Probate

M

mangos

Registered User
Messages
111
My friend's father passed away recently. He left a farm valued at €800,000 approx and a dwelling hse. All was left to his wife. My friend was told by her solicitor that she would have to pay €19k to cover probate & transfer of land into her mother's name. She cannot afford this and thinks she might try to do the probate herself.

Does she need a tax clearance cert or is this a very complicated procedure?

Mangos
 
19k sounds a bit steep. She may find another solicitor that will charge an agreed, more reasonable, fee. DIY may be tricky for her/your friend as land sometimes raises complications. Independent legal advice.

Slim
 
wow, 19k with a straightforward will (no need to advertise etc.) sounds like a lot to me too.

I'd ring around a few solicitors to get quotes but don't mention the 19k or they'll know where you stand.
 
Your friends mother will need a solicitor for drafting, executing and registering the assent but, if prepared to engage in form filling she could take out the probate herself. Indeed, the probate office are very helpful to lay applicants - they will probably give her the relevant forms. She will also need to complete a tax return - but that is generally not a difficult task (especially if they have done it before, and I am assuming that a farmer would have). I would expect that there is in the region of max. 20 hours work involved for a lawyer/legal executive (where no particular difficulties) - with hourly rates of between €100 and €450 depending on who is doing the work. Assuming no complexities your friends mother should expect to be paying on the lower end of this spectrum. The rate quoted, if you deduct €1k in outlay translates into a professional fee of €18k - which is €900 p/h. (VAT inclusive?) This would equate to rates charged by golden circle law firms in London.
 
The staff in the Probate office are extremley helpful. If you paid them a visit with your paperwork, you might actually be surprised at how simple it is with their help. You may even decide you can do it yourself. Hence you won't need a solicitor.

You'll need to take out an advertisement in the newspaper, unfortunately, to make the death known, just in case anyone decides they also have a legitimate claim on the deceased's property. Its just to be on the safe side.

If you are used to doing your own tax returns, the inheritance tax is easy to do also and again the tax office will be very helpful in assisting you.

As far as I know you only receive a tax clearance certificate when this is paid.

All in all, its very straight forward and would not warrant a fee of €19k, which to me, is just ridiculous.
 
My mother's solicitor (father recently passed) says probate is going through in as little as 3 weeks at the moment for some reason.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top