Probate - anyone done it without a solicitor?

Arthritic Toe · Jul 6, 2017

In previous dealings with solicitors I have developed a deep mistrust of them. My experience of them has been that they will try to make simple things sound very complicated in order to justify their outrageous fees. They invent things that 'must be done for your own good' in order to create a few extra hours work to be charged at exhorbitant fees. Yes I am deeply cynical - perhaps unfairly.

I now find myself involved in dealing with probate on behalf of my late parents. My sister has already been along for an initial chat with a probate solicitor who's first comment was that we needed to get the house valued as soon as possible. Now the cynic in me thinks that that would be for the solicitors benefit alone - so she can see what size of estate she's dealing with in order to skim off as much as possible. After all, the house (and its very modest) will ultimately be sold for whatever its worth and the funds will go into the estate. Why does she need to know its value at this stage?

There will be no dispute among the beneficiaries - its all very simple and we're just not like that.

As I see it, there will be a process to follow, things to be applied for, forms to fill in, various fees to pay - but at the end of the day, is it really that complicated? Time is not really an issue - it'll take ages to sort out and sell the house anyway.

I'd be interested to know if anyone has dealt with probate without a solicitor and whether they might have any advice (including - don't do it - get a solicitor).

Thanks.

Mancgull · Jul 6, 2017

My wife liaised with a lawyer to start the probate process when her dad died. A month later they had done virtually bugger all and yet the fees were starting to build. She sacked them and took over the process herself. She dealt with all the forms herself, used a probate helpline and phoned the HMRC when necessary. It took some time but she made much quicker process than the solicitor had. Much of the process is administration and if you have time for that, which will involve being reasonably organised, then you'll get there.

dazzer6666 · Jul 6, 2017

This link (and the other links in it) might be useful........you really don't need a solicitor to be honest. You'll need a professional property valuation though - use the estate agent you plan to sell the place and they'll do it for nothing

https://www.gov.uk/wills-probate-inheritance/applying-for-a-grant-of-representation

Not done it myself as an Executor but helped my mother do it following my grandmother's recent death. Not difficult.

studio150 · Jul 6, 2017

Its just having the time to undertake the process, and also if you are having difficultly dealing with the recent loss of loved ones, it is easier to hand over to the legal experts.

It is fairly straight forward to undertake the process yourself. You just need to get hold of all the appropriate paperwork, which will involve calls and letter writing and keeping track of the responses. Once you have everything to hand, then going through the form and sending off is easy, providing you read the detail carefully.

Be prepared with some coming back quickly with the detail you need and others seeking more detail and taking ages.

Bodian · Jul 6, 2017

Did it for both my parents. Not hugely difficult, but then they'd sorted their affairs out and the wills were pretty straightforward. All depends whether you are logically minded, detailed, and and keep good records of all that you do. And then keep them for another six years as well.

marlowe · Jul 6, 2017

I did it without a solicitor when my mum died about ten years ago. It's not difficult. A lot of the stuff we rely on solicitors for we can usually do ourselves unless its something really specialised. Solicitors are held in too high esteem in my opinion. I remember about 20 years ago a solicitor i was using was trying to get some evidence off the police which they were witholding. It was going on for weeks but the police weren't cooperating. In the end i decided to try myself and wrote a threatening letter to the police telling them i was going to take legal action against them for witholding evidence. I duly received the evidence within a couple of days. My most recent dealings with a solicitor was only a few weeks ago when i was requesting information from someone which they were legally obliged to provide me with. Because they knew the information i was requesting revealed some wrongdoing on their part they were refusing to provide the information to me. Instead he got his solicitor to write me a threatening letter saying if i didn't stop bothering his client they would have me prosecuted under the Protection of Harassment Act which as he informed me i was in breach of. I wrote back to the solicitor to inform him that if he was so confident he has a strong case against me to go ahead and prosecute me and in the meantime i would continue to bother his client until he provided me with the information i was requesting. I duly received the information and never heard from the solicitor again but he no doubt got paid handsomely for writing an ineffectual and futile letter. Solicitors really aren't as indispensable as they like us to believe they are or even as effective. It's a myth they perpetuate to justify charging exorbitant fees.
Going back to the original question unless things have changed since i did it it really isn't difficult at all. If there's any inheritance tax on any property you have ten years to pay it. The rest has to be paid within six months i think. Thats from date of probate.

Arthritic Toe · Jul 6, 2017

Great replies so far - thanks all. Pretty much inline with my thoughts - there will be a process. Its not like the estate will be worth any more with a solicitors help - its worth what its worth at the end of the day.

