What does the Probate solicitor do?

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GlenGlasker

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I can't seem to find an answer for this anywhere so apologies for asking a silly question!

Originally my brother and I had hoped to do the Probate on our parents' estate ourselves but there are some small complications with the estate and we're looking at hiring a solicitor to do the Probate work instead.

I know they're professionals and you're paying for the expertise/form submission etc. but in terms of labour for the executors does having a solicitor make it easier for them? Does the solicitor do the legwork on chasing accounts, dealing with life insurers, settling bills etc. so that the beneficiaries just end up with a settlement each at the end of it?

We're trying to figure out if the fee is worth it for an easier life for us (and if having the solicitor would make our lives that much easier!). I am oversimplifying our case a little bit but I really can't find any information on how much the solicitor does/doesn't do.
 
They are hardly likely to say "It's easy, do it yourselves" are they?

It really depends on how much effort you want to put into getting the information and dealing with the probate Office and/or Revenue.

If there are complications, then it is better to have a solicitor. I handled the Probate for my mother's estate but it did take time and effort on my part but the probate Office are very helpful.
 
They will be clear on what they can and can't do.

Some Solicitors may be prepared to wait at the property for estate agents valuers, and bill accordingly, some may not. If you don't want to do the house clearance yourself, Solicitor may appoint an agency/clearing company to do so.

DIY is only suitable where things are very straightforward, if you think there are likely to be complications then let Solicitor handle it.
 
Thanks for the replies.

I have asked the solicitors that have quoted if they would elaborate on what the fee includes and have just been told 'all matters relating to the probate of x estate' and when I then ask what that covers (giving examples of a couple of things) and the solicitors require that I meet with them in person (at additional fee) to discuss it more fully.

I know no solicitor would encourage you to go it alone in terms of probate but from peoples' own experiences I'm trying to glean if the solicitor does most of the legwork or whether the executor still has to do the legwork and the solicitor handles the form filling etc. For anyone who has used a solicitor did you just have to sit back and let them do it all or was there still a lot of admin work for you to handle?
 
The Solicitor will ask you to get a lot of the information that goes on the CA24 form. So all you have to do is wait for a task from the Solicitor and then get him/her the info asap. If you do the Probate application yourself then you will be more proactive and there is less likely to be errors or things forgotten. However, if you believe there is some complication with the estate that makes you doubt your competence to handle it then you should use a solicitor for peace of mind, but don't just sit back and wait for the Solicitor to request info from you.
Either way you should go to deceased's bank and have an Executor Account set up. Do your best to identify all assets and liabilities yourself and what their value at date of death was and get written confirmation (eg. Certs of Balance, Certs of Discharge etc..) from the relevant institutions (Banks, State Savings, Prize Bonds, Verizon Shares, Credit Card etc.). Get clearance certs from Irish Water and Utilities and get NPPR cert of exemption. Get an Estate Agent to do a Value at date of death for any property.
If your deceased parent was in receipt of Social Welfare payment (OAP) then notify DSP of death and have payments stopped and if there is an overpayment then make sure it's repaid from the deceased bank account. Keep a copy on file of the bank statement showing the repayment and get a letter from DSP stating that the deceased's estate owes them nothing. Ditto if they were in receipt of a Company pension.
Have you located the house deeds? If not check with the family solicitor if they have them? Do this before you discuss whether you're going to use them for the Probate process unless of course you have written proof that the solicitor has the deeds.
Get a couple of quotes from solicitors after letting them know that you will be getting all of the above done under your own steam. Ask them for an estimate of when they believe they will lodge the probate application once you have given them all the above info/documents and how long they believe it will then take to achieve Grant of Probate.
I used family solicitor for my mother's probate and from the time of my meeting them to start the process to the Grant of Probate was 18 months. I've done a personal application for my fathers more complex affairs and it's taken 10 1/2 months from the date of application to the appointment which is mid next month.
 
For the solicitor the executor had to have house valued, come up with a reasonable valuation of house contents (funrniture, white goods, jewellery, garden tools etc) provide details of bank accounts, prize bonds, bank bonds etc. - all of which was pretty straightforward. The solicitor then dealt with probate, contacted the banks once probate was through and they also obtained all cash from banks/prize bonds in order to distribute same. They organised transfer of house deeds to the appropriate beneficiary and liaised with the solicitor of a second beneficiary in order to give them their inheritance. All in all it was much easier to let the solicitor do the work, with the executor just providing whatever information he needed to complete probate and distribute the estate. In a second case there were only 2 items to go through probate so the executor chose to do it themselves. It's ongoing. Probate is granted quicker via a solicitor. If you choose to do it yourself keep a photocopy of every bit of documentation you send to the probate office - even pages of forms that are not filled in. Social welfare may look for details as may the HSE if your deceased relative was in a home.

Just reading previous post, it took solicitor 6 months to obtain Grant of probate in our case so I gather it depends on assets, if you're selling the house etc. We weren't selling the house.
 
Marsha25 - I'll think you'll find that the situation has got worse in the last 2 years and that the time from application to Grant has lengthened considerably. However, my experience of 18 months using a solicitor for my mothers very simple estate and 10.5 months (assuming that Probate is granted very shortly after my probate appointment) in the case of my personal application for my father's more complex estate might not be a true reflection of the situation of using solicitor versus not using one. If a Solicitor gets the application in promptly I believe it would take a lot less time than a personal application - given the lengthening lead times from application to appointment for personal applications.
 
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