After a couple of days on the ground . .

[Britboy]

8 minutes ago, Nickrock said:

Never met you brit boy but went through a similar thing with my mum 2 years ago at least the stroke was pretty quick my mum had a cancer of the brain stem and she went down hill slowly over several years the last year was Hell couldn't eat etc

Yes, it was relatively quick and on reflection she didn't have major problems until maybe 6 weeks before she died.

I feel for you with your mum. My dad similar, lung cancer and it was a slow, downhill trend that lasted about 9 months. Awful to see and his last few weeks were hell.

Didn't realise at the time but when he was diagnosed terminal he started a diary, writing in it until the day before he passed. Found it going through my mum's stuff. Heartbreaking to read.

In a tucked-away cupboard I also found a full bottle of Morphine Sulphate and 2 full bottles of Temazepan that were prescripribed to my dad in December 1994, a couple of weeks before he passed. Don't know what to do with that . . . 

[Britboy]

4 minutes ago, Painter said:

Good to hear from you Britboy. Sorry for your loss.

Hope to catch you again this winter

Thanks Painter, look forward to it too mate.

[Stillearly]

2 minutes ago, Britboy said:

 

In a tucked-away cupboard I also found a full bottle of Morphine Sulphate and 2 full bottles of Temazepan that were prescripribed to my dad in December 1994, a couple of weeks before he passed. Don't know what to do with that . . . 

Just drop it into your local chemist / Boots , they will dispose of properly 

[galenkia]

3 minutes ago, Stillearly said:

Just drop it into your local chemist / Boots , they will dispose of properly 

Or post it to @Krapow 😀

[Britboy]

4 minutes ago, Stillearly said:

Just drop it into your local chemist / Boots , they will dispose of properly 

Thanks.

I did wonder if it's still potent after over 25 years . . 

[Lemondropkid]

Thanks for your post and sorry to hear about your Mum. 

Mine passed away March last year, having had dementia for a number of years. It's good that you and your brother were with Mum at the end, that made a difference to me and my family.

 

 

[maipenrai]

Good to hear from you again, and I'm sorry for your loss too - I made it home from Thailand a few years ago just in time to see my own mother off and she was totally incapacitated by dementia by that time after being in care for 6.5 years, poor thing. Hopefully we'll meet again in Pattaya when things return to some semblance of normality - I'll buy you  a drink in KitCat, lol...

[Nightcrawler]

I have two bottles of morphine sulphate left over from my treatment but I am holding onto them for a rainy day 😊😊

[misteregg]

Fantastic post Britboy. You had taken the time to message me already about Mum. So sad to hear your news. You told her story of her last few days so well and with dignity.
Clearing out all the old stuff from the house will be difficult, the big stuff is easy, it’s the little things, letters, jewelry, photos, that are hard to throw away.
Hope you try to enjoy the summer and see you in the autumn.

[Thai Spice]

Thanks for this great, simple and honest post and having us let a view of your life.

Concerning the "stuff clearing", my brother, sister and me did it many years ago when Mom died. She lived in a small flat, and even being very respectfull it only took us  1 day to clear everything, safeguarding the family treasures. What came to my mind was "Goodness, an 85 y life, souvenirs and belongings, all cleared out in one day".  Put things in perspective concerning "owning" things.

 

[Pumpuynarak]

So sorry to hear about your mum mate. Thanks for your post and if you do make it back later this year let me know and wifey and i will get down to Patts for a meet up in Phil's Le Pub, it would be great to see you again.

 

[Aqualung]

I commend you on your last post britboy. That must have taken some strength emotionally to write what you did and sadly I didn't have the same as you when my 79 year old mum passed on April 30th.

Your story is very similar to mine and even 10 days after my mother's death I'm still gutted. Trying to arrange what will be a very strange funeral, trying to sort her estate and all the assorted things that go with a mums death has affected my health a lot. Not least by not being able to have my wife and daughter here with me. 

Bloody strange times these are. 

On a side note gents.... If you have to go through what britboy and I did please make sure you get the best care for your parents as you can. I can assure you, having to undress, dress and keep an elderly dieing parent clean and comfy is no walk in the park. Get the best help you can and stay away from fly by night care agencies as there are many of them. Professionalism at end of life is a must and in that case I was lucky. 

