grandmother's will, probate delay.

superfan said:
if it was with the solicitor she drew up the first will with i could understand that but this meeting was with a different solicitor. i wasn't there but apparently my aunt told the solicitors when they were leaving the meeting that if anything untoward emerged she would take matters further and the solicitor(s) replied there was nothing to worry about. this is what my father has told me anyway. none of the family were aware of a second will till the solicitor discovered it.
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Who arranged this meeting with solicitors?

Has your father been told how much probate will cost?
And has he been informed of how much the barrister is costing?
Plus how much it will be to contact 8 people individually?
 
Salvadore said:
There’s nothing to stop him trying. Although he may have signed something to say the solicitor is acting on his behalf.

This may be of some help. https://www.lawsociety.ie/Solicitor...states-Guidelines-for-Solicitors#.Y1v8OnbMLIU

If the whole thing is stressing your dad out unreasonably, he should consider withdrawing as executor. He doesn’t need to find a replacement.
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Him contacting the probate office would only make matters worse. And you are correct he should withdraw as executor as it is causing him health problems. Nothing is worth that.
 
Salvadore said:
If the whole thing is stressing your dad out unreasonably, he should consider withdrawing as executor. He doesn’t need to find a replacement.
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Health is wealth. Your dad's health is much more important than an inheritance of €40-50k. He should consider renunciation and leave it up to his siblings.
 
Bronte said:
Who arranged this meeting with solicitors?
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i'm assuming it was my grandmother, my aunt was in the house with her at the time when the solicitors called out to see her.
don't know if exact costs were mentioned but i do recall my father saying the barrister told him it'll cost a lot of money to send letters to everyone.
 
eggerb said:
Your dad's health is much more important than an inheritance of €40-50k.
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he doesn't care about the money, he just wants to carry out his mother's wishes.
nursing home bills have to come out of the final figure so i reckon it'll be a lot less than 40k each.
 
The Probate Office lists everything required in a probate application here.

You will note that one items that may be required is an Affidavit of Testamentary Capacity from a doctor. "If doctor is unavailable evidence from another source may be acceptable. Alternatively, the High Court may order that the will be proved. The High Court order must be lodged in this case." A straightforward question for the solicitor is "What other source may be acceptable to the Probate Office".

The Probate Office will not deal with your dad directly if he used a solicitor to lodge the application; they will say that they can only discuss ongoing applications with the lodging solicitor. They may be willing to answer a general question as to who else could be acceptable to provide an Affidavit of Testamentary Capacity. Their email address is [email protected]

You state that the GP didn't sign because it was a long time since he had seen your grandmother. How long? Did another doctor see her in the interim? This avenue may be worth pursuing.
 
Thanks for that @eggerb I might fire off a general query myself.
I honestly don't know how long it was since the GP seen her but I still can't understand why they can't use the will witnessed and signed by 2 solicitors.
 
Testamentary capacity is a legal test. When taking instructions from an elderly client, a solicitor must establish the presence or absence of testamentary capacity. If in doubt, a medical opinion should be sought [by the solicitor or client] before proceeding. It is the solicitor’s obligation to determine whether or not the client has testamentary capacity. Medical evidence may be of assistance, but is not a substitute for a legal determination of capacity. In this case it appears from what you have outlined that medical evidence was not obtained. The question now arises as to whether there is other evidence of testamentary capacity and that is essentially what they are looking for. Ideally, certification should be contemporaneous but that is not essential and can be retrospective.

How long is this all going on; when did the solicitor submit the application?
 
It's a speed bump at this stage. When approximately did the solicitor submit the application and when did the query come from the Probate Office?
 
The application was made well over a year ago and it's only in the last few weeks has there been talk of high court.
 
superfan said:
This is interesting, are you saying undue influence from family members?
I don't think so because when the second will was made up the solicitors wouldn't allow any family members in to the room with them when they were discussing it with my grandmother, I remember my father telling me that at the time and finding it very strange.
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Not saying it did happen by the way but from where the Probate office are sitting, the risk of it occurring will be a concern, especially without the medical sign off.

As for people being in the room, UI could have occured well in advance of the solicitors meeting
 
Seriously Superfan, I would say the best thing you and your Dad can do is step away from all of it. You and he are finding it so confusing that you are getting seriously stressed. Just advise your Dad to write to the solicitor and renounce bring executor. Copy the other siblings and leave it at that.

Barristers and high courts will eat up all the money and there will be nothing left. Your Dad more than likely agreed to having a barrister at the meeting and thus has agreed the costs for this from the estate. It may be a lot more complex than both of you realise but it appears to me you and your Dad are in a total muddle about how to progress and the best option is to just stop.
 
superfan said:
The application was made well over a year ago and it's only in the last few weeks has there been talk of high court.
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Probate Seat Office applications (applications by solicitors) are currently taking 20 weeks. I would be asking the solicitor for visibility of all queries raised by the Probate Office and what was replied to them. They very likely raised a query close to the 20 weeks so if I was you or your dad, I'd like to know what happened in the interim.
 
superfan said:
i'm assuming it was my grandmother, my aunt was in the house with her at the time when the solicitors called out to see her.
don't know if exact costs were mentioned but i do recall my father saying the barrister told him it'll cost a lot of money to send letters to everyone.
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This is pure madness.

Your father is literally writing an open check to the legal people and has no clue how much all of this will cost. And he or you need to stop it.

Did your father get a figure for the cost of probate?
 
superfan said:
The application was made well over a year ago and it's only in the last few weeks has there been talk of high court.
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What proof do you have of the submission to the probate office? And do you know when the probate office wrote back. One year is way too long for this to be normal.
 
superfan said:
i'm assuming it was my grandmother, my aunt was in the house with her at the time when the solicitors called out to see her.
don't know if exact costs were mentioned but i do recall my father saying the barrister told him it'll cost a lot of money to send letters to everyone.
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Did that aunt have an issue with the sibling left out of the will?

I would assume it was your aunt called out the solicitors. And I'd make further assumptions too. Scuppered by the solicitors refusing to tell the aunt anything.
 
superfan said:
if it was with the solicitor she drew up the first will with i could understand that but this meeting was with a different solicitor. i wasn't there but apparently my aunt told the solicitors when they were leaving the meeting that if anything untoward emerged she would take matters further and the solicitor(s) replied there was nothing to worry about. this is what my father has told me anyway. none of the family were aware of a second will till the solicitor discovered it.
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The house your grandmother lived in was owned by who, is it the original family home. Who lives there now?
 
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