S
simonshortt
Guest
Hello All,
I suspect I know the answer to this question already, but I hope someone can either confirm or deny it.
My father died late last year and his will appointed a solicitor as executor of the will.
It is a relatively straightforward will in that a mortgage free house and a few small value bank accounts are to be divided equally between my sister and myself. The estate is debt free.
So far, so good. The problem I have is twofold.
Firstly, given the simplicity of the will (and this has been confirmed by the solicitor/executor), we do not wish to be forced to pay over up to 3%+VAT to the solicitor. It is my understanding that the executor is legally required to ensure that everything is in order. That is fine. What we both object to is the fact that he is using his own firm to carry out probate etc and charging us such a high percentage fee for the privilege. I have no objection to paying for his time / services; I do object to effectively being forced to do so.
Can we insist on either of the following (as after all, we will end up paying for the service):
A) Insist on having our own solicitor conducting the affairs of the estate and having the executor confirming everything is in order.
B) Forcing the solicitor to agree to a mutually acceptable fixed price, rather than a percentage fee.
As I have stated before, we both feel that be have been maneuvered into a position where we both have no option to pay such high fees.
It is also worth nothing that the previous version of the will had both my sister and myself as executors. My father (82) brought the will to the current executor/solicitor for an update two years ago and that is when he appeared as named executor. This I find somewhat suspicious, but obviously there is no proof of anything.
Any thoughts, suggestions would be appreciated.
Regards,
S
I suspect I know the answer to this question already, but I hope someone can either confirm or deny it.
My father died late last year and his will appointed a solicitor as executor of the will.
It is a relatively straightforward will in that a mortgage free house and a few small value bank accounts are to be divided equally between my sister and myself. The estate is debt free.
So far, so good. The problem I have is twofold.
Firstly, given the simplicity of the will (and this has been confirmed by the solicitor/executor), we do not wish to be forced to pay over up to 3%+VAT to the solicitor. It is my understanding that the executor is legally required to ensure that everything is in order. That is fine. What we both object to is the fact that he is using his own firm to carry out probate etc and charging us such a high percentage fee for the privilege. I have no objection to paying for his time / services; I do object to effectively being forced to do so.
Can we insist on either of the following (as after all, we will end up paying for the service):
A) Insist on having our own solicitor conducting the affairs of the estate and having the executor confirming everything is in order.
B) Forcing the solicitor to agree to a mutually acceptable fixed price, rather than a percentage fee.
As I have stated before, we both feel that be have been maneuvered into a position where we both have no option to pay such high fees.
It is also worth nothing that the previous version of the will had both my sister and myself as executors. My father (82) brought the will to the current executor/solicitor for an update two years ago and that is when he appeared as named executor. This I find somewhat suspicious, but obviously there is no proof of anything.
Any thoughts, suggestions would be appreciated.
Regards,
S