Cost of Probate

Hello

I am meeting with a solicitor next week to resolve an issue in relation to my fathers will. The position is this.

He left a valid will with my mother being the sole beneficiary (so no inheritance tax issues). The estate was small - the family home, a credit union a/c, a bank a/c and an insurance policy. There were no debts

Aside from the family home everything is sorted - no probate required.

However an issue has arisen in relation to the family home. To our total surprise the house was in my father's name only - not my mothers. There was no ulterior motive here - my mother just didn't get involved in paperwork.

I have spoken to the solicitor to see what needs to happen to transfer the house into my mothers name. He feels that probate may be required - and that is what our meeting next week will be about.

Just so I am prepared - does anyone have any sense of what the likely cost of this probate will be?

I have seen reference to 1%-2% of the property. Is this the going rate? I had hoped this would be a relatively simple task.

Many thanks

Probate will be required.

It is possible to do a DIY probate, there is information on the courts website, but tbh it is far easier to use a solicitor. However from what you say, it does sound like a pretty straightforward case, so don't be afraid to negotiate on price. The 1%-2% would not be too far out of line (try to negotiate for the lower end of the scale), but there will be some outlays on top of that, so get quotes for them too so you know teh full picture and there are no nasty surprises.

as previous poster says probate will be required. You can do this or engage a solicitor. I'd be looking for a flat fee - the old % approach is a bit irrelevant nowadays.

You may as well meet with the solicitor & find out what they will charge - as this is so straight forward, they should hopefully give you a flat rate.

If you decide to do it yourself, it's not too difficult. I'm not a solicitor, but from what you say, all the accounts etc are already sorted, but if they also have to go through probate also, you'll just nee to get a letter from the banks etc statng what the account balance was on the day your dad died. For the house, you will need to ge a realistic valuation of what it was worth at the time of death. When you have everything, call your local probate office to arrange an appointmen. Feel free to call them to verify what you need to do or if you have any questions. They are very helpful, well at least I found they were when I dealt with them....my dads estate was more complex, but still very manageable.

1dave123, have a look here - http://www.citizensinformation.ie/c...seds-estate/what_happens_the_deceaseds_estate

Here is a brief, incomplete quotation from that site in relation to the surviving spouse's right to the family home :

"The family home: If the family home is held by both spouses as joint tenants, the surviving spouse automatically inherits the deceased spouse's interest." and my understanding is that probate is not required, but I'm not a lawyer.

Try and have a chat with the Probate Office before you consult the solicitor.

But the OP makes clear the house was not in joint names so Probate is required.

If the mother has no intention of selling, mortgaging or transferring the house, there is in my opinion no pressing need to take out probate at all. She can live out her days in it and when she dies, the house can go through probate then (when it needs to be sold or passed on to next generation). Or she can simply wait and see. Probate can be obtained in circa 3 months, so if she decides to sell, mortgage or transfer, she just needs to give her solicitor a bit of notice to get on with the paperwork.

That said, an estate which at this stage consists solely of a house should be a fairly simple probate. Excluding probate office fees, the legal costs are unlikely to exceed €3,000 and might conceivably be as little as €1400 ( for a VERY straightforward probate I have on occasion charged €1200 plus VAT - tbh, it is unlikely that you could get it done at this level, but not impossible)

Hello. Thanks to everyone for their replies - much appreciated.

MOB - I am very interested in your suggestion. She has no intention of selling the house and plans to live the remainder of her life in the house.

Ultimately on her death (which I hope won't be for many years yet) my sister and myself will inherit the house. Her will is written to that effect.

In your opinion - and given the scenario outlined - could her 'will' be questioned on the basis that she did not legally own an asset (the house) that she is passing on via her will.

Kind regards

1dave123 said:

In your opinion - and given the scenario outlined - could her 'will' be questioned on the basis that she did not legally own an asset (the house) that she is passing on via her will.

Kind regards

Click to expand...

Nope - Bear in mind that after your mother's death, it is your father's will that has to go through probate in order to sort out the house, as it is still in his name. It is very common for two estates (i.e. both parents) to be put through probate simultaneously, when the last surviving parent has died.

We did the probate etc. ourselves & it was a straightforward process - the people in the probate office were most helpful. It saved on solicitors fees, which I thought was money for old rope to be honest, the solicitor was not happy & even tried to charge us for giving us the will - we pointed out to him that his services had been paid for at the time it was taken out. Anyway, try the probate office first - but I do think there is a fee to be paid for probate getting registered? But nothing like the fees a solicitor would charge.

No harm to check it out with Solicitor and indeed an accountant. With the way the tax system is going you should look at all options to minimise any tax liability down the line

"the solicitor was not happy & even tried to charge us for giving us the will - we pointed out to him that his services had been paid for at the time it was taken out. "

Its perfectly reasonable for the solicitor to charge for (a) storing the will and (b) digging it out and arranging for an orderly hand over. The original fee was for the preparation and execution of the will only.

Solicitors run a business, clients are free to use their services or not and they are free to shop around. It may seem like money for old rope, but having had the pleasure of having to re-do Probates for clients who failed to grasp fairly obvious flaws, I would not view it in the same way.

mf

This was not mentioned in the letter sent to my mother-in-law when she made & paid for the will originally & enclosing the copy of the will, so therefore we believe we were quite legitimately entitled to receive the document from the solicitor. The contract was made with my mother-in-law not the family. In the letter he said he agreed to hold on to the original for safe keeping & supply to the family at a later date.