Thanks again for your post britboy you've got bigger balls than me. Brilliant post. Onwards and upwards mate. 

[grayray]

Now I feel like shit,i posted about not posting on that TR you started when you first went Pattaya full time,

I lost me old mum 13 years ago,time makes it easier to come to terms.

me old man 7years ago,no loss.

R.I.P.Brit Boys mum.

heres some wee Irish for you.

May you have warm words on a cold evening,

a full moon on a dark night,

and a smooth road all the way to your door.

regards

grayray

[Britboy]

14 hours ago, Nightcrawler said:

I have two bottles of morphine sulphate left over from my treatment but I am holding onto them for a rainy day 😊😊

That was my thought too, but it's 25 years old . . . 

[Nightcrawler]

2 minutes ago, Britboy said:

That was my thought too, but it's 25 years old . . . 

Ha ha. Yeah I see your point. I doubt if it has that kind of shelf life. I still have boxes of Co codimole but thankfully I don't need them now.  But they are quite an effective pain killer second to morphine.  But with terrible side effects of constipation 😕

[Britboy]

5 minutes ago, Nightcrawler said:

Ha ha. Yeah I see your point. I doubt if it has that kind of shelf life. I still have boxes of Co codimole but thankfully I don't need them now.  But they are quite an effective pain killer second to morphine.  But with terrible side effects of constipation 😕

Looks like shelf life is around 6 weeks . . . 🤥

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7876368

[Britboy]

Just want to say a big thank you for the messages guys, they're much appreciated.

Some of you have been through the same thing recently too. @Aqualungin particular and even more recently than me. There's never a good time for a parent to die, but in the middle of this pandemic, especially with UK being hit so hard, is the worst possible time as it's so difficult to get things done/arranged.

Having said that, businesses have adapted and whereas before you'd have to be present to register things and provide documentation, certificates, etc. the vast majority is now done via emails, scans and phone calls. The most effort I've had to make is walk to the local post office to post a few bits, in particular the original Will to the Probate Registry.

Probate started off as a hugely frustrating experience. First step is to do the estate valuation, to determine if Inheritance Tax is applicable. Did that online, it's linked to your Government Gateway and that was very smooth and automatic. Because there's a property involves, it mandatory probate, so it sends you to the Probate Application site. It was down. I tried it every day for 3 days, then called them. After being on hold for 90 minutes this very stern HMCTS bloke let me tell the story then said "yes, we know it's down, try again in a few days". I was gobsmacked and said there's thousands of people dying right now, to have the probate application website down is wholly unacceptable. At what is such an upsetting time for people to have this obstacle in the way is ridiculous. The response was "yes, it's down because of the volume. Try again in a few days".

Wanker.

I tried again every day for a week, then decided to print out the form to fill it in by hand. The form is complicated and covers both aspects of whether Inheritance Tax is payable or not, so really not easy to complete. After a couple of days I'd done 90% of it, but decided to try the website again. Hey presto, it was back up!!

Much easier on the website, I'd completed it in less than 30 minutes, including downloading the death certificate. They did require the physical original Will, so posted that off registered post last Wednesday. The message at the end was that it would take 8-12 weeks to grant probate, unless they needed more info, in which case it would be longer. I was expecting this, so not surprised.

However, this morning at 6.27 I get an email from the Probate Registry saying they'd received the document.

At 6.28 I get another email from the Probate Registry to say Probate has been granted and the certificates will arrive at the house in 5 working days.

Well, knock me down with a feather. I was expecting a lengthy wait, questions, more lengthy waits.

So all turned out well and I can now get on to really get things organised.

It's gonna take ages and some £'s to get the house into a good enough shape to put on the market, but with the pandemic I don't see the housing market bouncing back soon. Again, a bad time.

But the grant of probate has buoyed me. Great to be able to avoid all the hassle I was expecting.

So I'm head down sorting out my mum's stuff. As @mistereggmentions, it's finding the small things that meant a lot to my mum that's the upsetting part. I'm going through all her books right now, found some 1920's and 30's Tiny Tots books that she'd obviously read incessantly, coloured in, etc. It's deciding what to keep and what to throw is the hardest thing.

Some of the old pictures too, when she was a kid, a teenager, courting with my dad, when my brother and I were kids, family holidays, etc. Great memories and that's how I'm going to remember my mum and dad, rather than their last few weeks, when they were both in bad shape.

