A Matter of Wills

Losing someone close to you is one of the most difficult times in

your life. The last thing on your mind is the question of how to

manage the administration of your loved one’s estate, when you

have his or her funeral to arrange.

Obtaining probate is the first step in the process of estate

administration. It involves filling in some forms to be sent to the HMRC

and the Probate Registry. Sometimes, however, you may see an advert

by a probate company for free help with the process and assume – not

unreasonably – that ‘free’ means exactly what it says. Which would be

great. But beware...

These companies may claim to provide free probate legal services,

but they do not, in fact, require any legal qualifications and it is not free.

Nor are they obliged to obtain insurance – bad news if things go wrong.

Indeed, such firms do not even need to be regulated by any professional

body. Of course, you are never told any of this, nor of the implications

of using these unqualified probate companies.

Contrast that with solicitors, who are experienced, qualified and

specialised, and who are authorised and regulated by the Solicitors

Regulatory Authority. You can even check the record of the solicitor you

select.

Many of my clients have told me horror stories about their

experiences at the hands of unregulated probate companies. Salesmen

turn up at their home and spend hours bamboozling them with – to be

frank – complete nonsense. They warn my clients that, should they try

to do the probate process themselves, they will have to appear before

a judge, implying that any errors in court would result in his sending

them to prison immediately.

Furthermore, probate companies frequently and erroneously claim

that solicitors’ fees are much higher than theirs, even though those

clients only wanted help with the forms – not the whole administration.

At Rowberry Morris, our fees only range between £750 and £1,000 plus

VAT for assisting with forms; probate companies have quoted my clients

as much as £6,000 plus VAT, a percentage of the estate.

These clients of mine are not the first to have experienced this

problem – and they won’t be the last. I urge anyone who has received

such advice to obtain a second opinion from a solicitor. We at Rowberry

Morris charge £80 plus VAT for a fixed fee meeting, in which we explain

the whole probate process: what is, and what isn’t, needed. If you would

like us to help with the forms, but want to administer the estate

yourself, we charge a fixed fee of between £750 and £1,000 plus VAT.

Fees for the complete administration of an estate are also available on

request.

The probate process can be arduous. So it pays to

obtain the right advice, warns Nicola Cochran of

Rowberry Morris solicitors in Richmond

Rowberry Morris

4a The Square, Richmond TW9 1DZ

t: 020 8334 4860

rowberrymorris.co.uk

Nicola Cochran LLB (hons) TEP, SFE, Asc ACTAPS,

Solicitor and Partner specialising in Wills and Probate