Probate help,

[User removed 4]

I've been quoted an absolutely extortionate sum to handle the probate on my mum and dads estate by the solicitors who drew up my parents will , I've contacted an online firm called probaters from brighton who've quoted me a far more reasonable sum at a fixed cost to handle everything , anyone ever used them or any other online firm ? Any advice would be gratefully received.

 

[Vegas Seagull]

I've been quoted an absolutely extortionate sum to handle the probate on my mum and dads estate by the solicitors who drew up my parents will , I've contacted an online firm called probaters from brighton who've quoted me a far more reasonable sum at a fixed cost to handle everything , anyone ever used them or any other online firm ? Any advice would be gratefully received.

I've done it myself twice, if its not too complicated & you/relative have some financial nous then DIY

 

[Nibble]

Sorry to hear about this. We used a company that took care of everything from bank accounts to tax etc. I'll try to find the name but it was in Norfolk so prob no good to you. I thoroughly recommend getting the fixed price for everything. It really does save you a lot of heartache on top of your loss. They handled everything for my Mum and unfortunately my real Dad was diagnosed with Stomach cancer just before christmas. But as I said, the companies that handle everything really are the best people to handle things, there's enough paperwork involved as it is. All the best.

And to add, there are companies, that for free will inform all the banks etc and close all down, passport office etc. Most councils offer this, ask at the office when you go to sign the death certificates. You fill out one form and post it and this organisation handles everything.

 

[Blue Valkyrie]

Pretty easy to DIY it, unless of course there are some specific complexities involved. A lot of people do this now.

 

[sully]

Depending on how complex your parents estate is, it could be pretty simple to do it yourself, especially if their wills are clear.

I handled both my parent's estates when they died and it was pretty simple. There's plenty of free advice online now that wasn't available then (15 years ago) too.

 

[edna krabappel]

Is it something that Citizens Advice could assist with, perhaps?

 

[KJP]

There's a big probate office in Brighton, I'd ask them for advice

 

[Nibble]

There is plenty of advice and help. CAB, as suggested and Probate office will be more than helpful. As people have said you can DIY, we used a company but there was some tricky caveats etc. We got a lot of help from council at the time.

 

[The Birdman]

I tied the solicitors to a price and you can do most of the work yourself depending how complicated the will and financial affairs are. Check on the Internet for advice. You will save a lot of money if you can do it yourself. Good luck p.s check the small print?

 

[User removed 4]

Sorry to hear about this. We used a company that took care of everything from bank accounts to tax etc. I'll try to find the name but it was in Norfolk so prob no good to you. I thoroughly recommend getting the fixed price for everything. It really does save you a lot of heartache on top of your loss. They handled everything for my Mum and unfortunately my real Dad was diagnosed with Stomach cancer just before christmas. But as I said, the companies that handle everything really are the best people to handle things, there's enough paperwork involved as it is. All the best.

And to add, there are companies, that for free will inform all the banks etc and close all down, passport office etc. Most councils offer this, ask at the office when you go to sign the death certificates. You fill out one form and post it and this organisation handles everything.

thanks mate, i'm going to go with the brighton firm, who quoted a fee a lot cheaper than the £8000 plus that the solicitors did , f***ing vultures !!

 

[Cadiz Seagull]

As others have said, assuming the wills aren't too complicated it's pretty straight forward to do it yourself, and the Probate office in Brighton is very helpful.

I did it for both of my parents without the need for a solicitor, other than to sell the property.

No need to pay a bank a percentage of the estate to do work that you could do yourself, far cheaper and a LOT quicker.

 

[Deleted member 22389]

I've been quoted an absolutely extortionate sum to handle the probate on my mum and dads estate by the solicitors who drew up my parents will , I've contacted an online firm called probaters from brighton who've quoted me a far more reasonable sum at a fixed cost to handle everything , anyone ever used them or any other online firm ? Any advice would be gratefully received.

It's never easy dealing with this sort of thing. If I remember rightly when my father passed away, we first had to first register the death, in which we obtained certified death certificates.

After this I remember filling out a large form, deducting any expenses and outstanding debts my father had. Once the form was complete, think we went to an office in Brighton where we where given a probate certificate, which allowed my mum to carry out my dad's financial affairs.

Since there was no will, everything automatically passed to my mother. This didn't cost too much.

 

[Del Fenner]

I've done it myself twice, if its not too complicated & you/relative have some financial nous then DIY

This. The biggest downside is that it can be quite time-consuming. If you employ someone else to do it, you will probably still have to spend a lot of time answering questions.

 

[KJP]

I believe a probate costs between £80 and £120 for individuals well that's what it was last year providing the will is straight forward. Solicitors can get it cheaper but they will charge you a fortune to get it

 

[dragonred]

This. The biggest downside is that it can be quite time-consuming. If you employ someone else to do it, you will probably still have to spend a lot of time answering questions.

Banks (worst offenders) and some solicitors charge a fortune as they feel the family will not argue at a time of a personal loss. As a solicitor in Hove I see this happen and it doesn't reflect well on my profession. In truth quite a lot of the work can be shared out between a solicitor and the family to keep costs sensible, the only time costs get higher than normal is where (for totally understandable reasons) a family simply do not feel emotionally strong enough to deal with it whilst grieving and thus prefer for a solicitor to take all of the work and stress out of their hands. This 'work together' approach is the one my firm have chosen to use so if you would like a private and no obligation whatsoever chat to see if we might be able to help, feel free to PM me.

 

[KZNSeagull]

Am very sorry to hear this Bushy. Try and do most of it yourself - my sister is executor for my Dad's estate and she seems to be doing most of the work, whilst the Solicitors are charging a fortune! Good luck with it.

 

[User removed 4]

Banks (worst offenders) and some solicitors charge a fortune as they feel the family will not argue at a time of a personal loss. As a solicitor in Hove I see this happen and it doesn't reflect well on my profession. In truth quite a lot of the work can be shared out between a solicitor and the family to keep costs sensible, the only time costs get higher than normal is where (for totally understandable reasons) a family simply do not feel emotionally strong enough to deal with it whilst grieving and thus prefer for a solicitor to take all of the work and stress out of their hands. This 'work together' approach is the one my firm have chosen to use so if you would like a private and no obligation whatsoever chat to see if we might be able to help, feel free to PM me.

I do appreciate you taking the time to reply dragonred, but i have decided to go with the firm of solicitors called probaters , the reason being that my sister lives in france and i leave for work at 05.50 in the morning and dont get home till half six so i dont have time to do it myself, but once again thanks for replying.

 

[User removed 4]

thanks for everybody's kindness in replying to my post , its much appreciated.

 

[drew]

Unless your parents estate is overly complicated with various trusts etc I would suggest doing it yourself. There are plenty of links from the Government website and it's just a case of working through the forms methodically. The IHT1 form is the longest but is quite straightforward. My brother and I did the probate for my mums estate two years ago and whilst a little time consuming, ie you have establish values for pensions and sell of shares and ISAs etc and of course any property the latter of which probably held up the process more than anything.

 

[User removed 4]

Unless your parents estate is overly complicated with various trusts etc I would suggest doing it yourself. There are plenty of links from the Government website and it's just a case of working through the forms methodically. The IHT1 form is the longest but is quite straightforward. My brother and I did the probate for my mums estate two years ago and whilst a little time consuming, ie you have establish values for pensions and sell of shares and ISAs etc and of course any property the latter of which probably held up the process more than anything.

thks drew