I must share one pic with you guys - can't believe how dapper both mum and dad look . . . 

Well, back to the sorting and cataloguing . . . 

 

[Nightcrawler]

6 minutes ago, Britboy said:

Just want to say a big thank you for the messages guys, they're much appreciated.

Some of you have been through the same thing recently too. @Aqualungin particular and even more recently than me. There's never a good time for a parent to die, but in the middle of this pandemic, especially with UK being hit so hard, is the worst possible time as it's so difficult to get things done/arranged.

Having said that, businesses have adapted and whereas before you'd have to be present to register things and provide documentation, certificates, etc. the vast majority is now done via emails, scans and phone calls. The most effort I've had to make is walk to the local post office to post a few bits, in particular the original Will to the Probate Registry.

Probate started off as a hugely frustrating experience. First step is to do the estate valuation, to determine if Inheritance Tax is applicable. Did that online, it's linked to your Government Gateway and that was very smooth and automatic. Because there's a property involves, it mandatory probate, so it sends you to the Probate Application site. It was down. I tried it every day for 3 days, then called them. After being on hold for 90 minutes this very stern HMCTS bloke let me tell the story then said "yes, we know it's down, try again in a few days". I was gobsmacked and said there's thousands of people dying right now, to have the probate application website down is wholly unacceptable. At what is such an upsetting time for people to have this obstacle in the way is ridiculous. The response was "yes, it's down because of the volume. Try again in a few days".

Wanker.

I tried again every day for a week, then decided to print out the form to fill it in by hand. The form is complicated and covers both aspects of whether Inheritance Tax is payable or not, so really not easy to complete. After a couple of days I'd done 90% of it, but decided to try the website again. Hey presto, it was back up!!

Much easier on the website, I'd completed it in less than 30 minutes, including downloading the death certificate. They did require the physical original Will, so posted that off registered post last Wednesday. The message at the end was that it would take 8-12 weeks to grant probate, unless they needed more info, in which case it would be longer. I was expecting this, so not surprised.

However, this morning at 6.27 I get an email from the Probate Registry saying they'd received the document.

At 6.28 I get another email from the Probate Registry to say Probate has been granted and the certificates will arrive at the house in 5 working days.

Well, knock me down with a feather. I was expecting a lengthy wait, questions, more lengthy waits.

So all turned out well and I can now get on to really get things organised.

It's gonna take ages and some £'s to get the house into a good enough shape to put on the market, but with the pandemic I don't see the housing market bouncing back soon. Again, a bad time.

But the grant of probate has buoyed me. Great to be able to avoid all the hassle I was expecting.

So I'm head down sorting out my mum's stuff. As @mistereggmentions, it's finding the small things that meant a lot to my mum that's the upsetting part. I'm going through all her books right now, found some 1920's and 30's Tiny Tots books that she'd obviously read incessantly, coloured in, etc. It's deciding what to keep and what to throw is the hardest thing.

Some of the old pictures too, when she was a kid, a teenager, courting with my dad, when my brother and I were kids, family holidays, etc. Great memories and that's how I'm going to remember my mum and dad, rather than their last few weeks, when they were both in bad shape.

I must share one pic with you guys - can't believe how dapper both mum and dad look . . . 

Well, back to the sorting and cataloguing . . . 

 

Certainly were a dashing pair. You must be very proud 

[boydeste]

Sorry for your loss mate, good luck with sorting it all out.

[thumper63]

5 hours ago, Britboy said:

That was my thought too, but it's 25 years old . . . 

As with anything and everything, time does eat away at potency but trust me.... morphine has a very long shelf life. 

[grayray]

9 hours ago, Britboy said:

Just want to say a big thank you for the messages guys, they're much appreciated.

Some of you have been through the same thing recently too. @Aqualungin particular and even more recently than me. There's never a good time for a parent to die, but in the middle of this pandemic, especially with UK being hit so hard, is the worst possible time as it's so difficult to get things done/arranged.

Having said that, businesses have adapted and whereas before you'd have to be present to register things and provide documentation, certificates, etc. the vast majority is now done via emails, scans and phone calls. The most effort I've had to make is walk to the local post office to post a few bits, in particular the original Will to the Probate Registry.