Gazwag · Jul 6, 2017

My wife lost her mum nearly two years ago, very simple estate only beneficiaries were my wife and our daughter - I thought it would be easy to do it ourselves but I am extremely glad I didn't and a solicitor is doing it - yes its expensive but worth it to take away all the hassle and risk of getting something wrong

Gazwag · Jul 6, 2017

dazzer6666 said:
This link (and the other links in it) might be useful........you really don't need a solicitor to be honest. You'll need a professional property valuation though - use the estate agent you plan to sell the place and they'll do it for nothing

You need two valuations and the average will be the probate valuation so one of the valuations will have a cost

neilbard · Jul 6, 2017

Yes I have......... :shrug:

Frank Inkerman · Jul 6, 2017

I concur with most of stuff written in previous posts.
My experience of doing it twice is that if it is an uncomplicated will with no potential dispute between the beneficiaries then go ahead and save yourself (and other beneficiaries) some money. I was advised that I needed to set a Probate Bank Account to keep things above board but I didn't and the financial institutions either transferred money into my personal account or sent a cheque in my name - I then distributed this amongst the family. Piece of advice - make and keep detailed records so that if there is any dispute or claims then you have evidence of what you did and if there has been a mistake you are able to trace it.
It really boils down to taking the time to do slowly & methodically.
Good Luck.

drew · Jul 6, 2017

My brother and I did it when our mother passed away 7 years ago. A bit time consuming but reasonably straightforward. Loads of stuff online but basically we had to sell a house, some shares and premium bonds and cash in some life cover.

Still having to oversee a couple of trusts.

Work your way through the IHT form, collate all the supporting info and valuations and bobs your uncle. Worth talking to your bank as they might have someone who can give advice, Nat West did as we had to set up an account to pay all the funds into before distributing it.

ps. Excel is your friend. Keep it up to date.

warmleyseagull · Jul 6, 2017

Solicitor is a waste of money - follow links in posts below and you can do more quickly and cheaply yourself. I have done three times in last four years, and been easier each time as online forms come on stream. I got probate in under four weeks last time.

The one complication can be transferring property from decesaded to beneficiary. This is slightly beyond most of us as DIY (but can be done). I got a solicitor to do that and register the change at Land Registry, and did the rest myself

Goldstone1976 · Jul 7, 2017

Yep, I echo the consensus. I did my father's in Feb 2015. Really straight forward - got probate in 6 weeks. Two things though: his will was the easiest it could have been (one beneficiary), and he had a spreadsheet with up to date asset information and policy details. He was a stickler for such stuff, and boy, did it make my life easier...

knocky1 · Jul 7, 2017

Yes it's easy. Did my mother's. 4 brothers and sisters all in agreement. No problems. Just get the right number of death certificates, so they can all be sent at once rather than waiting for a single one to be returned. Had letter of condolence from John Lewis Pension fund and a donation to the Hospice.
At the Lloyds Bank appointment I was dealing with someone very jokey, who seemed unaware my mum had died that week. No problem. She was young and attractive after all. It helped me to move on. The whole process helped me move on.
Mrs Knocky on the other hand, got fleeced £4,000 by a solicitor back in the 80's..........

atomised · Jul 7, 2017

My Dads last year. Was a very simple process

ngood77 · Jul 7, 2017

OP - if the wishes of your parents are quite straightforward and, as you've indicated, you don't expect any complications with the estate and the beneficiaries then I'd recommend doing the probate yourself. You can always switch to solicitor assistance later on if things get trickier.

As well as the government site posted above you might also want to flick through the below - it's a thorough, and free, guide put together by a Hove solicitors firm. I have no connection with this firm whatsoever, I saw an advert for their free guide, ordered a copy and never contacted them again. Good luck.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/u6ef8zc9b1x2zd0/Probate Pack.doc?dl=0

mikeyjh · Jul 7, 2017

I've been through (going through) it for a very complex one. My brother in law died followed 9 months later by my sister. In that 9 months nothing happened and there were no wills for either of them. My niece was < 18 adding a bit more difficulty so it's been going on for a long time. While mine might be a bit of an extreme case I think it's worth engaging a solicitor, there are quite a lot of legal processes that need to be followed and while you may think that there will be no disputes, people can surprise you, I'll testify to that!

One thing I'd say if you do go with a solicitor is to shop around, see if you can get the numbers down a bit. Oh, and good luck, I hope it goes swimmingly!

Live by the sea · Jul 7, 2017

It depends how complex it is. If it's basically one property and some personal effects with the value under the combined inheritance threshold which I think is circa £700 k then if you have the time , you could probably do it yourself, following a guide.

If it's property worth over the inheritance threshold and their are more complications like 2nd homes being owned abroad which will have different tax rules then I would definitely employ a decent solicitor. Don't try to save money by using these so called discount solicitors with stupid names they advertise on daytime tv, they from experience are basically call centre para legals who have no expertise whatsoever and can end up costing you money because they are slow and inept.

Norman Potting · Jul 7, 2017

Timely thread as I am in the middle of dealing with my dad's affairs - he passed away a couple of weeks ago. Fortunately quite straightforward, only mum and I left and their house was sold before Christmas. Basically a form filling exercise but I am visiting a solicitor next week for a chat, hopefully to confirm that I am on the right lines with what I am doing.

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