How necessary is it to pay a solicitor to administer an estate?

[Yam_Naem]

My nan passed away two months ago, and we've only just recovered from the shock. She never left a will, and as the only child, the house passes to my mum (her father died a long time ago).

We're only getting around to addressing things such as paying capital acquisitions tax and administering the estate now. My question is - is it necessary to appoint a solicitor to help out with administering the estate or is a DIY option quite easy to do?

A quick look at the citizensinformation site implies a lot of forms to fill in and other complex matters to deal with. My mum wouldn't be the most legislatively savvy person, and neither am I, although if it's a matter of common sense then I'd probably be able to get my head around it.

I'm assuming solicitors request a certain percentage of the estate to do all this for you. Is it worth all the headache-saving to pay someone who knows what they're doing or is this an unnecessary expense that costs more than what it's worth?

 

[Bronte]

No you don't need a solicitor. It's basically form filling. Other posters on here have done it so just find that thread and work from there and ask questions along the way.

If you are selling the house you'll need a solicitor for the conveyance.

 

[Steven Barrett]

A solicitor will charge you a fee.

You don't have to use one. You need to ask yourself whether you want to go to the hassle of learning about form filling and then doing the whole lot or just pay someone to do it. If you use a good solicitor, it's worth paying them to do all the paperwork, hassle for you. If you get a bad solicitor, it adds to the hassle (I was executor to my uncle's estate and the solicitor was worse than useless. I had to phone her continuously to make sure she sent in the forms and answered queries. She was taking on too much work and I suspect offering a rubbish service to most).


Steven
www.bluewaterfp.ie