Craddock estates

Probate

Probate

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Probate Sale Specialists

Whether its cleaning up, clearing out or presenting the property to get the maximum value, Craddock Estates can offer you 30 years experience in the sale of probate property. If you can’t find the will? Unable to see the end of the garden because its overgrown? Maybe you just don’t know where the keys are to the back door? We have experts on call to solve any probate related problem.

Need advice on selling antiques or collectables? Wonder if there is room to build another house in the garden? Not sure if planning is required for the extension? We have the answer.

We’re here to help

We have dealt with hundreds of probate sales for more years than we care to remember and we can take the stress and worry out of being an executor in a Probate sale.

Whatever issues you’re facing we can take the strain and remove all your doubts and fears.

Guide to probate application

All the forms you need are available here

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Frequently asked questions.

Probate is a legal process to facilitate the distribution of a deceased person’s assets under the terms of their will.

When you die your assets are guarded by the state until the State’s Probate Office has been given the details of the estate, hence you must “apply for probate” . You fill out a bunch of forms and lodge an application. When they are happy that everything is above board the Probate office will issue a document called a grant of probate or grant of administration (if you die without leaving a will). This gives authority to the executor to distribute the estate.

An executor is a legal term referring to a person named by the maker of a will to carry out the instructions within the will. In practice the executor becomes an unpaid employee of the deceased and will have to cope with organising an application for probate and dealing with whatever bequests or requests their dearly departed have bestowed on them.

Executors generally have a thankless task, they were volunteers to begin with. Who among us could be heartless enough to refuse a request from a friend or loved one, “would you look after my affairs when I’m gone”? “Of course I will” you said, thinking you might even be gone before them. But here you are, the executor. So how big a task is it? Well there will be a bit of paperwork if you use a solicitor to process the will and an even bigger bit of paperwork if you decide to do it yourself. Ultimately there might be a couple of visits to a solicitors office too, and a few bills to discharge before it’s all complete.

Where there is property involved you have the same maintenance and practical issues that you already experience at home with the added burden of knowing you are looking after other persons interests now.

Within the normal course of a days work at Craddock Estates we organise property repair and maintenance to a high yet affordable standard. We monitor and arrange insurance for vacant property and routinely carry out simple tasks that appear to be major issues to a newly appointed executor.

To answer this question you need to check the will. It is important to make sure that specific bequests in the will are honoured in full before you start to remove the deceased’s possessions. If there are high value goods to be sold as part of the estate we can arrange for qualified professional valuers to appraise the items and offer a route to sale if desired.

If we are charged to clear the contents we have a list of charities who we invite into every property we are preparing for sale and allow them to pick the items they feel they can sell in their shops. This is a cost effective way of removing unwanted items, helps a worthy cause and is kinder to the environment as the goods are being diverted from landfill to a new home in time. We can also arrange for recyclable goods to be collected and brought to a recycling centre.

If there is a property involved you can just call us at 01 8330517 or you can secure the house yourself,
make sure the heating is coming on in the winter and arrange vacant property insurance.

An executor can be held personally liable for negligence in the winding up of an estate.

In practice there are not many ways this can happen but one obvious one is a house without insurance falling victim to fire or flood. It is prudent for an executor ensure than any property in the estate is insured until it is disposed of.

If the buildings already have cover in place you need to tell the insurers that it is empty and make sure you have cover on those terms, some companies will NOT provide cover for a vacant house and will not pay out on a claim if they find out it was unoccupied after the event.

Everyone needs to make a living and estate agents who don’t charge for a Probate valuation may chase you to the end of the earth to try and get the property for sale after probate comes through. If you pay for your valuation from a professional valuer he’ll leave you in peace afterwards to get on with whatever you eventually choose to do with the property.

Sometimes we are instructed to sell a property and asked to carry out a Probate valuation as part of the sale process, in which case we do not charge. Otherwise it’s €150 plus VAT.

You can offer it for sale, you can even agree a sale and issue contracts to the buyer but the sale will not close until the probate is granted. In recent times the time taken to obtain a grant of probate has been drastically reduced from months to weeks so in most cases it’s no longer an issue.

It takes between 3 and 6 months for a house to sell so you have ample time to organise the paperwork. It has become common to offer a property for sale and not apply for probate until a sale has been agreed.

Only one, from Craddck Estates of course.

This is an estimate of the value of the house if it were to be sold on the open market. The value to be calculated is the value that it would have been, on the date of death of the person whose will is being probated.

The answer is no if you are sure that you know the realistic value of the house. In the simplest terms if you are the only person to benefit from the will then you can estimate the value on the basis that no one will be able to sue you if you get it wrong. If however you underestimate it the revenue are entitled to challenge your valuation with one of their own.

Play safe, it’s not expensive, ask Craddock Estates to carry out a probate valuation for you.

Everyone at Craddock Estates is old enough to have experienced the loss of a loved one and we can readily empathise with a grieving client. For practical help however we would steer anyone who is struggling to the Hospice website. Here you will find excellent help and advice on their web pages from understanding bereavement  to an explanation of the levels of support that are available. 

The important thing is to get help from the experts so you can eventually come to terms with your loss.

Contact us today

Highly recommended

The personal touch is what is unique to Craddocks as an agent for one of the most traumatic times in your life. I would highly recommend Craddocks as the people to help you on this journey.

P. Worth