How to set about applying for Probate

[Red Fred]

Mum passed away several weeks ago now, and it is time to get things moving on the will front. I am named as an executor along with my two sisters, and I have done the various tasks that needed doing immediately such as notifying banks, DHSS, HMRC , etc.
I was pondering what to do next, never having had to do this before. Mum had her will drawn up by the family solicitors in town, so is it normal to let them deal with the probate, if their fees are reasonable?
I asked them to deal with making my will, but I wasn't too impressed as the lady was trying to direct me in where to leave my assets, having been a bit too involved with the rest of the family,, so I ended up not completing it with them and going elsewhere for an unbiased opinion.
I'm assuming the valuation will have to be done by a registered valuer and I have our farm agents in mind as they have dealt with all the business stuff over the years such as quota deals and tenancy negotiations.
Any hints or experiences greatly received!

 

[An Gof]

Depending on the estate and number of investments mum had this can be quite challenging.
It is also an opportunity to rack up some high fees. When father died I contacted the family firm of solicitors and our accountants. Solicitors would just give hourly charges and an estimate of time. Managed to get accountant who knew all about fathers investments tied up on a fixed price deal for the job. What a good job I went with them!!

It can take some time and you will have to complete the IHT details before you can apply for probate. Another good reason in my opinion to use the accountant.
Be prepared for a shock. If there is IHT to pay on mums estate YOU as executor wil
Have to pay this BEFORE you apply for probate. That can be a big problem if there is a large liability especially if you don’t have the money yet!!
Also be aware that you only get 6 months to settle it. If calculating the details take a longer interest on the IHT will be charged.
I am still in process of dealing with both my parents. I would not have coped without professional help. My mother, bless her, collected savings accounts and investments as a hobby; it would have been so much easier if all in one place.
I take it the bank has frozen you mother’s accounta by now.
Good luck and be prepared for it to take some considerable time.

 

[curlietailz]

You don’t have to use the solicitor who drew up the will..... you could use one you are comfortable with.

Probate valuation of the farm/land/assets is probably best done by the family land agent, but again any land agent who’s qualified can do it


Crack on with it... if your ready

 

[An Gof]

You will also need to be prepared for a hefty change in probate charges. We are desperately trying to get probate before the end of this month. If we succeed the probate fee will be £215, if we fail to meet the end of month deadline and are unable to apply until April the new fee will be £6000

The level of fee depends on the size of the estate.

 

[primmiemoo]

From fairly recent experience: valuations of personal effects don't have to be by professional probate valuers. You as Executors can make your own best estimate values on a room-by-room basis by researching prices at auction and making sure to keep your workings. Value according to second hand values. The Internet does have genuine auction sites which give guide prices, and there should be guide prices of local auctions catalogues.
Similar can be done with property valuations, although everyone's circumstances are different and that might not be applicable for you.

Have Executors made an inventory of personal effects, e.g. furniture, artwork, jewellery, china, vehicle(s), etc? As you're bound to know already, individual items or collections above a given value need to be declared and given a seperate value on the forms.. With jewellery, for example, a piece can be compared with shop window retail prices of similar second hand from a sample of outlets, and adjusted to what would be considered a fair selling price to a jeweller for the wholesale valuation.

It isn't an easy job, I know, but it saves some fees, can hold pleasant surprises (not necessarily monetary), and also helps with coming to terms with things.

Go steady, and best wishes.

 

[ISCO]

I would get a couple of quotes for the work. Using the same family solicitor is fine however, I know from experience that loyal clients who always come back are seen as cash cows and will be charged a higher fee.
Even if you use a second quote only to keep the usual solicitors charges in check.

 

[Pan mixer]

Get a solicitor to quote for the job if you can, they are very prone to charging a percentage of the estate.

Much of the stuff can be done by the executors with a bit of time and patience - you probably knew the affairs of the deceased much better anyhow.

We had most difficulty with getting shares valued on the day of death - some time after the event. Physical things like cottage and land were easy

We just got the solicitor to do the final application with figures that we supplied

Good luck

 

[Ramrod]

Done several now, defo would do it myself, but if your mum was business partner etc. you may need a bit of help from accountant.

