Change probate solicitors while protecting deadlines, the HMCTS application, estate money, the legal file and any complaint or bill rights.
This guide is part of ProbateHelp's Will Disputes guide cluster. Estimated reading time: 11 min.
A client can normally end a solicitor's retainer, subject to the engagement terms and payment consequences. First check who the client is. If the solicitor is also an executor, ending the firm's legal-services retainer does not by itself remove that person as executor.
Where executors jointly instructed the firm, the authority to terminate and instruct a replacement depends on the retainer and any disagreement between the executors. Do not assume one executor can act for all. The new firm should resolve authority and conflict issues before accepting the file.
A former solicitor may assert a common-law retaining lien over client papers for unpaid costs, but ownership and the scope of any lien are document- and fact-specific. Ask for the legal basis, the amount claimed and a schedule of withheld items. A successor firm may be able to agree an undertaking or other security.
Obtain the application reference, submission date, current status, any requisition and copies of what was filed. The firms should agree who will respond to HMCTS and how authority is updated. Do not submit a duplicate application simply because the retainer changed.
Do not assume the firm can take any disputed amount automatically. Ask for the bill, engagement authority and a full client-account statement. The firm must handle client money under the SRA Accounts Rules and account for the balance, while any lien or set-off issue may need legal advice.
Yes. Ending the retainer does not remove a service complaint or bill dispute. Complain to the old firm promptly and protect the separate Legal Ombudsman and Solicitors Act time limits.