Probate solicitor recommendation?
Discussion
Hi all, we're in the sad position of trying to sort out my late sister's estate and I was hoping some on here may have recommendations for a solicitor specialising in probate.
Sadly it's not a particularly easy estate as:
- she died intestate (in this case I know that parents are classed as 'next of kin', which isn't an issue)
- her estate will be over the IHT threshold
Sadly it's not a particularly easy estate as:
- she died intestate (in this case I know that parents are classed as 'next of kin', which isn't an issue)
- her estate will be over the IHT threshold
I used the Co-Op for 2 estates, they will give you a fixed price - and you can negotiate it a bit.
They will come across as cost effective, but they are slow. Both estates took over a year, close to 2.
If you want financial certainty then Co-Op are a good option, get a quote at least. You need to keep on top of them though.
I always felt leaving an hourly rate at a normal Solicitor firm could potentially blow up in terms of fees, good luck
They will come across as cost effective, but they are slow. Both estates took over a year, close to 2.
If you want financial certainty then Co-Op are a good option, get a quote at least. You need to keep on top of them though.
I always felt leaving an hourly rate at a normal Solicitor firm could potentially blow up in terms of fees, good luck
Marcellus said:
It’s not that difficult to do yourself…. Value everything, submit calculations to HMRC, pay inheritance tax, distribute assets to next of kin.
If anything, dying intestate makes things easier as it just goes equally to her next of kin.
I would agree with this, lots of help online and solicitors will absolutely fleece you for not adding much value (IMO).If anything, dying intestate makes things easier as it just goes equally to her next of kin.
I used a paralegal service, I get them all the stuff, they filled in the court papers, I took them to the court and paid the fee and it all worked out for about £1000.
I was in control, writing to banks etc. to get the information.
You could probably DIY it, this was in Scotland and I didn’t know the ropes there, but in reality it’s the same process, the service I used were on line, but also the phone, and would keep helping until it went through, but it went first time.
They had a cheaper service where I could fill in their templates and they would check them, but I elected for the scan them everything and they fill it in approach, I just signed it all and took it to the court and paid the fees.
Once you have the court docs, there is no quibble from banks, Equinti etc.
I was in control, writing to banks etc. to get the information.
You could probably DIY it, this was in Scotland and I didn’t know the ropes there, but in reality it’s the same process, the service I used were on line, but also the phone, and would keep helping until it went through, but it went first time.
They had a cheaper service where I could fill in their templates and they would check them, but I elected for the scan them everything and they fill it in approach, I just signed it all and took it to the court and paid the fees.
Once you have the court docs, there is no quibble from banks, Equinti etc.
Bobtherallyfan said:
Are you sure she is over the threshold….was she ever married?
Sorry for the loss of your sister DGOut of curiosity, what would be the threshold for a single person, who was never married.
I am still going through probate for my late mothers estate. It's about as simple as it gets. One investment account and one bank account and yet its been 11 months since we first instructed the solicitor. I would have had a go at it myself if I had known....
I agree with many of the posts suggesting it can be done DIY.
We are just completing the process for a family member who died over three years ago, the excessive duration (and cost) being due to one executor insisting on having "professionals" do the job. It still wouldn’t be complete now if we had left them to it and not chased every step of the way.
We are just completing the process for a family member who died over three years ago, the excessive duration (and cost) being due to one executor insisting on having "professionals" do the job. It still wouldn’t be complete now if we had left them to it and not chased every step of the way.
Firstly sorry for your loss.
Dying intestate should make things easier providing there are no issues with any other family members claiming.
My uncle died without a will and leaving his married wife but his parents sued for a share.
DIY is perfectly possible even with inheritance tax due providing no issues occur.
It should be possible for most Solicitors that offer probate services to give a fixed price option.
If you have the time and ability to diy then that obviously makes sense but you don’t want to find halfway through that there are issues that you cannot resolve yourself.
I am currently acting as Executor for a family member and using a Solicitor.
Her affairs were relatively complex including the incoming of an inheritance herself and with IHT due - my fixed bill from said Solicitors is £4k plus vat.
Dying intestate should make things easier providing there are no issues with any other family members claiming.
