Probate Costs

ESTATE ADMINISTRATION

Our estate administration service includes: notifying organisations of the death, applying for the Grant of Probate, collecting and distributing the assets and finalising all matters of someone’s estate.

It is always difficult to estimate at the beginning of a matter how much time will be required to wind up an estate as this depends on the complexity and range of assets, any debts and number and location of beneficiaries.

Any estimate will be communicated in writing, fully explained and agreed with you before any work is done. When an unforeseen complexity arises or where the way in which you ask us to proceed means additional work, we will inform you of this and provide revised costs information.

However, the following provides an example of the firm’s fees in relation to a straightforward estate where:

• There is a valid will.
• There is no more than one property.
• There are no more than three banks or building societies with whom the deceased held accounts.
• There are no other intangible assets.
• There are one to four beneficiaries and no minor beneficiaries for whom a trust may arise.
• There are no disputes between beneficiaries on division of assets. If a dispute arises this will lead to an increase in costs.
• There is no inheritance tax payable and the executors do not need to submit a full account to HMRC.
• There are no claims made against the estate.

We anticipate that for this kind of estate our total professional fees will be between £2,500 and £4,000 plus VAT. We will handle the entire process for you.

If there is no will or the estate consists of any share holdings (stocks and bonds) there are likely to be additional costs that could range significantly depending on the estate and how it is to be dealt with. We can give you a more accurate quote once we have more information.

Dealing with the sale or transfer of any property in the estate is not included in our estate administration service.

There will also be a number of additional payments (some of which are optional):

• Probate application fee currently £300 payable to the Court (this is set by the Court and is subject to change). This is mandatory. There is an additional £1.50 per extra copy of the Grant of Probate.
• Bankruptcy only Land Charges Department searched (£2 per beneficiary). These are recommended, but are optional.
• We always recommend that Statutory Notices are placed in the London Gazette and the local newspaper as this helps to protect against unexpected claims from unknown creditors. These fees vary depending upon the publication in which the advertisements are placed but generally add up to approximately £180 including VAT. These notices are optional.

These payments are known as disbursements and are costs related to your matter that are payable to third parties, such as court fees. We handle the payment of the disbursements on your behalf to ensure the process proceeds smoothly.

GRANT OF PROBATE COSTS ONLY:

We can help you through this difficult process by obtaining the Grant of Probate on your behalf. This does not include collecting details of the assets in the estate or establishing their value.

Our total professional fees are £850 plus VAT for a simple application for the Grant of Probate only. This includes obtaining the grant, but not collecting assets and distributing them. The aforementioned fee will be higher if the estate is taxable and a full Inheritance Tax account is required and/or if the application is more complex. In instances such as these, you will be provided with an estimate of likely costs.

In addition there will be disbursements of:

• Probate court fee of £300 plus £1.50 per Court sealed copy of the Grant of Probate.

Disbursements are costs related to your matter that are payable to third parties, such as court fees. We handle the payment of the disbursements on your behalf to ensure a smoother process.

As part of our probate only fee we will:

• Provide you with a dedicated and experienced probate solicitor, or experienced case worker acting under the supervision of a solicitor, to work on your matter.
• Identify the legally appointed executors/administrators and beneficiaries.
• Accurately identify the type of Probate application you will require.
• Complete the Probate Application and the relevant HM Revenue and Customs forms.
• Make the application to the Probate Registry on your behalf.
• Obtain the Probate and securely send court sealed copies to you. On average obtaining the Grant of Probate takes up to 3-6 months.