Probate started off as a hugely frustrating experience. First step is to do the estate valuation, to determine if Inheritance Tax is applicable. Did that online, it's linked to your Government Gateway and that was very smooth and automatic. Because there's a property involves, it mandatory probate, so it sends you to the Probate Application site. It was down. I tried it every day for 3 days, then called them. After being on hold for 90 minutes this very stern HMCTS bloke let me tell the story then said "yes, we know it's down, try again in a few days". I was gobsmacked and said there's thousands of people dying right now, to have the probate application website down is wholly unacceptable. At what is such an upsetting time for people to have this obstacle in the way is ridiculous. The response was "yes, it's down because of the volume. Try again in a few days".

Wanker.

I tried again every day for a week, then decided to print out the form to fill it in by hand. The form is complicated and covers both aspects of whether Inheritance Tax is payable or not, so really not easy to complete. After a couple of days I'd done 90% of it, but decided to try the website again. Hey presto, it was back up!!

Much easier on the website, I'd completed it in less than 30 minutes, including downloading the death certificate. They did require the physical original Will, so posted that off registered post last Wednesday. The message at the end was that it would take 8-12 weeks to grant probate, unless they needed more info, in which case it would be longer. I was expecting this, so not surprised.

However, this morning at 6.27 I get an email from the Probate Registry saying they'd received the document.

At 6.28 I get another email from the Probate Registry to say Probate has been granted and the certificates will arrive at the house in 5 working days.

Well, knock me down with a feather. I was expecting a lengthy wait, questions, more lengthy waits.

So all turned out well and I can now get on to really get things organised.

It's gonna take ages and some £'s to get the house into a good enough shape to put on the market, but with the pandemic I don't see the housing market bouncing back soon. Again, a bad time.

But the grant of probate has buoyed me. Great to be able to avoid all the hassle I was expecting.

So I'm head down sorting out my mum's stuff. As @mistereggmentions, it's finding the small things that meant a lot to my mum that's the upsetting part. I'm going through all her books right now, found some 1920's and 30's Tiny Tots books that she'd obviously read incessantly, coloured in, etc. It's deciding what to keep and what to throw is the hardest thing.

Some of the old pictures too, when she was a kid, a teenager, courting with my dad, when my brother and I were kids, family holidays, etc. Great memories and that's how I'm going to remember my mum and dad, rather than their last few weeks, when they were both in bad shape.

I must share one pic with you guys - can't believe how dapper both mum and dad look . . . 

Well, back to the sorting and cataloguing . . . 

 

BB,

a good looking couple there mate,me old mum had her hair in simular style in a picture with me as a baby,

my 4 sisters sorted out mums things whenshe went I was in hospital, and they would not let any of 3 brothers in the house anyway.

2 younger brothers sorted out the house put it on the market Friday sold Monday,inspected by 20 over week-end 3weeks later we all had our share.

me I was glad she went,she had a fairly rough time of last few weeks,

[Pumpuynarak]

13 hours ago, Britboy said:

Just want to say a big thank you for the messages guys, they're much appreciated.

Some of you have been through the same thing recently too. @Aqualungin particular and even more recently than me. There's never a good time for a parent to die, but in the middle of this pandemic, especially with UK being hit so hard, is the worst possible time as it's so difficult to get things done/arranged.

Having said that, businesses have adapted and whereas before you'd have to be present to register things and provide documentation, certificates, etc. the vast majority is now done via emails, scans and phone calls. The most effort I've had to make is walk to the local post office to post a few bits, in particular the original Will to the Probate Registry.

Probate started off as a hugely frustrating experience. First step is to do the estate valuation, to determine if Inheritance Tax is applicable. Did that online, it's linked to your Government Gateway and that was very smooth and automatic. Because there's a property involves, it mandatory probate, so it sends you to the Probate Application site. It was down. I tried it every day for 3 days, then called them. After being on hold for 90 minutes this very stern HMCTS bloke let me tell the story then said "yes, we know it's down, try again in a few days". I was gobsmacked and said there's thousands of people dying right now, to have the probate application website down is wholly unacceptable. At what is such an upsetting time for people to have this obstacle in the way is ridiculous. The response was "yes, it's down because of the volume. Try again in a few days".

Wanker.

I tried again every day for a week, then decided to print out the form to fill it in by hand. The form is complicated and covers both aspects of whether Inheritance Tax is payable or not, so really not easy to complete. After a couple of days I'd done 90% of it, but decided to try the website again. Hey presto, it was back up!!

