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 it does not specify Executor, an Administrator will need to be appointed.

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 probate should take 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 fund the administration.

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

Pricing

The fees involved in a probate matter can vary and this will depend on the individual circumstances involved.

We offer both fixed fees and an hourly rate charging rate, whereby you will be charged for each hour of work undertaken.

Range of Costs With Fixed Fee For Additional Work

Our fees legal fees will range between £4,750 to £15,000 plus VAT and disbursements. The fees will vary and are dependent upon individual circumstances.

The range of fees will depend on issues such as the number of beneficiaries and whether the estate includes any property. Probate fees will also typically increase, depending on whether there are multiple bank accounts, shares and based on the number and value of any property.

We will handle the full process for you and this estimate is for estates where:

There is a valid Will
Whether or not any executors have died or refuse to act
There is no more than one property
There are no more than 5 bank or building society accounts
There are no other intangible assets
There are between 1 and 5 beneficiaries
Where there are no beneficiaries who do not have capacity or under the Mental Health Act or are a minor
Where there are no trusts in the Will
Where there are no missing beneficiaries
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
There are no disputes between beneficiaries on the vision of assets. If disputes arise this will lead to an increase of costs

Fixed Fee

We can help you through this difficult process by obtaining the Grant of Probate on your behalf.

As part of the fixed fee we will:

Provide you with a dedicated and experienced Probate solicitor to work on your matter
Identify the legally appointed executors, administrators and beneficiaries
Accurately identify the type of Probate application you will require
Obtain relevant documents required to make the application
Complete the online Probate Application and relevant HMRC Forms
Review the Legal Statement which you as Executor are required to sign as part of the application process
Make the application to the Probate Court on your behalf
Obtain the Probate and securely send two copies to you

Work Undertaken	Amount	VAT	Subtotal
Non-taxable and exempt Estate plus Online Application No Assets in trust No Requirement to Claim Transferable Nil Rate Band	£1,400	£280	£1,680
Non-taxable and exempt Estate requiring claim of transferable Nil-Rate Band plus Online Application Non-taxable estate No assets in trust	£1,900	£380	£2,280
IHT 400 plus Online Application – Estate Value below £2m Non-taxable estate No claim for Business or Agricultural Property Relief required	£2,750	£550	£3,300
IHT 400 plus Online Application – Estate Value above £2m Non-taxable estate No claim for Business or Agricultural Property Relief required	£3,250	£650	£3,900
IHT 400, IHT 100 plus Online Application – Combined Value below £2m Non-Taxable estate Assets in trust No claim for Business or Agricultural Property Relief required	£3,250	£650	£3,900
IHT 400, IHT 100 plus Online Application – Combined Value above £2m Non-Taxable estate Assets in trust No claim for Business or Agricultural Property Relief required	£3,750	£750	£4,500
IHT400 plus Online Application – Estate Value below £2m Taxable Estate No claim for Business or Agricultural Property Relief required	£3,500	£700	£4,200
IHT400 plus Online Application – Estate Value above £2m Taxable Estate No claim for Business or Agricultural Property Relief required	£4,000	£800	£4,800
IHT400, IHT100 plus Online Application – Combined Value below £2m Taxable Estate No claim for Business or Agricultural Property Relief required	£4,250	£850	£5,100
IHT400, IHT100 plus Online Application – Combined Value above £2m Taxable Estate No claim for Business or Agricultural Property Relief required	£4,750	£950	£5,700

Disbursements (For Both Options)

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

Anticipated Disbursements

Item	Amount	VAT	Subtotal
Probate Fee	£300	Nil	£300
Office Copies for the Grant of Probate (each)	£1.50	Nil	£1.50
Land Registry Search fee	£3	Nil	£3
Bankruptcy Search fee (per beneficiary)	£2	Nil	£2
Post in the Local Newspaper and London Gazettes	£150	£30	£180
Estimated Total	£456.50	£30	£486.50

Inheritance Tax

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

We do not believe that it would be sensible to attempt to provide at this stage an estimate of any tax that may be payable. We would advise you to look on the HMRC Website to calculate Inheritance Tax which may be due, the calculators can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/hmrc-tools-and-calculators#inheritance-tax-and-bereavement

Additional Costs

In the event that there is no Will or the estate consists of any share holdings (Stocks and Bonds), there is likely to be an additional cost that could range significantly depending on the estate and how it is to be handled. We will discuss this with you in detail and advise of any additional fees.

In the event that additional copies of the Grant of Probate are required, these will be charged at £1.50 per copy or per asset.

The cost of selling or transferring a property is not included in this price, if you require this service, please let us know and we will provide you with an estimate in that regard.

Exclusions

Our fees are fixed and include items detailed above, however there may be factors which would typically increase the cost of the fees involved. 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.

Additional services that will require either additional advice from us or the assistance of a third party at additional cost include:-

Tax advice
Valuations for property, savings, investments or other assets
Advice on the variation of the terms of the Will
Correspondence with HM Revenue and Customs where queries to the value of assets returned for Probate are raised
Foreign assets
Collection and distribution of the assets in accordance with the terms of the Will

Time Scales

On average, probate for the typical estate will take between 5 – 18 months. Generally, the time taken to obtain the Grant of Probate will take between 6 – 9 months, followed by the collection of assets and distribution of the assets which can take between 4 -12 months. The range takes into account handling everything from straightforward estates through to more complex estates, but would not take into account estates where agricultural business assets are included or where we are dependent on third parties for the disposal of certain assets such as those based in other jurisdictions.

Key Milestones

With every transaction there are key milestones, which may vary according to individual circumstances. They may be as follows:

Applying for Grant of Probate
Obtaining Grant of Probate
Settling Liabilities
Collecting funds ready for distribution
Distributing funds
Producing Estate accounts