Probate Do It Yourself: Whilst I accept that in many cases probate of an estate can be completed by an efficient lay person in some circumstances it can go very wrong.
We were contacted last week by a lady who had managed to obtain a grant of probate in her name some four years ago and was now in a position to sell the property that was part of the estate.
The lady had mentioned that contracts had been exchanged the day before but she just wanted to check the tax position.
I had to inform her that as the property had increased in value there was a capital gains tax bill of around £18,000.00. I had to make here aware that if she had contacted us prior to exchange of the property that this tax could have been saved.
The executor is personally liable for this mistake so the tax should come out of her share! I am sure you would agree that this was a very costly mistake.
We can assist you to complete the probate and advise you of any traps to watch out for or completely remove this liability from you and complete the probate work on a fixed fee basis.