Money after Probate

[ClaireNJ]

My Hubbies cousin is waiting for her inheritance from her Mum’s estate which I think is taking way too long.

She passed away in January, funeral in February, the house sold in July, she received half the money from the house sale one month ago.
It is split between her & brother, but small gift for the 2 Granddaughters which they have also received.

There are no shares nothing else just £190,000 in Barclays & Santander, when she rang to enquire about the rest of money the Solicitor replied “ Why you so eager to get it “😳 and said he’s waiting for the Bank.

He did the original will so is dealing with the Probate, he’s in his seventies & I am really concerned why this money in the bank is taking so long, it’s just cash nothing needs to be sold.
When I told her to ring again she doesn’t seem concerned about it, but I’ve told her the next time you hear from him it could be a postcard from the Cayman Islands

I know that the Solicitors have to have a client account & pay interest, but am I right to be worried for her, I told her he could be in hospital for all she knows
Any help thanks 💕💕

[skalexander]

I wouldn't necessarily be concerned. Sometimes Estates can take ages to sort out, even when they don't seem complicated on the outside.

On the last one I did, it was very small but there were loads of companies who had to be contacted to cancel various things, then they had to notify us as to whether they owed the Estate money or the Estate owed them. The Executors also had to submit the deceased's tax return and wait for that to be assessed, so that any balance could be paid or any refund added to the Estate. I imagine all these things will be taking longer because of Covid.

That said, the comment about being eager to get the money is unprofessional and unnecessary. The solicitor should be explaining the process, not alienating your cousin-in-law. I would probably give it a couple of weeks and then call again, but rather than asking when the Estate would be paid out, ask what the progress is, what else is left to do and how long that is expected to take.

[ClaireNJ]

Originally Posted by skalexander

I wouldn't necessarily be concerned. Sometimes Estates can take ages to sort out, even when they don't seem complicated on the outside.

On the last one I did, it was very small but there were loads of companies who had to be contacted to cancel various things, then they had to notify us as to whether they owed the Estate money or the Estate owed them. The Executors also had to submit the deceased's tax return and wait for that to be assessed, so that any balance could be paid or any refund added to the Estate. I imagine all these things will be taking longer because of Covid.

That said, the comment about being eager to get the money is unprofessional and unnecessary. The solicitor should be explaining the process, not alienating your cousin-in-law. I would probably give it a couple of weeks and then call again, but rather than asking when the Estate would be paid out, ask what the progress is, what else is left to do and how long that is expected to take.

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Thank you for your advice yes I too thought very unprofessional, the cousin is disabled & vulnerable so I don’t want her taken advantage of, I’ll persuade her to ring again in 2 weeks, at the least he should explain what’s happening 🤞
Thanks xxx

[dubletrub]

Originally Posted by ClaireNJ

My Hubbies cousin is waiting for her inheritance from her Mum’s estate which I think is taking way too long.

She passed away in January, funeral in February, the house sold in July, she received half the money from the house sale one month ago.
It is split between her & brother, but small gift for the 2 Granddaughters which they have also received.

There are no shares nothing else just £190,000 in Barclays & Santander, when she rang to enquire about the rest of money the Solicitor replied “ Why you so eager to get it “😳 and said he’s waiting for the Bank.

He did the original will so is dealing with the Probate, he’s in his seventies & I am really concerned why this money in the bank is taking so long, it’s just cash nothing needs to be sold.
When I told her to ring again she doesn’t seem concerned about it, but I’ve told her the next time you hear from him it could be a postcard from the Cayman Islands

I know that the Solicitors have to have a client account & pay interest, but am I right to be worried for her, I told her he could be in hospital for all she knows
Any help thanks 💕💕

See more...

I did probate myself for my dads estate and as soon as probate came through I sent a copy to the bank and the money was paid into my account within the week for me to distribute it to my brothers.
If it is just cash accounts they could have been sorted out by now. I would be chasing it up now

[pinkandfluffy]

In my experience this has taken around 12 months to complete when a solicitor has been involved with probate and the estate. It is annoying because sometimes they can take 6 months to do probate and if you did it yourself it takes just a matter of weeks. I wouldn’t be too concerned just yet.

[tigger48]

I wouldn’t be concerned yet either, and whilst he perhaps shouldn’t have made that comment, finalisation of the estate may not be as simple as it first seems depending upon (tax) liabilities, care fees, investments etc etc. 12 months to complete administration of the estate is not uncommon even pre-Covid, and an interim distribution has already been made. Is your relative just a beneficiary of the estate or is she a co-executor? If she is simply a beneficiary then the solicitor is only required to answer reasonable enquiries. Is the solicitor dealing with administration of the estate in the course of his practice (firm) or is he doing it in his personal capacity? If she has concerns about the practice then she could approach the practice manager or complaints partner. If she has concerns about an individual solicitor then she can check their status on The Law Society’s “find a solicitor” service.
Of course there is no harm in asking what else still remains to be completed, and hopefully things will be resolved soon.

[ClaireNJ]

Originally Posted by tigger48

I wouldn’t be concerned yet either, and whilst he perhaps shouldn’t have made that comment, finalisation of the estate may not be as simple as it first seems depending upon (tax) liabilities, care fees, investments etc etc. 12 months to complete administration of the estate is not uncommon even pre-Covid, and an interim distribution has already been made. Is your relative just a beneficiary of the estate or is she a co-executor? If she is simply a beneficiary then the solicitor is only required to answer reasonable enquiries. Is the solicitor dealing with administration of the estate in the course of his practice (firm) or is he doing it in his personal capacity? If she has concerns about the practice then she could approach the practice manager or complaints partner. If she has concerns about an individual solicitor then she can check their status on The Law Society’s “find a solicitor” service.
Of course there is no harm in asking what else still remains to be completed, and hopefully things will be resolved soon.

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Thank you, the Solicitor is a sole trader so just him on his own, cousin is executor along with her brother, care home & funeral fees the cousin paid & she has received them back with the house sale proceeds, I just don’t understand if probate has been granted surely they would wait until it was all finalised & then pay all the inheritance at once as opposed to paying the money from the house sale first
I think all tax was deducted at source too as the monies in the bank was a build up of her husband’s private pension & her own state pension over the years, she was 99 years old 💕
Thank you for your help 😀x

[sotagals]

I know banks are being pretty slow these days but from what you have said I think your relative has some cause to be alarmed.

If this solicitor is so unprofessional as to make a comment about her wanting to get her hands on the money then he might also be unprofessional enough to be hanging onto the said money and /or delaying to inflate his bill.

Your relative's next action should be to ring and ask for a copy of his complaints procedure because she is not happy with the time he's taking.

If that doesn't shift him then she can threaten him with the Solicitors' Regulation Authority. I bet he'd soon disburse the money then.

I'm cynical due to past experience.

[EssexSue]

We have always dealt with probate ourselves, this seems ridiculous to me. Luckily no one in our families ever put a solicitor as an executor.

[sotagals]

Originally Posted by EssexSue

We have always dealt with probate ourselves, this seems ridiculous to me. Luckily no one in our families ever put a solicitor as an executor.

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Exactly.

If anyone is reading this who has a will from years ago tucked away it might be a good idea to haul it out and check that no solicitors or law firms are specifically named as executors.

Your family or friend executor (s) should be able to appoint any solicitor they want to help them for a flat fee if they feel they need help to get probate.

Otherwise you lay your estate open to a hefty fee and /or a solicitor taking a percentage of your estate.

For a couple hundred quid do a new will you could save your estate thousands.

Again, personal experience.