A few weeks ago my elderly aunt died.  I'd lived with her during my childhood in a large house with my parents and my uncles parents too.  We're not really related but she's always been Auntie D.  Her funeral was "alternative" and not without a hitch or two; I posted about it at the time.

She was a very switched on lady who was "Green" before anyone else, had strong politcal views and also strong views on what was right and wrong.  My life hasn't always been smooth running and I've always worked hard for what I have now which are three fantastic children and a lovely house.  Doris never had any children so I'm probably the nearest she has to family (my siblings didn't have the contact with her that I did).

I've received a letter today from her friend and executor telling me that I'm a beneficiary of her will.  I'm shocked really as I was perhaps expecting a piece of furniture (her father was a cabinet maker of some repute), not a cheque.

The thing is that the cheque won't arrive until probate is granted.  I know it's not the done thing to ask her friend how much the cheque will be for, and perhaps he won't know yet.  On a serious note this could be the best thing that has ever happened to me.  Does anyone have any idea how long it will take for probate to be granted?  She's got a sizeable house to sell in a prime location and would have been in total control of her financial affairs and I guarantee everything will be in order.

I don't want to 'count my chickens' etc, but know this is probably the only time in my life that something like this will happen to me and I can't help but feel excited. 

Does anyone know anything about probate? 

I am sure that someone with more knowledge than I will come along soon, but I do know that when my mother died, it took months before we could complete the probate form because various bills e.g. funeral expenses had to be paid first.  I assume that you cannot apply for grant of Probate until the house is sold.  Once the form was submitted to the Probate office, it took only a week or two for the Grant of Probate to come through.  I don't think that the executor would mind if you asked what you are likely to receive though!  :)

Probate has to be granted before the house can be sold as nothing can happen until the executor gets probate :) Also, any inheritance tax must be paid before probate is granted (if applicable)

Daisy

I'm the executor of my elderly aunt who died in February aged 101 :) A lot depends on who the other beneficiaries are and how the money has been split - also what other money etc she had apart from the house :) If she left fixed amounts to people - say £1000 to ten people, they will get this before any 'residuary' beneficiaries ie the people who get a percentage of what is left. If there is other money aprt from the house and more than enough to pay out all expenses ie the funeral, taxes etc etc etc it is possible that the executor may be able to pay out some money to people. However, it probably will be the case that nothing will be paid out until the house is sold and everything else finalised :( Could take years :(

Daisy

Just to add - when I say that people will get money before the residuary beneficiaries, I mean they take precedence :)

Thank you.  There's nothing to get the imagination flowing so much as telling them they'll be getting a present - but now what, or when!

I only wish I could tell her how pleased/excited/thankful I am; although something tells me she already knows and that's why she did it.  Anyhow I shall have to be patient a while longer although I suspect her house will sell very quickly.

> I suspect her house will sell very quickly.

Good :) I'm so pleased for you - whatever it is :) :) :) Just try not to think about it too much :D :D Just plan a meal out etc and if it happens to be a bit more (or a lot) then you will have a lovely surprise :) :)

Daisy

No but wow I couldn't wish for such good news for such a lovely genuine person ;)

Lucy
xx

Awww thanks Lucy!  If I get to celebrate, you'll be invited! 

Lovely news for you :)
Apart from the money, it's nice to know that someone thought so much of you, isn't it ? :)
Enjoy it when it arrives ! :-D

I'm very happy for you that your Aunt remembered you in this way - that's really good!

Now it all depends upon what your aunt owned/owed.   The first thing that the Executor has to do, as Daisy says, is to sort everything out - bank accounts, shares, house & contents, cars, jewellary etc.   So if your aunt's affairs are in order, she has details of bank & building society accounts and addresses, pension addresses etc, it is a case of writing to each and everyone, and getting an up to date statement, showing tax due/deducted etc.     Then the DWP has to be notified, so that they stop paying pension - and people like council (for council tax) gas, electricity and telephone suppliers - again so that accounts can be made up to the date of death (even if they are not cut off).    Once thesse details are in, and the house is valued for sale, then Probate accounts can be made up, and probate applied for.  

Once probate is given, the executor can then start to collect in all the monies due, and pay outstanding bills - and then bneneficiaries are paid out.

So it might take a few months or a couple of years - when my dad died, because he dotted every i and crossed every t - and because he'd already sold the house - we got probate and completion within three months.    I've known complicated probates go on for 18 months and more  :(

Margot

> Then the DWP has to be notified, so that they stop paying pension - and people like council (for council tax) gas, electricity and telephone suppliers - again so that accounts can be made up to the date of death (even if they are not cut off).

Actually these need to be done first along with the bank accounts etc

Badly phrased by me, I'm afraid - I should have said "at the same time"

I should also add that if your relative has been in receipt of "extra pension credit", then DWP will also ask for copy of probate accounts and can claim back the pension credit if they feel it has been paid out in error.

Margot

I think if you are a beneficiary of the will then you are entitled to see a copy before probate - just ask the executor or the solicitor involved!