Much easier on the website, I'd completed it in less than 30 minutes, including downloading the death certificate. They did require the physical original Will, so posted that off registered post last Wednesday. The message at the end was that it would take 8-12 weeks to grant probate, unless they needed more info, in which case it would be longer. I was expecting this, so not surprised.

However, this morning at 6.27 I get an email from the Probate Registry saying they'd received the document.

At 6.28 I get another email from the Probate Registry to say Probate has been granted and the certificates will arrive at the house in 5 working days.

Well, knock me down with a feather. I was expecting a lengthy wait, questions, more lengthy waits.

So all turned out well and I can now get on to really get things organised.

It's gonna take ages and some £'s to get the house into a good enough shape to put on the market, but with the pandemic I don't see the housing market bouncing back soon. Again, a bad time.

But the grant of probate has buoyed me. Great to be able to avoid all the hassle I was expecting.

So I'm head down sorting out my mum's stuff. As @mistereggmentions, it's finding the small things that meant a lot to my mum that's the upsetting part. I'm going through all her books right now, found some 1920's and 30's Tiny Tots books that she'd obviously read incessantly, coloured in, etc. It's deciding what to keep and what to throw is the hardest thing.

Some of the old pictures too, when she was a kid, a teenager, courting with my dad, when my brother and I were kids, family holidays, etc. Great memories and that's how I'm going to remember my mum and dad, rather than their last few weeks, when they were both in bad shape.

I must share one pic with you guys - can't believe how dapper both mum and dad look . . . 

Well, back to the sorting and cataloguing . . . 

 

Great post BB and lovely pic. 

[Aqualung]

14 hours ago, Britboy said:

Just want to say a big thank you for the messages guys, they're much appreciated.

Some of you have been through the same thing recently too. @Aqualungin particular and even more recently than me. There's never a good time for a parent to die, but in the middle of this pandemic, especially with UK being hit so hard, is the worst possible time as it's so difficult to get things done/arranged.

Having said that, businesses have adapted and whereas before you'd have to be present to register things and provide documentation, certificates, etc. the vast majority is now done via emails, scans and phone calls. The most effort I've had to make is walk to the local post office to post a few bits, in particular the original Will to the Probate Registry.

Probate started off as a hugely frustrating experience. First step is to do the estate valuation, to determine if Inheritance Tax is applicable. Did that online, it's linked to your Government Gateway and that was very smooth and automatic. Because there's a property involves, it mandatory probate, so it sends you to the Probate Application site. It was down. I tried it every day for 3 days, then called them. After being on hold for 90 minutes this very stern HMCTS bloke let me tell the story then said "yes, we know it's down, try again in a few days". I was gobsmacked and said there's thousands of people dying right now, to have the probate application website down is wholly unacceptable. At what is such an upsetting time for people to have this obstacle in the way is ridiculous. The response was "yes, it's down because of the volume. Try again in a few days".

Wanker.

I tried again every day for a week, then decided to print out the form to fill it in by hand. The form is complicated and covers both aspects of whether Inheritance Tax is payable or not, so really not easy to complete. After a couple of days I'd done 90% of it, but decided to try the website again. Hey presto, it was back up!!

Much easier on the website, I'd completed it in less than 30 minutes, including downloading the death certificate. They did require the physical original Will, so posted that off registered post last Wednesday. The message at the end was that it would take 8-12 weeks to grant probate, unless they needed more info, in which case it would be longer. I was expecting this, so not surprised.

However, this morning at 6.27 I get an email from the Probate Registry saying they'd received the document.

At 6.28 I get another email from the Probate Registry to say Probate has been granted and the certificates will arrive at the house in 5 working days.

Well, knock me down with a feather. I was expecting a lengthy wait, questions, more lengthy waits.

So all turned out well and I can now get on to really get things organised.

It's gonna take ages and some £'s to get the house into a good enough shape to put on the market, but with the pandemic I don't see the housing market bouncing back soon. Again, a bad time.

But the grant of probate has buoyed me. Great to be able to avoid all the hassle I was expecting.

So I'm head down sorting out my mum's stuff. As @mistereggmentions, it's finding the small things that meant a lot to my mum that's the upsetting part. I'm going through all her books right now, found some 1920's and 30's Tiny Tots books that she'd obviously read incessantly, coloured in, etc. It's deciding what to keep and what to throw is the hardest thing.

