Probate Pricing

Thank you for looking at our probate services. Coping with the death of a person can bring a mixture of emotions and the legal side of dealing with a person’s death can often be overwhelming and confusing. Having compassionate, experienced legal advice can make this difficult situation much easier on you and your loved ones.

Whether the deceased person left a Will or whether there is substantial wealth and property involved, the sense of burden can increase. Where a Will is in existence the Executors will need to apply for the grant of probate which will give them the legal right to administer the estate. Where there is no Will in existence, the Will is invalid, or does not appoint an Executor, an Administrator will need to be appointed. The generic term for an executor or an administrator is a "Personal Representative".

Why Us

We have an experienced team who can assist you with every aspect of the probate process, reducing the administrative burden and advising sensitively on key decisions which need to be made when managing an estate. We are aware that administering an estate comes at a time of grief and high emotion, and that most people do not know the processes and legal requirements involved.

We will give you a clear time frame of how long the administration of the estate should take to conclude and will keep you and any beneficiaries advised throughout.

You will have the confidence that you are our priority, with our aim being that any member of the team is available to speak with you when you need some clarity and certainty at any stage in the process. We feel this provides reassurance and gives you an outlet for any concerns that you may have. Fees are generally paid out of the estate, so there may not be a need for you to personally fund the administration.

We are proud to hold Lexcel Accreditation, issued by the Law Society. This involves the firm undergoing a rigorous audit process which ensures we maintain high levels of client care.

Our Estate Administration Service:

We can provide a comprehensive service to the Personal Representatives of a deceased’s estate for which our services are charged based upon the time we spend. Unlike many other organisations we do not charge a percentage of the value of the estate.

Simple Non-Taxable Estates

Our standard service for an estate valued below a single Nil Rate Band (£325,000), where no inheritance tax is payable and comprises, for example, of a property, 3 or 4 bank accounts, a single credit card or loan agreement and between 4-6 beneficiaries would include:

One of our experienced team members will meet with you to discuss the Estate and identify the Personal Representatives responsible for dealing with the estate and advise upon the process that will need to be followed;
Advise you on the terms of the Will (or the Intestacy Rules if there is no Will);
Liaise with you and/or the respective organisations to ascertain the assets and liabilities of the estate at the date of death;
Advise on the steps that can be taken to protect the Personal Representatives from personal liability by instigating searches and notices and undertake the steps required;
Prepare a Schedule of Assets and Liabilities as at the date of death;
Draft the Probate Papers for approval by the Personal Representatives and assist with arrangements for the papers to be signed;
Apply to the District Probate Registry for the Grant of Probate/Letters of Administration (“the Grant”) to be issued;
Once the Grant has been issued, register the Grant with the various asset holders and organisations;
Collect in the assets of the deceased and arrange payment of the liabilities of the estate;
Arrange payment of any pecuniary legacies and transfer of any specific bequests;
Make interim distributions (if required) to the residuary beneficiaries, pending finalisation of the estate;
Finalise the deceased’s Income Tax position to the date of death with HMRC;
Finalise and calculate the estate administration Income Tax position;
Prepare final Estate Accounts for approval by the Personal Representatives;
Make final distributions to the residuary beneficiaries; and
Provide the residuary beneficiaries with Certificate of income paid and tax deducted for their own tax affairs.

Pricing and Timescales

Our minimum charge for the administration of an estate as set out above is £2,500 plus VAT.

We would anticipate that this would take between 10 and 15 hours of work. Our hourly rates vary according to the level of experience of the solicitor/lawyer acting. Therefore, our estimate costs would be between £2,500 plus VAT and £4,425 plus VAT.

We would expect, on average for the administration of such an estate to take between 8-12 months to conclude.

Where there is a property involved, this timescale will be depend upon a sale being agreed and the conveyancing process being concluded. Our indicated charges do not include dealing with the conveyancing aspect of the sale or transfer of the property but we would be pleased to provide a fee estimate for dealing with that work.

This estimate is on the basis that there are no disputes between the beneficiaries or Personal Representatives and that there are no third party claims made against the estate.

