Hi all im after some help.

Basically the story goes like this….
My father in law was left a 10% share of his best friends house in his will, this friend sadly passed away just after christmas and my FIL only found out about this 10% then.

The best friend had sold his house to one of these companies that buys your house but then lets you live in it.

Now the time has come to sell the house my FIL is having to do all the running around (sorting out and removing the rest of the best friends stuff from the house, getting a plumber to turn off water and gas etc)

he has also had to get the house to a reasonable standard to put on the market which has involved hiring various garden machinery to clear a very overgrown garden and also remove the ivy from the front of the house.

he has just had a conversation with the company that bought the house in the first place and they have said that they want the house to go to"probate" and that my FIL is liable for the fees and costs involved??

can someone explain to me iwhat probate is and if my father in law is liable as his 10% is getting smaller and smaller(he has had to pay for the best firends funeral aswell by the way)

thanks

steve

you might be advised to seek professional help on this one, but effectively probate is the legal right to sort out a decesed persons affairs.

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Governmentcitizensandrights/Death/Preparation/DG_10029799

unless i'm very much mistaken, all the costs your father in law has incurred, hence it might be worth seeing a solicitor, should come out of the estate and then what is left is disperesd according to the will. so basically your fathers 10% should not pay for the funeral etc.

i sorted my dads estate a few years back and it did not cost me anything.

Probate means "proving" the will. It is when the Executor(s) named in the will have made a full analysis of the assets and liabilities (including duties & taxes) of the estate and have established who are the beneficiaries.

The executor then has a time (typically a year) when he must administer the estate and distribute the proceeds to the named beneficiaries.

Your FiL should contact the Executor because it is his legal duty to protect his interest. If your FiL wishes to carry out any work to improve his payout, that's up to him but he should agree it with the executor first and he can negotiate a fee for his efforts.

It is possible that your FiL is also the Executor. If so it is handy to hire a local solicitor to do the legal stuff, and open a bank account for the estate. If the solicitor is reasonable it is possible to arrange a split of the duties, so the fees are not excessive, and the executor and the benificiaries are covered.