An 18-Month Probate and a £30,000 Bill. Here's Why.

Six months after their mother’s death. They were already exhausted. Two brothers and a sister, not speaking. The argument was not about the inheritance. It was about the process. The delays, the mounting legal fees, the feeling of being completely lost.

They had been quoted over £30,000 plus VAT by a probate solicitor to administer the estate. They were told it could take up to 18 months to resolve. They wanted to know why. The value of the estate itself did not seem to justify that level of cost or complication.

The problem was not one single thing. It was a chain of small, unresolved issues. First, their mother had died without a will. This meant the law of intestacy, not her wishes, dictated who got what. Second, a trust set up years ago for a grandchild had ambiguous terms. This froze a portion of the assets until a court could offer a view. Third, we discovered an old personal guarantee she had signed for a friend's business loan. The business had failed, and the creditor was now claiming against the estate.

Each problem added another layer of legal work. Each one added billable hours and another month of waiting for the family.

The Planning Implication

Many of these issues could have been contained. The central point of failure was the absence of joined-up planning. A clear, properly registered Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) for financial decisions would have allowed her affairs to be managed cleanly before she passed. The guarantee could have been identified and addressed. The asset picture for the estate would have been clear from the start.

Instead, the family were left to untangle a decade of financial history after the fact. Probate became forensic accounting. The solicitor’s fees, which can start at £5,000 for a simple estate, spiralled because of this complexity. The family paid the price in money, time, and relationships.

These situations are not uncommon. I have sat with many families in similar rooms. The solution is simple planning, done properly. If any of this sounds familiar, we should have a conversation.