cs)
https://www.co-oplegalservices.co.uk/probate-solicitors/fixed-fee-probate-quote/

The link also gives typical quotes for a range of estates.

Thank you - what they have quoted for means they are dealing with everything then but we have dealt with most of it already or in the process of!

 

[Kikki21]

I have a friend who works for a solicitor and she tells me the reason they draft wills so cheaply and offer to store them for free is because if they then get the probate to do they make a fortune from it.

I certainly felt that the nearly £5,200 my dad’s funeral company’s solicitor wanted to do the probate on his very straightforward estate was extremely excessive. And this didn’t include the conveyancing that was to be dealt with separately.

I think my solicitor would charge around £600 + VAT just to fill in the forms but once I’d got all the info they needed I found it easier just to fill them in myself online which cost £215 as I got in just before the fee increase.
So there’s just estate agents and conveyancing to pay for when the bungalow is sold.


Dad’s well below the inheritance tax threshold so no complications there either.

Exactly this @Bunpoots - we have all the info required. I am going to email the executor & tell him all this can be done & for a lot less than he has been quoted.

 

[Kikki21]

It's still a long time to wait !

Yes that is definitely an excessive time to wait & makes you wonder why it is so delayed!

 

[love.dad.but..]

And Coop Legal Services are meant to be amongst the cheapest! I will ask him
today about what exactly was included in that quote as it seems mad! My mum’s Will is about distributing cash & selling a property. It’s making my head ache to be honest.
Your solicitors fee is more like it. I know there will be fees to pay but we really need to keep them to a minimum. I would rather he renunciate & nominate me to take it all over if he feels he can’t do it. Xx

Have you suggested this to him...he may welcome it a way out of his 'moral duty as he sees it' if he is concerned about what he thinks is the enormity and responsibility of the task? I can understand why executors use solicitors for a complicated estate and in some circumstances solicitors have found funds that even close family didn't know about but generally as in the 2 estates that I have applied for probate if the will is straightforward the solicitor is often provided with all the info by family anyway. If the executor does want to handle matters even with your help then unfortunately it would seem that to some extent your influence may be limited in what you can suggest.

 

[Kikki21]

Have you suggested this to him...he may welcome it a way out of his 'moral duty as he sees it' if he is concerned about what he thinks is the enormity and responsibility of the task? I can understand why executors use solicitors for a complicated estate and in some circumstances solicitors have found funds that even close family didn't know about but generally as in the 2 estates that I have applied for probate if the will is straightforward the solicitor is often provided with all the info by family anyway. If the executor does want to handle matters even with your help then unfortunately it would seem that to some extent your influence may be limited in what you can suggest.

I haven’t as yet suggested that he renunciates but then he has already started dealing with the estate. Obviously because I do know a lot about my mum’s estate & her finances etc then of course I have helped him out as I feel it is my duty to do so.
Of course if he was out of the picture then it would make my life a lot easier as I’m in the driving seat & don’t have to defer to him all the time. The lesson in this is to choose your executors very wisely.

I have emailed him explaining what I am doing this week as in 2 more valuations with the bungalow & from there, I will choose which company to deal with.
I have also said that I will need money from the estate account to deal with my mum’s garden as it needs clearing & tidying again plus money to pay for the buildings insurance as I am paying for that by monthly direct debit.
I have also asked for an advance of money for myself as it will save me getting a loan or overdraft as I do believe I can ask for it & that there is money in the account to do so from all that I have read.

 

[nitram]

If you want to help the executor you could offer to help him fill in the relevant IHT declaration, from what you have said it will be >>>IHT205<<<
Guidance is on >>>IHT206<<<

IHT205 can also be completed >>>online<<<

 

[Kikki21]

If you want to help the executor you could offer to help him fill in the relevant IHT declaration, from what you have said it will be >>>IHT205<<<
Guidance is on >>>IHT206<<<

IHT205 can also be completed >>>online<<<

Thank you, I have already done this on Wednesday when he was here so all done & filled out. He is waiting for the funds from the estate to hit his estate account which might be as soon as Monday so he can fill in the probate form online so he can pay for it there & then.

 

[love.dad.but..]

I haven’t as yet suggested that he renunciates but then he has already started dealing with the estate. Obviously because I do know a lot about my mum’s estate & her finances etc then of course I have helped him out as I feel it is my duty to do so.
Of course if he was out of the picture then it would make my life a lot easier as I’m in the driving seat & don’t have to defer to him all the time. The lesson in this is to choose your executors very wisely.

I have emailed him explaining what I am doing this week as in 2 more valuations with the bungalow & from there, I will choose which company to deal with.
I have also said that I will need money from the estate account to deal with my mum’s garden as it needs clearing & tidying again plus money to pay for the buildings insurance as I am paying for that by monthly direct debit.
I have also asked for an advance of money for myself as it will save me getting a loan or overdraft as I do believe I can ask for it & that there is money in the account to do so from all that I have read.

Good luck with it all..hopefully as he ticks things off his 'to do' list he will gain confidence and feel it is all much more straightforward and easier than he feared.

 

[Kikki21]

Good luck with it all..hopefully as he ticks things off his 'to do' list he will gain confidence and feel it is all much more straightforward and easier than he feared.

The more I read about it all, the more convinced I am that there is a lot of scare mongering going on with probate specialists going on about difficulties & delays & harbouring doom etc.

 

[Jessbow]

Just looked at the cost of a solicitor to sell the house & it is still around £500 on the cheapest quote. So still struggling about this £4000 quote for probate, some people must be getting very rich from this process.

Look carefully at the small print- that might be just what they charge as their fees ex costs. Cost for searches and etc maybe on top. That sounds too cheap to be true.
Martin Lewis is fairly reliable

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/mortgages/how-to-sell-a-house/#costs