Will found too late?

[littlestan]

My Uncle died last month. He didn't own property and was retired due to ill health and was on benefits. We couldn't find a will amongst his papers. He wasn't married and had no children so his sister (my mother) is his next of kin. The money from his bank account has been paid to her as has any utility bill credits. She has been paying any debts arising such as over payment of housing benefit and we are currently awaiting notification of his credit card debt as paperwork shows he had 2 credit cards. She has paid for his funeral but we have found a life insurance policy which she has claimed and if a payout is successful this will cover the funeral expense.
However this afternoon I have been going through the last of his paperwork to shred rubbish and have actually found a will dated 2012. He leaves his estate to my mother so his wishes have been followed in that respect. My question is do we need to now contact the solicitor who drew up the will? We have sorted everything already as we didn't know a will exists. We haven't applied for probate or a grant of representation as the value of the estate is minimal.
What would have happened if I hadn't found the will, which I wish I hadn't now.

[ostell]

You have the will, it stated what you had done, nothing else to do

[littlestan]

Yes I guess so, I just wondered if it really mattered if we had done it rather than the solicitor who was listed as the executor. And does the will now need to go through probate?

[ostell]

If the will exists then even more reason not to go through probate with the small value, though I'm unsure about the situation where a solicitor has been named as executor. If there is insufficient to meet his fees then he may be happy that you have handled this.

The credit card companies are at the bottom of the pile when it comes to repayment. Keep good accounts so that if there is insufficient to fully repay they may come back with a request to prove it. Might be worth telling them that their client has died

[littlestan]

Ok, then you think we should contact the solicitor then rather than just leave it. Yes we have contacted both credit card companies and are waiting for them to get back to us.

[ostell]

It's just to cover yourself. Tell the solicitor that their client has died and as they are executor in the will that was found after the estate has been handled would they still like to act? Be prepared for a shock with the charges!

[littlestan]

Ok thanks for all your help.

[Matty B]

Is the solicitor named as an executor - just because they drew up the will doesn't mean to say that they are

[littlestan]

Yes it states that the partners in the firm are appointed as the executors and trustees and that he gives the whole of his estate to his sister. It's a shame he didn't name his sister as the executor and I wouldn't be worried about it then.