Professional Referral Guide for Stalled Probate Files
Your practice retains the administration and client relationship
Human Law accepts only the agreed dispute or procedural workstream. We do not take over routine probate administration, will drafting, conveyancing or general private-client services. At completion, the defined issue is closed or handed back under the agreed arrangements.
No referral fees, introductory commissions or fee-sharing arrangements are paid or received. A B2B fee pays for the agreed professional work, not an introduction.
When a defined referral may help
- A caveat blocks the Grant and its grounds or proportionate response need assessing.
- An executor will not act: status, authority and the available route remain unclear.
- Beneficiary accounts requests or allegations are obstructing administration.
- A threatened financial provision claim creates disclosure or distribution concerns.
- A lifetime transaction is disputed, correspondence repeats without progress, or delay is causing measurable estate cost.
These are assessment triggers, not findings about the correct outcome. Begin with the precise act, decision or information gap preventing progress.
Refer promptly for litigation advice where proceedings are issued, formal service or a court, Registrar or limitation deadline needs urgent attention, protective relief is required, or the matter needs contentious representation, substantial evidence or advocacy. Beyond expressly agreed Probate Registry work, wider court proceedings, formal service and representation require an appropriate litigation practitioner. Do not wait for a routine diagnostic review in an urgent matter.
How a referral works
- Brief suitability enquiry: describe the blockage and immediate deadlines, using the professional support page or free scan. The scan needs no documents, gives only a provisional scope indication and is not legal advice.
- Conflict and scope checks: identify the proposed client, parties and capacities. Do not send sensitive or privileged documents until checks and information-sharing arrangements are complete.
- Confirm the engagement: agree who instructs, pays, receives advice and communicates with other parties; define work, exclusions and handback arrangements.
- Review and recommendation: Justin assesses facts, assertions, evidence gaps, procedural status, fiduciary risks and proportionate options. Further milestones require separate agreement on scope and fee.
- Completion or handover: deliver the agreed work. If litigation is needed, organised documents, chronology and issues support handover; the receiving practitioner makes their own assessment.
Who is the client?
Direct personal-representative instruction: Human Law advises the executor or administrator on the defined issue while the referring practice retains or resumes general administration. Information sharing requires client authority and agreed arrangements.
Defined B2B instruction: the practice commissions an agreed diagnostic or strategic deliverable. Its scope identifies the client, intended recipient, permitted use, fee responsibility and reporting arrangements. Do not assume that the referring practice and personal representative are joint clients. Existing retainers, conflicts and the advice required determine the appropriate model.
What to prepare after clearance
- The precise blockage, desired outcome, proposed client and capacity.
- The will, codicils, death certificate and Grant or application position.
- Material caveat, warning, Appearance, summons or Registry documents.
- Selected correspondence, an asset and liability summary, available accounts and a short chronology.
- Known deadlines, immediate estate risks and work already undertaken.
For Stage 01, select up to 40 core pages rather than the whole historic file. Missing records can be identified; a complete bundle is not a prerequisite to the initial suitability enquiry. Additional review is scoped and authorised before it begins.
Confidentiality, privilege and responsibility for costs
Confirm who controls the information, the client’s disclosure authority, any joint-retainer or former-client issue, what third-party information can properly be shared, the purpose of disclosure and recipients of the resulting advice. Privilege depends on the relationship, purpose and applicable law; documents exchanged between advisers are not universally privileged.
Fixed fees are agreed before each separately instructed stage. Fees for multiple stages are cumulative; no later work starts without authority. The engagement identifies contractual responsibility for payment. Estate payment or recovery depends on authority, purpose, necessity, proportionality, represented interests and surrounding circumstances; a fixed fee does not establish recoverability.
Human Law also excludes detailed forensic bank reconciliation and general estate administration. Scope, communications and handover responsibilities should be explicit to avoid duplicated advice or uncertainty over file ownership.
Your review is with Justin Patten, Solicitor.
Your document review and consultation are conducted directly with Justin.
Stage 01: Dispute Assessment & Action Plan
£480 including VAT (£400 + VAT)
For a personal representative, Stage 01 provides a defined factual and procedural review of one principal blockage. Any B2B instruction has its own agreed deliverable and scope; see professional support.
- Review of up to 40 selected pages of core correspondence and documents.
- A focused 30-minute consultation directly with Justin Patten.
- A two-page written Action Plan identifying the position, risks and proportionate next steps.
Normally delivered within three working days after the consultation and receipt of all required documents. pricing and scope terms.
An initial enquiry does not commit you to payment. We agree the work, fixed fee and terms before you instruct us. Your Action Plan gives you recommendations you can use; any further assistance is agreed with you first.
Make a professional enquiry
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Alternatively, use the free professional suitability scan. An enquiry or scan does not establish a retainer. Advice and responsibility remain subject to suitability, conflict, identity and confidentiality checks.
General information for England and Wales, not advice on an individual estate. The appropriate route depends on the documents, procedural position and circumstances.
About the author: Justin Patten, Solicitor, principal of Human Law and author of The Out-of-Court Executor. About Justin Patten →