Why do solicitors use town agents?

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Sailorgirk

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My sister in law is an execetor of her relatives will & her solicitor just told her as she signed off the probate application that she was sending the papers on to a 'town agent?'

My SIL didn't fully grasp why as there was so many other queries she had so it went over her head.

My SIL decided not to do DIY probate but instruct a solicitor so why would a town agency be necessary? Very strange
 
Country solicitors usually use a town agent to lodge documents and deal with other routine business in the court offices in Dublin.

It's not required but its extremely common because it's quicker and more efficient than dealing with everything through the post.

On edit (because as newbie I can't reply to Clubman for 2 hours):

It's more efficient than using a document exchange also. The town agent's clerk who has brought the papers to the relevant office to lodge is well-positioned to deal on the spot with any queries, correct errors, etc. Or, at worst, using a town agent means that issues can be reported back to the instructing solicitor more quickly than via post or document exchange.

Town agents deal with huge number of proceedings and applications and pretty well any issue that can arise, they have already seen and already dealt with. They're always up-to-date with the latest changes in processes and procedures, and they usually have established relationships with court staff; they know who does what, and who to talk to about what issue. So even if they can't resolve a problem on the spot and have to report it back to the lodging solicitor, they are also able to give them a practice-informed steer on the optimal way of resolving it.
 
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TomEdison said:
Country solicitors usually use a town agent to lodge documents and deal with other routine business in the court offices in Dublin.

It's not required but its extremely common because it's quicker and more efficient than dealing with everything through the post.

On edit (because as newbie I can't reply to Clubman for 2 hours):

It's more efficient than using a document exchange also. The town agent's clerk who has brought the papers to the relevant office to lodge is well-positioned to deal on the spot with any queries, correct errors, etc. Or, at worst, using a town agent means that issues can be reported back to the instructing solicitor more quickly than via post or document exchange.

Town agents deal with huge number of proceedings and applications and pretty well any issue that can arise, they have already seen and already dealt with. They're always up-to-date with the latest changes in processes and procedures, and they usually have established relationships with court staff; they know who does what, and who to talk to about what issue. So even if they can't resolve a problem on the spot and have to report it back to the lodging solicitor, they are also able to give them a practice-informed steer on the optimal way of resolving it.
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Thank you for your very informative reply. Should it be practice that all this is discussed/included prior to the overall fee being agreed to carry out probate by the solicitor? I presume this service isn't cheap?
 
Sailorgirk said:
Should it be practice that all this is discussed/included prior to the overall fee being agreed to carry out probate by the solicitor? I presume this service isn't cheap?
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A few years ago a Wicklow solicitor I appointed to do a Dublin probate used the services of a Town agent for all the reasons explained by Tom.

Apart from the agreed legal fee it was one of the additional outlays mentioned, it was only around €120.
 
Des Pondent said:
A few years ago a Wicklow solicitor I appointed to do a Dublin probate used the services of a Town agent for all the reasons explained by Tom.

Apart from the agreed legal fee it was one of the additional outlays mentioned, it was only around €120.
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Thank you. So therefore in relation to the actual probate application fee will it still be the solicitor application fee or deemed to be a personal application fee? The latter is much more expensive
 
Des Pondent said:
It is still the cheaper solicitor probate application fee.
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Thank you. Apparently my SIL was asked to pay the personal application fee judging by the value of the estate in question and what she paid at her signing appointment at her solicitors . I guess she'll have to query all this.
 
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