Does this seem a reasonable fee for Extracting Probate, Tax returns etc?

I suppose it takes all sorts, but it's difficult for me to reconcile the dismissal of a four-figure sum of money as of little or no consequence on a site that is all about consumers, containing threads that went on for a considerable time about the price of 2-litres of milk in Dunnes and the differences in prices between tins of sweets pre-Christmas.

What do you call that behaviour when people seem to argue solely to be disruptive, or just for the sake of arguing or just to be seen or heard? Maybe "chronically frustrated barristeritis", to make a non-American neologism, describes it nicely.
 
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You obviously don’t understand the concept of relativity. If I’m sharing a large inheritance, €1,600 is nothing taking all things into account, including risk/reward, one’s own time etc. Comparing it to a discussion on the price of milk is frankly, ridiculous.
 
A perfect example of the behaviour I alluded to in my preceding post which you unnecessarily quoted in full. But thanks, it reinforces the message.

For some people here €1,600 is most certainly not nothing, read some of the posts, and the cris de coeur for guidance and sources of help for posters in extremis.
 
mathepac said:
For some people here €1,600 is most certainly not nothing, read some of the posts, and the cris de coeur for guidance and sources of help for posters in extremis.
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The OP stands to collect one third of an estate valued at over €600K. A few grand spent in order to lessen the chances of it all going pear shaped is loose change in that context.
 
What about foolish behaviour and whataboutery from people who contribute nothing and can’t seem to understand basic concepts like relativity and logic?
 
Gordon Gekko said:
What about foolish behaviour
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Speaking of whataboutery ... Please identify the behaviour you see as foolish. I see spending money unnecessarily as foolish, relative to the simple work that needs completing for the grant of probate, tax calculations, and returns.

Did I mention I've experience acting as executor, once with the incompetent assistance of an idiot solicitor and once without? In my experience I managed the entire professionally unassisted, professionally unadvised process like a champ, saving loads in the process. Even though I got compensated by the Law Society for the idiot's incompetence at the time, it wasn't worth the hassle. So in relative terms, I'd always opt to do what I can while flying solo. I know my limitations, relative to the tasks to be completed, I don't know the other guy's limitations or scotomas.
 
We did a DIY probate last year. Total estate value 700k.
Total cost 1k. Minimal amount of work involved.
Great learning experience. The most time consuming task was getting the will released by the holding solicitor.

The only annoying aspect of this was the fact we were charged 1000 euro probate office fee. A solicitor is only charged 500 euro probate office fee. Totally unfair treatment.
 
“like a champ”

Who appointed that solicitor?

And again, you’re either ignoring or don’t understand the concept ot relativity. If I saw this theoretical €1,600 on the ground on the other side of the road, I’d cross to pick it up. But if you told me I needed to cycle to Mullingar to get it, I wouldn’t bother, yet I could easily do so.
 
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jim said:
If you have the time, skill and inclination to do this non complex work yourself and save yourself 2k then why wouldnt you do it. Its 2k!
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It depends on how long it will take to do, and how much value you attach to your own time. The less value you attach to your time, the more sense it makes to do this yourself.

Other factors also go into the decision — principally how confident you are in your ability to do what needs to be done. Note that this isn't a measure of how competent and capable you are, but of how competent and capable you think you are, which is not necessarily the same thing.

Basically, the greater your opinion of your own abilities, and the less value you place on your own time, the more likely you are to take on this job yourself. What could possibly go wrong?
 
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S class said:
A solicitor is only charged 500 euro probate office fee. Totally unfair treatment.
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I learned recently that the Probate Office in 2025 still only accepts payments from the public by cheque and postal order.

This looks like a deliberate friction to keep the public away from this kind of thing.
 
mathepac said:
I hear ya @S class, but maybe that's for the extra bit of effort they need to expend dealing with a civilian.
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This. The application in person process involves an appointment for an in-person meeting with probate office staff. Solicitors making an application don't get this.

Dr Strangelove said:
I learned recently that the Probate Office in 2025 still only accepts payments from the public by cheque and postal order.
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I don't think that's right.

I could be wrong, but there may be a misunderstanding at work here. As I understand, it, payment by cheque/postal order is something that used to be available to everyone, but now it's only available to applicants in person. So it's not that "the public can only pay by cheque or postal order" but "only the public can pay by cheque or postal order".

An applicant in person can pay by cheque or debit card when they attend their meeting with the probate office staff. (Or, I suppose, they can pay in cash.)
 
TomEdison said:
Basically, the greater your opinion of your own abilities, and the less value you place on your own time, the more likely you are to take on this job yourself. What could possibly go wrong?
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I couldn’t have said it better myself. It seems best suited to megalomaniacs who haven’t yet learned one of life’s most important lessons…you don’t know what you don’t know.

And in addition, imagine what happens if, heaven forbid, said ‘know it all’ makes a mistake.

“I said, sod that, I’m not spending €1,600 on a solicitor, I’m doing it myself” is, I’m sure, a great defence when the beneficiaries come after you with pitchforks demanding to know where did it all go wrong.
 
I don't think that anyone is suggesting that a non lawyer should do a probate where it is complicated and where there may be legal issues involved.

But most probates are simple. No more complicated than filing routine tax returns.

I will pay a tax consultant for a complex tax planning issue. I will pay a solicitor for a complex legal issue.

But I will do my own tax returns and probate where I am the Executor unless there is some problem.

I am not convinced that giving a simple probate over to a solicitor would save a lot of time. You still have to collect a lot of the information from banks and sort through the person's personal documents.

And you are always assuming a competent, efficient and honest solicitor. What could possibly go wrong? You could pick a dishonest or incompetent or inefficient solicitor and it would take far longer.
 
Gordon Gekko said:
“like a champ”

Who appointed that solicitor?
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For sure like a champ, but you'd have to have been there to see it first hand. Super performance.

I did as the firm had done a lot of work for the family over a couple of generations and had drafted and stored the will for which I was the named executor. Having consulted with the broader family, the feedback I received gave me no reason to seek alternative representation and the fees quoted seemed reasonable.

What I did not know was that due to retirements, the personnel within the firm had changed and the new single incumbent had been trading on the good name of the firm while lacking the work ethic, professionalism, and competence of his predecessors at the helm. Disbarred a long time ago and the firm no longer exists.
 
Brendan Burgess said:
And you are always assuming a competent, efficient and honest solicitor. What could possibly go wrong? You could pick a dishonest or incompetent or inefficient solicitor and it would take far longer.
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Exactly what happened to me having done my due diligence and hearing nothing but good about the firm, I proceeded as any civilian would and put the business in the hands of an apparent professional.
 
According to this IT article from Oct 2022 solicitors mistakes in probate applications are very common. It is behind a paywall but here's a few lines from it;

Staff shortages and solicitor errors contributing to probate grant delays​


''An error rate of up to 60 per cent by solicitors in probate applications and a lack of staff in probate offices are contributing to delays in issuing probate grants, causing anxiety for house buyers and sellers.''

“It is worth noting that up to 60 per cent of applications are returned to solicitors due to errors. This significant error rate slows up the processing of cases.”

https://www.irishtimes.com/crime-law/2022/10/25/staff-shortages-and-solicitor-errors-contributing-to-probate-grant-delays/#:~:text=An error rate of up,for house buyers and sellers.
 
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