My uncle died without a will and leaving his married wife but his parents sued for a share.
DIY is perfectly possible even with inheritance tax due providing no issues occur.
It should be possible for most Solicitors that offer probate services to give a fixed price option.
If you have the time and ability to diy then that obviously makes sense but you don’t want to find halfway through that there are issues that you cannot resolve yourself.
I am currently acting as Executor for a family member and using a Solicitor.
Her affairs were relatively complex including the incoming of an inheritance herself and with IHT due - my fixed bill from said Solicitors is £4k plus vat.
S1MMA said:
I used the Co-Op for 2 estates, they will give you a fixed price - and you can negotiate it a bit.
They will come across as cost effective, but they are slow. Both estates took over a year, close to 2.
I am more than eighteen months into using the Co-Op and would agree that they don't rush to do anything. To be fair the first delay was down to the probate people, but the person actually dealing with me has changed recently and it's as if they've had to start again from scratch. And they've enlisted a conveyancing company to deal with the house solely on the basis that it makes them look fast, as far as I can see. It certainly isn't for their* willingness to reply to emails or phone messages. They will come across as cost effective, but they are slow. Both estates took over a year, close to 2.
( * the conveyancing company, not the Co-Op, to clarify).
Marcellus said:
It’s not that difficult to do yourself…. Value everything, submit calculations to HMRC, pay inheritance tax, distribute assets to next of kin.
If anything, dying intestate makes things easier as it just goes equally to her next of kin.
This all day long. The solicitors are filling out the same paperwork you would and still need all the details you will have so you might as well DIY.If anything, dying intestate makes things easier as it just goes equally to her next of kin.
They usually work on a fixed fee so have no vested interest in how long it takes hence the posts about it dragging on for years. You will not be their priority.
The internet has all the info you need on thresholds and monetary limits and the .gov website is easy to use. Fill it in save and exit , come back later and fill in more, save and exit etc etc.
Good luck
Sorry for your loss.
My Dad died in January and we looked at using Co-op as they do a fixed fee which is available online if you do their calculator. FBC Manby Bowdler, a solicitor my folks used for their wills quoted us £1900+Vat to obtain probate and £7800+Vat for probate and administering the will. Bear in mind that even if it's complex you'll still need to do the legwork of working out where investments are, valuing them and informing them of the death and passing this information to the solicitor for them to then send to probate. By that point you've already done most of the work and could just apply for probate yourself.
That's the decision I came to with Dad (mom died in 2020). I already had all of the admin for the accounts sorted so applied for probate on the .gov website and was really impressed at how well built and easy to use the site is. Genuinely, the actual probate application online took me 45 minutes and we had probate 4 weeks later.
My Dad died in January and we looked at using Co-op as they do a fixed fee which is available online if you do their calculator. FBC Manby Bowdler, a solicitor my folks used for their wills quoted us £1900+Vat to obtain probate and £7800+Vat for probate and administering the will. Bear in mind that even if it's complex you'll still need to do the legwork of working out where investments are, valuing them and informing them of the death and passing this information to the solicitor for them to then send to probate. By that point you've already done most of the work and could just apply for probate yourself.
That's the decision I came to with Dad (mom died in 2020). I already had all of the admin for the accounts sorted so applied for probate on the .gov website and was really impressed at how well built and easy to use the site is. Genuinely, the actual probate application online took me 45 minutes and we had probate 4 weeks later.
thisnameistaken said:
Sorry for your loss.
My Dad died in January and we looked at using Co-op as they do a fixed fee which is available online if you do their calculator. FBC Manby Bowdler, a solicitor my folks used for their wills quoted us £1900+Vat to obtain probate and £7800+Vat for probate and administering the will.
My Dad died in January and we looked at using Co-op as they do a fixed fee which is available online if you do their calculator. FBC Manby Bowdler, a solicitor my folks used for their wills quoted us £1900+Vat to obtain probate and £7800+Vat for probate and administering the will.
Wowsers , thats a chunk of money lost from the estate for just form filling, especially as we know , its you that still has to do all the work getting the information in the first place. thisnameistaken said:
Sorry for your loss.
