Solicitor's suspension highlights importance of trusted probate service providers

A solicitor has been suspended from the profession after taking almost two decades to settle an estate, highlighting the importance of using a trusted probate service provider.

Guy Choat was charged with dealing with Muriel McCarthy's £294,000 estate when she died in 1992, the Daily Mail reported. Her assets had been split between several beneficiaries.

In 2001, members of the parish council in Beccles, Suffolk, where both Ms McCarthy and Mr Choat lived, expressed their concern that the estate had not yet been dealt with.

At the time, the solicitor repaid £7,006 he claimed had been wrongly charged, but the matter had still not been settled.

Following years of excuses, in 2008 he received a letter from his regulatory authority, however the case ran into further difficulty when it was revealed two of the executors had died.

The Solicitors' Disciplinary Tribunal has now suspended Mr Choat from the profession for three years after he admitted failing to provide a proper service, failing to deal with his governing body in the proper manner, and acting in a way that diminished confidence in his profession.

Recently, the importance of using a probate solicitor was also highlighted in a case where the partner of a deceased Royal Marine has won legal action over his estate.

Published by Phil Hammond