Buying flat delayed by probate

Hi,

My cousin is buying a retirement flat and has a buyer for her house. However the sale appears to be delayed as the family selling the flat have a dispute over the previous owner's will.

Can anyone explain why the family taking this to probate and now to the High Court should delay the completion of the sale. Surely the sale could be completed and the money frozen (or whatever). Why should it concern my cousin as it is a family matter.

Does anyone have any suggestions how this could be solved.

If the sellers are family of the former deceased owner, are they the actual registered owners or just the occupiers? If the property has not already been legally transferred to them, it will be up to the executors to sell it and distribute the assets after any dispute has been resolved. Your cousin should ask their solicitors.

Have sent you a PM

I have learnt that assets involving property can be years in probate. Two years is not uncommon, and a friend of mine recently waited over three years. It seems to be as a result of leaving property as an asset that tends to slow things down. Whether this is as a result of more people having property to leave these days and therefore a block in the system somewhere, I'm not sure, a probate solicitor should be able to answer this. However, I do know that in London you can expect to wait more than two years for probate, if property is involved.

Hi,

My cousin is buying a retirement flat and has a buyer for her house. However the sale appears to be delayed as the family selling the flat have a dispute over the previous owner's will.

Can anyone explain why the family taking this to probate and now to the High Court should delay the completion of the sale. Surely the sale could be completed and the money frozen (or whatever). Why should it concern my cousin as it is a family matter.

Does anyone have any suggestions how this could be solved.

If the sellers are family of the former deceased owner, are they the actual registered owners or just the occupiers? If the property has not already been legally transferred to them, it will be up to the executors to sell it and distribute the assets after any dispute has been resolved. Your cousin should ask their solicitors.

Daisy2: yes. If there is a Contentious Probate application, it can take a long time. Only once someone is appointed Executor can contracts be exchanged, although there's quite a lot of progress possible before that stage (albeit on a 'non-binding' basis).

Who actually resides at the property is not the issue and nor is who gets how much of the sale proceeds.

Thank you for your thoughts and advice. As you can imagine my cousin is at the end of her tether, she's desperate to move to somewhere more conducive to her health needs. Hopefully she will get answers from her solicitor and is prepared to pull out. At least I know the first question she will ask next time!