My Dad died in January and we looked at using Co-op as they do a fixed fee which is available online if you do their calculator. FBC Manby Bowdler, a solicitor my folks used for their wills quoted us £1900+Vat to obtain probate and £7800+Vat for probate and administering the will. Bear in mind that even if it's complex you'll still need to do the legwork of working out where investments are, valuing them and informing them of the death and passing this information to the solicitor for them to then send to probate. By that point you've already done most of the work and could just apply for probate yourself.
That's the decision I came to with Dad (mom died in 2020). I already had all of the admin for the accounts sorted so applied for probate on the .gov website and was really impressed at how well built and easy to use the site is. Genuinely, the actual probate application online took me 45 minutes and we had probate 4 weeks later.
This is exactly the conclusion we came to with the wife's Dad. Asked solicitor what they needed from us. Turns out it is all the information you have to put on the forms. So instead of writing a list for the solicitor just write it all down on the form.My Dad died in January and we looked at using Co-op as they do a fixed fee which is available online if you do their calculator. FBC Manby Bowdler, a solicitor my folks used for their wills quoted us £1900+Vat to obtain probate and £7800+Vat for probate and administering the will. Bear in mind that even if it's complex you'll still need to do the legwork of working out where investments are, valuing them and informing them of the death and passing this information to the solicitor for them to then send to probate. By that point you've already done most of the work and could just apply for probate yourself.
That's the decision I came to with Dad (mom died in 2020). I already had all of the admin for the accounts sorted so applied for probate on the .gov website and was really impressed at how well built and easy to use the site is. Genuinely, the actual probate application online took me 45 minutes and we had probate 4 weeks later.
When we did my Father's probate I started by filling out the IHT205 (excepted Estate) but soon realised that we needed to do the IHT400. I panicked and used a solicitor, however by the time we had a gathered all the info that the solicitor required, it became apparent that we could have filled out the IHT400 ourselves.
Its worth doing a spreadsheet of all the info you need, listing the relevant paragraph numbers on the IHT form and then colour coding it to show what info you already have, or don't need (green), what you have applied for and are awaiting an answer (amber) and what you don't have and haven't started getting (red). That way it is a lot clear what you need to get.
For chattels, unless there are any particularly valuable items, very rough estimates will do. A lot of people end up paying house clearance people to take stuff away, so furniture etc. is virtually worthless or has a negative value.
The online forms are pretty straightforward to work through. Do have a go first.
In answer to your original question, we used Emily Wentworth at Irwin Mitchell in Chichester, and found her very professional and prompt. I don't recall having to ever chase her for progress. Irwin Mitchell offered a flat rate service amongst others. We used the flat rate service.
Its worth doing a spreadsheet of all the info you need, listing the relevant paragraph numbers on the IHT form and then colour coding it to show what info you already have, or don't need (green), what you have applied for and are awaiting an answer (amber) and what you don't have and haven't started getting (red). That way it is a lot clear what you need to get.
For chattels, unless there are any particularly valuable items, very rough estimates will do. A lot of people end up paying house clearance people to take stuff away, so furniture etc. is virtually worthless or has a negative value.
The online forms are pretty straightforward to work through. Do have a go first.
In answer to your original question, we used Emily Wentworth at Irwin Mitchell in Chichester, and found her very professional and prompt. I don't recall having to ever chase her for progress. Irwin Mitchell offered a flat rate service amongst others. We used the flat rate service.
Edited by GliderRider on Thursday 4th July 10:53
Really appreciate all the responses chaps - my father has toyed with both options (and tbh we're both minded to go D.I.Y. at the moment) but it is worth getting other opinions and costs just to be sure. For £5k (for example) it might be worth it for the lack of aggravation, if the costs is £20k then ideas change again 
I’ve done 2 simple ones myself (1 below IHT and 2nd for my Mum (all passed to Dad)), my Dad passed away in Dec and is firmly into IHT territory. Downloaded all the IHT forms…..and passed it to a Solicitor to deal with (IHT submission and obtain probate)- very efficient and “only” £3,700, but stress free which was the main driver for me.
Happy to recommend a Sol in Bournemouth if it’s any use?
Regards
Jim
Happy to recommend a Sol in Bournemouth if it’s any use?
Regards
Jim
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