Query abour probate fees

I am executor for a close relative of mine that passed away late last year. There is a property valued at approx 175,000 euros left to one benificiary. The solicitor made my late relatives will and also gave advice regarding a legal separation. The probate is in the final stage and last week I recieved a draft bill which was 4,300 euros. The beneficiary (whom is an immediate family member) is extrememely unhappy with the costs and has been quoted between 1300 euros and 2600 euros from other solicitors. Can anyone tell me if this bill seems to be overly expensive? A quote was never requested from the solicitor to begin with.

First ensure you are comparing like with like :

• Does the 4.3k include legal fees, VAT and outlays?
• Do the 'quotes' include legal fees, VAT and outlays?

BTW did the solicitor give advice to you regarding legal separation or to your deceased relative? If to your deceased relative then it makes sense to me to leave the work where the will was drafted and where details and files resided, so to speak.

Your responsibility as executor is to ensure that work is done legally, efficiently and in compliance with the wishes of the deceased; therefore any decisions relating to legal work are yours alone to take; its not a democracy where everyone gets a vote - it can be a difficult, lonely and thankless job and the responsibilities are there for life.

As far as I know, yes. Just to be clear I am not disputing this. I understand that, like everything, solicitors fees vary. I am just trying to find out if the bill is an excessive amount. This is all leading to a very awkward situation as I just want to carry out my duty as I promised I would. Thanks for your help. Anymore would be greatly appreciated.


Solicitor gave advice to deceased relative and later to me as my relative was too ill. It involved going over separation papers, sending letter to spouses solicitor.

I made my mothers will and got the probate, after she passed away but as we had not completed the transfer of the house from my father's estate to her name, I had to get extra work done after she passed away, but the fees were about €400 in total.

No solicitor involved until we sold her house. Their fees were €1,500, the house sold for €380,000.

OP, your relative appointed the solicitor to do the Probate. A Will is a document of last wishes of the deceased. If the relative is a beneficiary that is unhappy what would they have done if the deceased left them nothing at all. This sounds like a classic Irish answer to a Irish problem. Everybody can get something done cheaper when the matter is sorted.

You are the appointed Executor to the Estate. You have the responsibility in sorting out the effects of the deceased. If you're happy tell the others to take a long walk off the Pier.

Etna - you say you made your mother'w will. Unless you were an only child, it wa a bave decision. Rows/quibble/suspicions/disappointments re wills cause a lot of trouble within families.

" You are the appointed Executor to the Estate. You have the responsibility in sorting out the effects of the deceased. If you're happy tell the others to take a long walk off the Pier"


This attitude will probably create uneccessary dispute and antagonism and make things worse for everyone.



Surely it is within the rights of any beneficiary to ask pertinent questions of the executor in relation to fees spent?

mercman said:

You are the appointed Executor to the Estate. You have the responsibility in sorting out the effects of the deceased. If you're happy tell the others to take a long walk off the Pier.

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It would be nice if all executors were reasonable people with no axe to grind, unfortunately this is not the case all of the time.

Beneficiaries should be entitled to review the actions of the executor and hold him/her personally liable if they have blatantly wasted money or time executing a will.