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

[Gordon Gekko]

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.

Oh right, so your expertise didn’t extend to figuring out that the people get old and retire, and that the people who did great work two generations ago might not still be around? It sounds like you contributed to the problem you’re courting praise for solving!

 

[Brendan Burgess]

''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.”

That is shocking. I wonder how many lay applications are returned.

I have done two probates. There was a small issue with one which was corrected during the interview. But they were both simple family ones.

I suspect that if the solicitors actually attended for interview, they would be able to fix a lot of the problems there and then.

Brendan

 

[Brendan Burgess]

That is shocking.

Come to think of it, I am not sure why I am so shocked.

I watched a lot of repossession cases and even where the Registrar was happy to grant the possession, there was very often a problem with the paperwork and the case was adjourned.

I have always recommended to people in arrears to represent themselves and not use a solicitor as there was never any legal issue to be discussed.

 

[T McGibney]

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.

That information is probably now out of date as the new online SA2 probate form was introduced effective for deaths after 5/12/2021, aimed "to reduce previous common errors" on the old and very unwieldy paper based forms.

Announcements | The Courts Service of Ireland

www.courts.ie

 

[mathepac]

Oh right, so your expertise didn’t extend to figuring out that the people get old and retire, and that the people who did great work two generations ago might not still be around? It sounds like you contributed to the problem you’re courting praise for solving!

I fear your posts for some time now fall into one or other of the "not bothering to read or incapable of understanding or a post for the sake of it" traps and relative to other contributions, add no value

When I appointed the professional firm of solicitors to assist with probate, it took a lot of time, cost a lot of money, (initially, until the Law Society eventually ponied up), and a lot of frustration for them to create a total mess of the affairs. Where someone on AAM requests a recommendation for a firm of solicitors, when a recommendation is posted, does it ever contain the proviso that before appointing the firm, the requestor should vet individual solicitor(s) in the firm for competence, diligence, stability or whatever other necessary qualities and qualifications the requestor deems necessary? I gotta say I've never run across it. These firms live or die on reputation. It can take generations to establish it, a couple of years to destroy it.

My DIY probate went like a dream, I mean what else would you expect given my previous experience?

 

[T McGibney]

Where someone on AAM requests a recommendation for a firm of solicitors, when a recommendation is posted, does it ever contain the proviso that before appointing the firm, the requestor should vet individual solicitor(s) in the firm for competence, diligence, stability or whatever other necessary qualities and qualifications the requestor deems necessary? I gotta say I've never run across it.

Really?

Once upon a time, whenever a user here would request recommendations for a solicitor, accountant or other professional, there would almost always be at least one suggestion that the user should ask trusted friends or family members for personal recommendations based on their prior experience.

Has that changed?

 

[S class]

I learned recently that the Probate Office in 2025 still only accepts payments from the public by cheque and postal order.

Dublin Probate Office accepted payment by Debit Card.

 

[mathepac]

Really?

Once upon a time, whenever a user here would request recommendations for a solicitor, accountant or other professional, there would almost always be at least one suggestion that the user should ask trusted friends or family members for personal recommendations based on their prior experience.

Has that changed?

Really?

I've already posted that I did all of that and had multiple generations of immediate and wider family with experience of wills, conveyancing, and other legal work to draw on but your post completely misses the point of my post that you quoted.

 

[T McGibney]

Really?

I've already posted that I did all of that and had multiple generations of immediate and wider family with experience of wills, conveyancing, and other legal work to draw on but your post completely misses the point of my post that you quoted.

It's not my fault that you mistakenly relied on a reputation that was clearly long obsolete. There is no point in blaming anyone here for that mess.

 

[Brendan Burgess]

Folks

A question was asked about whether a fee seemed reasonable. There were different views and that is fine.

It has morphed into whether someone should do probate themselves or use a solicitor and that, too, is fine.

But why can we not have a discussion of these issues without insulting the poster whose views we disagree with. I am all for lively debate and even colourful language, but some of it has been way over the top and distracts from answering the actual questions.

Brendan

 

[mathepac]

It's not my fault that you mistakenly relied on a reputation that was clearly long obsolete. There is no point in blaming anyone here for that mess.

How do you know whether that firm's reputation was long obsolete? I haven't named them, nor have I even hinted at the village, town, parish, or county they were located in, so where exactly did I make that reputational obsolescence clear to you? I haven't even mentioned in which decade, millennium, or century these events took place. Maybe give us a go of your crystal ball at some stage, I'd like to get the Lotto numbers, please.

The only person I have ever blamed for "that mess" was the solicitor concerned

 

[T McGibney]

How do you know whether that firm's reputation was long obsolete? I haven't named them, nor have I even hinted at the village, town, parish, or county they were located in, so where exactly did I make that reputational obsolescence clear to you?

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.

 

[mathepac]

So what? None of those posts you've quoted can lead you to the erroneous conclusions you have reached. You need to read them in context and the context is the immediately preceding posts by others.

Sometimes it'd be easier and more rewarding to be herding mice at the crossroads.

 

[S class]

There seems to be fear among the pros.

I suppose their days are numbered.
The ordinary citizen can now get most the expert assistance they require from information technology and other well informed citizens online, at zero cost.

 

[T McGibney]

There seems to be fear among the pros.

I suppose their days are numbered.
The ordinary citizen can now get most the expert assistance they require from information technology and other well informed citizens online, at zero cost.

The actual reality for professional practitioners, whether it be solicitors, accountants, engineers, medics, vets and others, is that there was never as much work out there and so few people there to do it.

(The most awkward and intractable problems I have seen in a professional capacity in recent years have arisen from situations where well-meaning amateurs took on administrative duties that involved technical complexity and their lack of technical competence created problems that then needed professional assistance to unwind and resolve.)

 

[MOB]

There seems to be fear among the pros.

I suppose their days are numbered.
The ordinary citizen can now get most the expert assistance they require from information technology and other well informed citizens online, at zero cost.

This belief comes up over and over again in various flavours. Another example https://www.askaboutmoney.com/threads/diy-wills-€61-50-from-the-money-doctor.234954/

I'm with Tommy on this. I am a practising solicitor. I can easily watch YouTube videos that show in exhaustive detail how to carry out minor repair and service tasks on my car. And yet I don't. And my local mechanic has more work than he can comfortably handle.

The loss of "easy" work is, in the long run, a positive for any profession or trade. I don't particularly want to be taking on work which a client feels they could easily do themselves. I prefer clients who feel that I am the right person (maybe the only person) for the job. And sometimes ( not often enough) I am the only person.