Solictor charges for probate

[Barboda]

Hi,

My mother died last year and had sold her house prior to her death.

When she died her only asset was approx 130,000 lodged in a bank account. My mothers solicitor handled the probate on behalf of my family. It has taken the solicator until last week to complete this.

The solicitors professions feels were 3,250 euro + outlays which in total cam to 4,356 euro which was rounded off to 4000.

I really was quite shocked at the charges. This amounts to 3% of the estate.

Does anyone know what should the expected charge be. does this sound very expensive and should I challenge it.

As mentioned earlier my mother had not other assets e.g. property etc so this was the simplist possible will.
When I rang the probabate office to check the status they told me I could have completed the probabe myself since I am executor. I really did wish I had known this and it is also another gripe that my mothers solictor did not tell me this was possible.

 

[oysterman]

Would you expect your car mechanic to advise you that you can service your car yourself?

Your solicitor is in business and you can't expect him/her to do anything other than charge you what will generate a tidy profit.

People should ask for quotes and shop around.

There are big differentials in pricing out there at the moment.

3% isn't excessive from what I hear.

I have no connection with the legal profession. Or at least, as little as possible.

 

[Barboda]

oysterman, thanks for the reply. what has annoyed me most of all is that this morning I rang asolicitors (at www.lawyer.ie) to get a quote for such a probate and without hesitation the solicitor I spoke to told me to do the probate myself and to call the probate office for instructions. I had never spoke with this solicitors before but find it incredible that they can give me such advice but a solicitor what has worked with my familiy for several years did not bother.

 

[rainyday]

While I understand your frustration, I do think you (and anyone else in your shoes) should have simply asked for a estimate of the costs up-front, to avoid any nasty surprises.

 

[Tommy]

Barboda, if your own solicitors had sent you off to do your own probate and you had made a hames of it, would you have held them accountable for such "reckless" or "ill-founded" advice?

 

[N0elC]

Rip off Solictor charges for probate

I saw an article in the Guardian’s Jobs and Money section recently which stated that, in the UK, probate fees on a simple estate (they gave the example of family home and bank account) should be in the region of UK£400 (€560).

For years, in Ireland, we accepted very high legal fees on conveyancing (I was once quoted 2% of the house price, by my parents trusted family solicitor), but consumer pressure has forced the price of this service right down.

3% on a standard probate is just outrageous, especially considering the rise in house prices over the past ten years.

The moral of the story is shop around for the best fixed price. A percentage fee is a nonsense.

All solicitors are trained to the same high standard, and are covered by professional indemnity insurance, so don’t be fooled by the “you get what you pay for” standard argument.

Solicitors like Dermot Deane and the panel at ezhome.ie have shown that you can get quality conveyancing without paying extortionate fees.

The same thing applies to probate.