Disbursements are costs that are related to the matter and are payable to third parties, for example Court fees. Such costs during an estate administration may include:

Probate Court Fee of £300 plus £1.50 for each additional copy of the Grant
Land Registry Office Copy Entries £7 plus VAT per Title
Statutory Advertisements to protect against unknown creditors approximately £150-200
Will Search to try and locate a missing or more recent Will from £140
Dormant Asset Search of £165 plus VAT

Complex Estates

Where an estate is more complex, perhaps due to one or more of the following reasons, the time taken to administer the estate will be longer and our costs will be higher. We will however endeavour to provide you with an estimate of the costs at the initial meeting, or shortly therefore after, once we have considered the work required in more detail.The reasons why an estate is more complex might be as follows:

The terms of the Will are unclear, and clarification by the Court might be needed.
Not all the beneficiaries of the estate are known and so need to be traced.
Additional tax reliefs need to be claimed from a spouse of the deceased who died previously.
There are assets in the estate that may qualify for special tax reliefs, such as Business Property or Agricultural Property.
The deceased has been actively tax planning prior to their death and has made lifetime gifts within the last 7 years or created trusts within the last 14 years.
The deceased had been making gifts out of income during their lifetime which need to be accounted for to HMRC.
The estate exceeds the allowances available and we therefore need to calculate the Inheritance Tax due, prepare a detailed account to HMRC and assist in arranging payment of the tax due to HMRC;
The estate comprises of more complex or numerous assets, for example property, stocks and shares, bonds, business interests or foreign property.
The deceased was a beneficiary under a Trust (perhaps under their spouse’s estate), and we may need to advise on the tax implications of this.
There are a large number of beneficiaries entitled under the terms of the Will or Intestacy.
Sometimes beneficiaries wish to vary the provisions of a Will or Intestacy, for personal reasons or to improve the tax efficiency of the distribution of the estate. We can provide advice in this regard.
Where there are minor beneficiaries or Trusts created under the terms of the Will, additional advice will be required in relation to the future administration of those Trusts.

Fixed Fee Service:

Sometimes Personal Representatives want to deal with the estate administration of the estate themselves but need assistance just to obtain the Grant of Representation from the Court.

We offer a fixed fee service for this of £950 plus VAT and this applies where;

The estate is straightforward and does not result in an Inheritance Tax liability or the submission of a detailed account to HMRC
The Personal representatives can provide us with all the necessary information relating to the estate’s assets and liabilities and other details required to complete the Probate application.

This service would include:

One of our experienced team members meeting with you to discuss the Estate and identify the persons responsible for dealing with the estate and to advise upon the process that will need to be followed;
Explaining to you the information we require you to provide confirming the assets and liabilities of the estate at the date of death;
Explaining the other information required from you for us to complete the Probate application.
Draft the Probate application for approval by the Personal Representatives and assist with arrangements for you to sign;
Apply to the District Probate Registry for the Grant of Probate/Letters of Administration (“the Grant”) to be issued;
Provide you with the grant, once issued, to enable you to continue dealing with the administration of the estate.

Timescales for fixed fee service

We would normally expect the grant to be issued within 16-20 weeks from when you provide us with all of the necessary information for the application to be prepared. Please note these timescales are subject to the Court's timescales for issue of the grant and can vary.

Additional Costs

Disbursements are costs that are related to the matter and are payable to third parties, for example Court fees. In this instance we would expect the disbursements to be;

Probate Court Fee of £300 plus £1.50 for each additional copy of the Grant

If the estate is more complex, requiring a full account to be made to HMRC, payment of Inheritance Tax or the claiming of additional Inheritance Tax reliefs such as, transferable reliefs from a previous spouse or Business Property or Agricultural Relief, the costs for obtaining the grant would be higher but we would be pleased to provide an estimate once more information is available.

Inheritance Tax

There are various factors that will affect the Inheritance Tax liability in an estate, including the size of the estate and any measures that were put in place by the deceased to limit the estate's inheritance tax liability.

Exclusions

Where we provide a fixed fee for the work or where we work on a time spent basis, there may be factors which would increase the fees involved, which might not be anticipated at the outset. Where there is likely to be any additional cost, we will make sure you are informed of this at the earliest opportunity and a clear estimate of those extra costs will be provided.

A non-exhaustive list of additional services that may require the assistance of a third party at additional cost include: