Mum and Dad died.No will left. Only one child.

A question about : Mum and Dad died.No will left. Only one child.

My wifes mum and dad both passed away recently within 5 weeks of each other. My wifes an . only child. No will has been left.

In a situation like this should she apply for a letter of administration herself or should she seek a solicitors advice and help.

Thanks for any advice given. Tony.

Best answers:

• The answer really comes down to how confident she feels with the paperwork, and how complex the assets are.
  The best thing to do is probably to contact the Probate Registry and ask for the forms she needs (she'll need a rough idea of the assets so they can know value in case the longer Inheritance Tax forms are needed).
  See how you get on filling them in, ask here if you need more help, and if it's a struggle get some quotes to do the work.
• What assets did they leave ?
• The only assets we know of is approx Ј5000 in bank and their bungalow . The value of bungalow is about Ј165000.
• It should be quite straightforward. Selling their house will probably the most stressful.
  On the other hand, she could ask a solicitor for an approximate cost. It shouldn't be too much with one child.
• Thanks for the replies. I did wonder if a letter of application might be required for both. I will get the required forms from probate office and see how straight forward they look. plus also try for a few quotes from solicitors. Could Citizens Advice help ?
• You might only need one LOA(if assets were joint) this will become clear once you start investigating the details.
  Saves a couple of hundred.
  It came up before the default survivorship clause for intestate I forget the conclusion but remember 28 days, when you say within 5 weeks if much less you need to check.