 

[puppet]

House contents are worth much less than you think. We took the better furniture items and the rest -quite a lot of stuff though older - got an offer of £300 after removal expenses!! . Suffice to say we sold some and offered others to local youngsters setting up home.
As for ornaments or jewelry a lot were gifted to grandchildren before death. I dont think anyone will go chasing that figure unless you had some known high value items insured

 

[Lazy Sod]

When our father died in 1985, my older brother did everything, but when our mother passed away in 2005, he couldn't face doing it all again. Instead, he did all the notifications and we opened a joint bank account into which the cashed investments were put. We asked a local estate agent to value the house.

Everything was then passed to a local solicitor who did the rest. I think that the fee charged was a bit over £600. The estate consisted of our mother's house and a few investments. A small amount of inheritance tax was payable.

 

[Surgery]

Mum passed away several weeks ago now, and it is time to get things moving on the will front. I am named as an executor along with my two sisters, and I have done the various tasks that needed doing immediately such as notifying banks, DHSS, HMRC , etc.
I was pondering what to do next, never having had to do this before. Mum had her will drawn up by the family solicitors in town, so is it normal to let them deal with the probate, if their fees are reasonable?
I asked them to deal with making my will, but I wasn't too impressed as the lady was trying to direct me in where to leave my assets, having been a bit too involved with the rest of the family,, so I ended up not completing it with them and going elsewhere for an unbiased opinion.
I'm assuming the valuation will have to be done by a registered valuer and I have our farm agents in mind as they have dealt with all the business stuff over the years such as quota deals and tenancy negotiations.
Any hints or experiences greatly received!

Having gone through mum and dads close together a couple of years back just a few of our thoughts-experiences.

Thought we could value assets ie land and buildings , let’s be honest you only have to look at average prices in the area , accountant said you are more likely to have a iht inspection use agents , we did use agents , for land and farm buildings only , and still had a iht inspection. So with the mr iht in mind have agents QUOTE for your work to be done , do not engage without a QUOTE. You can also , if house's' are involved get out you local estate agent to give you a guide price , this is enough to submit and generally free.

Secondly get QUOTES from solicitors , we unfortunatly get into a pickle with farther solicitor selling out to another firm who held his will affairs etc , went with the new firm with only a verbal quote , need I say it was a lot more , you need written quotes.

When the ball is rolling you will need to email said professionals as otherwise it will take forever to Finnish , it seems to be a case with solicitors that who shouts the loudest gets their work done first. Emails not phonecalls.

Anything house content wise , between my sister and brother we had a local auctioneer-valuere in so then proceeded to pick an item each in turn with a bit of swapping if agreed , worked better than I thought. , only argument was over a pot of mothers raspberry jam!!

Unfortunatly as is the case when a lot of money is now involved , not quite the case 10-15 years ago , its very easy for family to fall out , the will is the will however fair or unfair it may be , it was your parent's' wish that it was left as is , I hope yours is smother than ours.

 

[Red Fred]

Thanks for all the helpful comments! I have a feeling it will be a tricky business but it seems as if careful thought is necessary before we start. I am reading all the posts with interest and some trepidation, thanks again

 

[little_p]

All sound advice so far. What I would add is that apart from getting quotes and estimates, I would also base it on whether you feel that you are going to get on with your chosen Solicitor. If you don't get on with the chosen Solicitor at the start of probate, you sure as hell won't be getting on with them at the end.
With regard to the valuation, we were advised by several Solicitors to chose a Valuer that is fairly local and has a good understanding of the local Ag / land markets. Was given several stories of Valuers from "away" that had over / under valuated which then drew the attention of the District Valuer.......

When the ball is rolling you will need to email said professionals as otherwise it will take forever to Finnish , it seems to be a case with solicitors that who shouts the loudest gets their work done first. Emails not phonecalls.

Agree about those that shout the loudest, but have found that unless you are giving them the information email doesn't seem to get a response from our Solicitor. A good passive aggressive telephone call seems to get them to hurry up.