probate?

[cherrybomb]

How do I obtain probate as I am selling my half of my late fathers house to my brother (who owns the other half of the property) and his mortgage company will not release the cheque until the deeds are in his name.
Thank you in advance

[dot.hawkes]

if you already own the house between the two of you then the will must have already been thru probate. do you mean the will has been read and you have been left half each but you are sellng it to him and you need to get the probate completed? Your solicitor will do all of that and sort out the paperwork. the land registry have to be sent the right paperwork by the solicitor but the deeds cannot be in his name until you have the money, who told you the cheque cannot be sent to you til his name is on the deeds?

[Buenchico]

If your father left a will, naming you as executor, then you can obtain 'grant of probate' fairly easily (in most cases) by filling in a few forms and swearing an oath (or affirming) at the local office of the Probate Service:
http://www.hmcourts-service.gov.uk/cms/wills.h tm

(Of all the 'official' bodies I've ever dealt with, the Probate Service comes out way ahead of the others, in terms of efficiency and helpfulness).

If your father died intestate then you can't obtain 'grant of probate' (which only applies to wills) and the best advice I can give you is to consult a solicitor.

Chris

[dzug]

The process for obtaining 'Letters of Administration', which is what probate is called if there is no will, is exactly the same as obtaining probate if there is a will.

Your local Probate Office, as Chris suggests, will be very helpful.