Probate

A solicitor holding estate money in a probate matter will only pay that money out to a person who can show a proper entitlement.

The production of a grant probate or letters of administration by an executor or administrator would enable a solicitor to pay the money to the person or persons named in that document.

Until the grant has been issued a solicitor would be very unwise to make a payment.

In your particular situation you should seek to obtain a Grant of Letters of Administration as soon as possible. You must obtain the Grant as this document is issued by the court and confirms that you are entitled to administer the estate.

There is no way to simply sign an ordinary statutory declaration confirming that you are entitled to receive the sale proceeds. Only the Grant of Letters of Administration confirms this.

As Ian has said the solicitor would be very unwise to pay the sale proceeds to you unless he has had sight of the Grant of Letters of Administration.

Thanks very much for that.

How long would it take to get letters of administration ordinarily?

Would it be possible to sign a declaration that I will hold the monies but not distribute until I had received Letters of Administration.

Again, thank you very much for your help!

Hi Face,

How long it takes to get Letters of Administration will depend entirely on the complexity of your father's estate.

Generally speaking if your father has a relatively small estate, below £325,000.00, then if you consulted a probate solicitor it should take no longer than approximately 3 weeks to obtain letters of administration. This is however only a very approximate timescale and likes all things involving the law will depend entirely on your particular circumstances.

Thanks for that...I'm going to try and do the probate myself now...hopefully it will be ok?

I have another question. Tragically, my fathers wife also passed away at the same time as him. The car insurance provided cover for death and bodily injury. My friend wrote to the insurers for months asking for details of the policy and they kept ignoring the letters. Eventually, they confirmed the policy covered for death, but they only did this, after the three year limitation period expired.

I think they delayed responding purposefully.

Is there anything I could do now??

Again, many thanks for any help.

Did you father and his wife pass away in the same accident, and are you implying that it might have been caused by your fathers driving?

If so then your fathers wifes estate would have the right to bring an action , against your fathers estate, which would usually be covered by his motor insurance. There is a three year limitation which can be extended in certain limited circumstances at the discretion of the court.

If this is simply a claim under an insurance policy, your father not being at fault , then quite apart from any action his wifes estate might have against a third party if there was fault the limitation period would ordinarily be 6 years under the policy and not three.

Can you provide some more detail, the apparent failure to provide details of the policy might if a 3 year period applies be sufficiant to extend the period.

Hi there,

My father and his wife tragically passed away in the same accident. She had no next of kin. My friend was doing the probate for me, as a favour. He had not done any probate or personal injury work, but tried to ascertain information from the insurers for months. The insurers eventually replied 6 days after the three year limitation period, quite cheekily saying they noted the limitation period had expired and asking for copies of orders from any protective proceedings.

In the circumstances, is there anything I can still do?

Just to add....my father was driving at the time of the accident...

Thanks

was the accident his fault?

Yes, I would say it was. At the coroners court, it was held that the accident was due to my father. No other vehicle was involved and it the police couldn't ascertain what caused the accident, but nevertheless, as my father was driving, it was his fault.

My step mother has no next of kin, except myself and my siblings. Although, I'm not sure if we can be considered her next of kin or whether we can bring a claim on her behalf.

Thanks

Face........my immediate advice is that you should seek the assistance of a solicitor and explain the full circumstances to them. If your father and step mother died in the same accident then without there being evidence to the contrary the law assumes that the oldest died first. If that was your father then without a will under the intestacy laws his estate up to £125,000 passes to your step mother. If she is really without any relatives it is quite possible that this would then pass to the crown.

If there is evidence that your father survived the accident longer the situation is different as he inherits  £200,000 of her estate.In either situation there is a risk that the crown could be a beneficiary.

As the accident appears to have been his fault there are two possible claims that could be brought against your fathers estate by your Step mothers estate. The first is under the Law Reform (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1934. This covers such things as pain and suffering, past loss of earnings, care services and probate medical and travel expenses. Unfortunately it is my understanding that under the intestacy you as a step son are unlikely to benefit from her estate.The question is whether there is anyone for whom it is worthwhile bringing the action.

The second is under the Fatal Accidents Act 1976 where a claim can be made for bereavement, dependancy and funeral expenses. It is unlikely that unless you were financially dependant upon your step mother that such a claim could be brought, or that you would qualify as a step son as a dependant in the terms of the Act.

There are some insurance policies which provide a fixed sum payment in the event of an injury or death regardless of fault. These are not common in Road Insurance in England and as the insurance company are quoting the three year limitation period at you it is unlikely that there is such a fixed sum in the policy.

If there was any claim which you could bring which is now statute barred by the passing of the three years it is possible that there would be a negligence claim against any solicitor acting on your behalf who did not pursue such a claim in time.

I am sorry that this seems to be something of a brief overview but the matter has the potential to be very complicated and one in which you should seek advise in a situation where all of the facts can be presented.  

I have now finally, three years later, been able to sort out the probate for my late fathers estate. Thanks everyone for your help so far.

Could anyone please tell me what I need to do to transfer my late fathers property into my name. It is freehold and was purchased outright by him days before he passed away.

I have obtained Grant of Probate.

Thanks

Face

Presumably you are the person named on the probate/letters of administration.

You therefore are the legal owner of that property subject to the terms of your late fathre's will/intestacy.

If you complete Land Registry form AS1 and submit it to the land registry with the appropriate fee the LR will register you as the proprietor. 

Hi Face,

I'm glad that you found the advice given by members of the forum useful.

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Ian is correct regarding transferring the house. You will also need to submit a sealed copy of the Grant of Probate to the Land Registry when you complete the AS1 form.

Thanks once again for all your help everybody.

Much appreciated.

Face

I think to solve your problem you should hire a good probate lawyer. Because i think just a lawyer can help you to deal with this problem. To find a probate lawyer you can contact local bar association for the reffrel list of lawyers in your area. You can also search the lawyer's websites.

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