Some of the old pictures too, when she was a kid, a teenager, courting with my dad, when my brother and I were kids, family holidays, etc. Great memories and that's how I'm going to remember my mum and dad, rather than their last few weeks, when they were both in bad shape.

I must share one pic with you guys - can't believe how dapper both mum and dad look . . . 

Well, back to the sorting and cataloguing . . . 

 

Lovely photo there Britboy that's a rather special memory and your parents look great. 

Regarding the legal side of things.... I've bitten the bullet and I've allowed my family lawyer to sort things out from my side regarding probate and the arrangement regarding the will my mother left. It may mean me paying around £1000 for that but at least I know it will be done right. Well, I hope so anyway. 

What pisses me off is family.... At the outset I told them I would deal this situation in my own way which meant slowly and considering the covid situation, and that everything has had to be done over the phone, they should bare with me and not interfere. 

Well, the inevitable happened and a lot of confusion ensued. 

You can pick your friends but not your family.... Bloody hard work they are. Family that is... Not friends. 

 

[Mr. Smooth]

Britboy, thank you for what has to rank as one of the most heartfelt, poignant posts on any forum that I've ever read.

My heart goes out to you on the passing of your mum and the very unfortunate aftermath due to the Covid-19 situation regarding any funeral or remembrance service of her life, having to put it off well into the future. The same thing happened with regards to my father's passing in April, nearly a month already. Can't believe it. My sister, brother and step mom hope to have a date set in summer for a get together and remember his life, if our state is fully reopened for business. Such a harsh reality to deal with.

I certainly am hoping for the best in your plans to honor your mum.

As far as living in Pattaya, I certainly hope to cross paths with you at some point, as I'm hoping to make a trip for about a month just after Christmas, but further along in 2021, be able to return for a bit longer, as I hope to be fully retired before the end of this year.

If we do meet, how about in LePub, and we both toast my dad and your mum? And who knows, maybe a few other bm's will be there as well to join in and salute their own parents. Can you just imagine the spirits of all of them looking down and admonishing us, as only parents can do, " you boys don't get drunk and cause any trouble now".

Wishing you peace, mate.

 

[Britboy]

7 hours ago, Aqualung said:

Lovely photo there Britboy that's a rather special memory and your parents look great. 

Regarding the legal side of things.... I've bitten the bullet and I've allowed my family lawyer to sort things out from my side regarding probate and the arrangement regarding the will my mother left. It may mean me paying around £1000 for that but at least I know it will be done right. Well, I hope so anyway. 

What pisses me off is family.... At the outset I told them I would deal this situation in my own way which meant slowly and considering the covid situation, and that everything has had to be done over the phone, they should bare with me and not interfere. 

Well, the inevitable happened and a lot of confusion ensued. 

You can pick your friends but not your family.... Bloody hard work they are. Family that is... Not friends. 

 

My mum's lawyer held the Will and the house deeds, so I managed to arrange a visit, despite the virus, and picked them up.

She said for her to just handle the probate was £640 plus VAT. Two thoughts crossed my mind - what's involved and how speedy will the lawyer act? I said let me check it out and I'll let you know. I went online and figured I'd have to do the vast majority of the work anyway because part of the probate is the estate valuation, which I'd have to do for the lawyer. Plus it would definitely slow things down if the lawyer got involved. They're great at taking time and in their mind justify their fee.

So decided to do it all myself and glad I did. It was a doddle, with the exception of the probate website being down, which would have been the same for the lawyer anyway.

As to family getting involved, I know exactly where you're coming from. I've seen friends and my sister-in-laws family fall out long term because of how family reacted when the 2nd parent dies. My sister-in-laws family haven't spoken to each to this day and it happened over 20 years ago. Thankfully there's only myself and my brother, we're the only Executors and heirs. My brother's not interested in the Admin stuff, so I'm sorting out all the finances, bills, investments, paperwork, etc. and he's helping me clear the place and sell most of the contents that can be sold. I'm big brother and he's always looked up to me and therefore trusts me implicitly. I'm keeping him informed of all aspects financially and in most cases anyway documents need both Executor signatures. So not been a problem at all.

It sounds too late for yourself now, but I'd recommend handling probate oneself.