Are you ?? My solicitor said that wills aren't public until probate was granted and that I didn't have any obligation to even tell people that they were beneficiaries until then :)

Daisy

Hi

Hate to chuck a spanner in the works but my dads esate took 3 years to sort and cost me a fortune in legan fees. We did have his  girlfriend causeing problems who felt she was entitled to the house. In the end we ended up giving her the house to get it sorted. My mother in law said it took them the same amount of time when her mum died and her estate was straght forward. Hopefully you can get it sorted sooner.

Wendy

If things are 'straight forward' then there is no reason for it to take that long :) :) My FIL's estate took just a few months to do last year - but without a house sale :) Obviously if a house sale is involved, it will take as long as that and we all know how long houses can take to sell. Often it is just the solicitor slowing things down :( They work at their own pace :rolleyes: and need considerable chivvying :D It is better to 'do-it-yourself' if at all possible, particularly if there is no house sale and the estate is under the Inheritance Tax threshold :) Of course, a lot depends, also, on how well-organised the deceased was :) :) Even then there are often problems with things like lost share certificates etc which can take a while (and some money) to replace :(

I had a big problem with my aunt's will as we couldn't find it, despite her solicitors being close family friends :( We spent weeks going backwards and forwards between the bank and the solicitors. Eventually it turned up in an unexpected place - unfortunately the will (and codicils) were made over ten years ago when my aunt was in the early stages of dementia and things got a bit complicated :D :D

Daisy

My father died in February and I am executor of his will.  He doesn't have any property to sell (he sold about 3 years ago and moved to Austria to live with his girlfriend) and his affairs are straight forward and we have been told that it could be anywhere between 3 months to a year.

Hope it all goes well

Hi Daisy, I think that if you are a benificiary of the will then yes you are able to see a copy before probate!  I think, I'm not 100% sure if this has changed over the last couple of years, but in 2005 an elderly aunt of ours died and after the solicitor contacted the beneficiaries, they requested a copy of the will and were given copies as requested :)

I'm not saying that you can't get it :) Just, in my solicitor's opinion, that there is no automatic right to know or be told before probate has been granted :) My aunt's will is a bit complicated and there is a slim possibility that one or other codicil will be discounted. In this case, some people may/may not get anything or a changed amount :) :) So, until the probate is granted, the will has not been 'proved' :)

Daisy

Auntie was the sort to have dotted every i and crossed every t along with making plans for her final resting place in the middle of a field.  In 2000 they applied for planning permission for her funeral plot and had to jump through several hoops along the way.  Up until the last day she was in total control even to the extent of taking her do not recussitate notice with her that was usually pinned above her telephone!  I'm convinced she decided just when to die even.

Her friend who is executor is a charming man who has done so much for Doris and I hope will be rewarded as it's much deserved.  I feel it's rude to ask "how much?" and I should just wait but I must admit to having an imagination that is running riot.  There will be plenty to round I am sure.

I'm sure the house will sell quickly as it's v.large in a prime commuter route into London.  it's got an acre of land attached that I am sure she would have got some covenant on to stop it being sold as a building plot.

It's interesting to hear all the responses; we don't think enough about this sort of thing do we, until it's too late.  We should all have a Will in place.

It would seem as if your Auntie will have everything sewn up pretty well....and without the need for solicitors (who can, as Daisy says, sometimes need a rocket up their backsides :rolleyes:).   If the value of the estate is over £275,000 (or it may now be £350,000) then inheritance tax has to be paid before probate is granted, out of the funds already in the hands of the executor.

A good friend, who knows all the ins and outs of a person's affairs, and who can be trusted, is better than a solicitor, imo, if an estate is straight forward!

Margot

> We should all have a Will in place

Definitely :) :) :) When we were facing the possibility of not finding my aunt's will (we knew she had one, she had made wills frequently :D throughout her life :rolleyes: ) we realised that three of my cousins (that had been taken back to Australia with their mother in the late 1940s after an acrimonious divorce from my uncle) would have to be traced as they would become beneficiaries if my aunt was intestate :( :( Not only had no-one had contact with them since, but their half-brother and sister had never been told of their existance by their parents - only finding out after the last parent died :( :( Thankfully we found the will, sparing my two cousins a very old family skeleton :(

Daisy

Attched to my bank account that I pay a premium for, there is a Will writing service.  The first time I had to write it down I was a bit anxious but after that it's second nature and I now feel a little smug that all my affairs are in order!

There would be no way my Aunt would have wanted to pay inheritance tax (she was very politically aware and an active campaigner) so she'd have done her utmost to minimise that.

Just depends on the value of her property :( Around here, even a modest three bedroom house is above the threshold for IT :( Unless she has given away a lot of her money prior to the seven years before her death, there isn't an awful lot she could (I believe) particularly as a single woman :( However, £275,000 is still a lot of money, so even if tax is payable there would be a lot left :) :) :)

Daisy