Can one easily bring a Will lodged with a particular solicitor to another for service if a fee cannot be agreed ?

An approximate €4m estate. Money is held in liquid bank accounts; no property assets whatsoever as all sorted previously.

Solicitor has quoted 2% of the estate’s value plus VAT as fee for managing probate (admittedly without knowing the nature of the estate’s assets) . Am I correct in assuming this is completely bonkers quote & that we should be insisting on an hourly rate or fixed fee ?. Can one easily bring a Will lodged with a particular solicitor to another for this service if a fee cannot be agreed ?

A solicitor will usually have a lien over wills and other docs they hold for you while fees are unpaid. Best to agree a fee for their work done to date and move on.

You can go elsewhere. Doesn’t sound like they’ve started anything. Shop around. You can take the will yourself or direct it be sent elsewhere. I don’t like the % of assets approach myself. However no one can say if it’s fair without knowing what the complexity of the administration of the estate might be

Gushering said:

A solicitor will usually have a lien over wills and other docs they hold for you while fees are unpaid. Best to agree a fee for their work done to date and move on.

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Why would they have a lien (hold) on the document?

Steve00 said:

Am I correct in assuming this is completely bonkers quote & that we should be insisting on an hourly rate or fixed fee ?. Can one easily bring a Will lodged with a particular solicitor to another for this service if a fee cannot be agreed ?

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Yes the fee is 'bonkers' as you put it. Particularly as it is merely bank accounts. Also there is no way I'd agree on an hourly rate. Get a fixed fee. This is what I have done, it's about 5K. Yes you can easily move the will to another solicitor of your choosing.

Is your 2% fee quote in writing?

Only real issue for a probate like this is likely to be the tax element and if the solicitor has to do any work relating to source of funds etc. Also its unclear as to the number of beneficiaries or other points that may add to the complexity and they will still have a core amount of bureaucracy to work through. having said that, 2% is a crazy amount

Firstly (others have said it but just to be clear) you can ask the solicitor for a copy of the will and get probate done either by executors of will direct with the probate office, or by any other solicitor. There is no tie at all to the solicitor currently holding the will (other than long family relationship but then they should have given you a better personalised quote)

Two things drive the complexity - the state of the assets (you indicate this is very simple, fully liquid, all in Ireland etc) and the state of the beneficiaries (number, location, where they are resident etc).

If this is as simple as you imply then a fixed fee of 5-10k should be more than doable if you choose to use a solicitor. On a very simple estate you are paying for form filling really. On a more complex one (which €4m estates usually are) you are paying for legal expertise as well as form filling!

Steve00 said:

An approximate €4m estate. Money is held in liquid bank accounts; no property assets whatsoever as all sorted previously.

Solicitor has quoted 2% of the estate’s value plus VAT as fee for managing probate (admittedly without knowing the nature of the estate’s assets) . Am I correct in assuming this is completely bonkers quote & that we should be insisting on an hourly rate or fixed fee ?. Can one easily bring a Will lodged with a particular solicitor to another for this service if a fee cannot be agreed ?

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If you clarify for them a broad outline of the composition of the estate's assets, they should at that point be in a position to provide a more competitive quote.

Until you do that, the solicitor and others like them may well be tempted to quote high for fear of buying the proverbial pig in a poke.

Steve00 said:

An approximate €4m estate. Money is held in liquid bank accounts; no property assets whatsoever as all sorted previously.

Solicitor has quoted 2% of the estate’s value plus VAT as fee for managing probate (admittedly without knowing the nature of the estate’s assets) . Am I correct in assuming this is completely bonkers quote & that we should be insisting on an hourly rate or fixed fee ?. Can one easily bring a Will lodged with a particular solicitor to another for this service if a fee cannot be agreed ?

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+1 to Tommy's comments.

I am a solicitor and nobody can tell you (based on the limited information you have provided) what an appropriate fee should be.

A few years ago my office quoted €12k+VAT fixed fee on an all-cash estate of approx. €700k. All in one account too.

We lost money hand over fist. The time spent on the file came to around €21,000. Coincidentally there were 21 beneficiaries.....

Farma1 said:

If this is as simple as you imply then a fixed fee of 5-10k should be more than doable if you choose to use a solicitor. On a very simple estate you are paying for form filling really. On a more complex one (which €4m estates usually are) you are paying for legal expertise as well as form filling!

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If it’s very simple, the executor could do the necessary him/herself. 5-10k for what would really be administrative work is still a good of change.