administration of estate

No one has replied to my question above. In the meanwhile, I have found this article, just in case someone finds it useful - bestinau.com.au/best-probate-lawyers-sydney/. We will likely to choose one of the 5 mentioned.

 

Your issues arent about estate administration. Theyre about owning property with financially incompetent family. Focus on that.

 

Hopefully the Will provides power to the executor/s to dispose of the property ... imagine having to inherit a property with those other beneficiaries!

I think the hardest part will be getting rid of the 'tenant' - I can imagine the other beneficiaries will want rent to be paid, and the usual terms of residential leases to be adhered to.

The website mentioned is just one these firms advertise on - NOT a reliable source!

Obtaining probate is relatively easy - it is basically forms - the hardest part is obtaining the supporting documentation. I've done it myself for my own parents (one was Probate, the other Letters of Administration).

But in this case I think the administration could be messy - do yourself a favour and find a decent solicitor, with the expectation that a claim for family provision may be made.

 

Which question?

 

I think its :

Speaking to solicitors directly who will provide a fee schedule for the services required. There are many variables and the issues concerning legal advice would be additional to the procedural ie grant of probate which will also have court fees. Given the estate value its likely that this will cost more than a simple estate. The level of expertise required for relevant tasks may affect the rate you are billed. eg for the probate a junior clerk under supervision is cheaper than a senior partner.

Be wary that some online services may be performed in other places eg offshore and lack security of your information or quality. Many apparently cheap online providers can seem cheap then quickly become expensive with add-ons. The cheap price can be click bait masked as online in a ruse to look like it saves you money. A diligent firm may offer a fee schedule and include much more in their seemingly fixed price quote and if you need lots of explanations this could be a great benefit rather than fearing each email or call to them adds hundreds of dollars. And its not much use having a cheap provider who doesnt speak great english when it comes to advice. Or one that only sends emails.

One of the best safeguards a local solicitor will provide is Law Society fidelity fund protection. This just saved my father in law $70K after his wifes loss. His solicitor stole money from the estate. He will get it back along with the fees he had paid for services not provided.

 

Where can we find out how much to expect to pay for doing the grant of probate?

If NSW Law applies see
Reg 26
LEGAL PROFESSION UNIFORM LAW APPLICATION REGULATION 2015
LEGAL PROFESSION UNIFORM LAW APPLICATION REGULATION 2015 - REG 26 Prescribed costs for probate and administration matters--section 59 (1) (f) of the application Act

and
Schedule 3 of the same Regs
LEGAL PROFESSION UNIFORM LAW APPLICATION REGULATION 2015 - SCHEDULE 3

It will depend on the size of the estate

 

THANKS, everyone - especially to Paul@PFI and Terry_w, for your input - certainly "food for thought"! Appreciate all your views. Much to think about ... Will post more questions as things progress.

 

Just want to update. Probate on MIL will has been granted - it took over 6 weeks from date of application.

After getting quotes from the legal firm holding the will and a (small firm) solicitor - fees quoted by both were the same, as they charged the max amount recommended by the law society! - hubby decided to go with the latter to assist in the probate application, as they were more responsive in terms of phone calls and emails.

These have been a few things we have learnt along the way - maybe useful to some on the forum.

1. Some online firms said in their website that court fees for probate (based on the estimated asset values) should be paid first and could be done from deceased bank account (if there were sufficient funds - banks need to see death certificate etc), and their fees to be paid after probate is granted. However, the solicitor we used said we had to pay them a deposit for their fees first, and the balance on grant of probate, and the court fees to be paid later? The reason they gave was that if we owed the court money they would process the application quicker. However, this turned out to be the WRONG advice! After 3 weeks we heard nothing and followed up with the solicitor. They then said the court sent them a letter asking for the court fees to be paid immediately before they would process the application Hubby was very annoyed as he could have paid the court fees at the time of submitting the probate application to save time. We had to pay with our personal credit card. [Australia Post snail mail lived up to its name, the letter from the court took 2 weeks to be received by the solicitor.]

2. The will (done by a legal firm) had 2 witness signatures. One had a name underneath the signature, the other did not (just a squiggle as a signature). So, the court asked the probate solicitor for an affidavit from hubby (as executor) to attest that the witness who did not print their name underneath the signature was not a beneficiary under the will. This took more than 2 weeks in the post to get to the court registrar. [Lesson learnt: check your will to make sure the witnesses put their names below their signatures!]

3. After more than 6 weeks from the date of application, probate was granted. Now, hubby will have to transfer the title of MIL's house into his name (as executor) before the house can be put on the market. He & his siblings have selected a RE agent and a conveyancing firm for the sale process.

4. I mentioned in another post that hubby was willing to give his share of the estate to his brother to buy a property as tenancy in common - so brother would have a roof over his head (he has been living rent free in MIL's house - which will be sold). We are aware of some issues with this. However, the good news is that BIL now said he may not need hubby's money as he will try to borrow from the bank - I suspected he did not like the tenancy in common requirement. Hubby said if his brother would not need his help, then he would give each of his two siblings a reasonable sum from his estate share as a gift with no condition attached. I think this will be a good outcome for his siblings.

Thanks again everyone for your input / comments to my questions.