We will always offer an initial free consultation where we ask you to bring in as much information as possible in order to help us assess the work that will be involved in administering the estate of the deceased. Following that meeting, we will give you a clear estimate of our fees inclusive of vat and details any disbursements and expenses that we may incur on your behalf such as Probate Registry application fees. We will always confirm those figures to you in writing. At that stage, you will have the option of agreeing to those fees and instructing us to carry out the work or not.
We have set out below an indication of the level of fees but work involving Probate matters can vary hugely from a simple obtaining a grant of probate and there is no tax payable on the estate through to highly complex administrations which involve property and assets in different countries, complex tax calculations, the tracing of missing beneficiaries, and assets and liabilities in a wide variety of accounts, shareholdings and investments.
We anticipate the costs as follows:
Estate under £325,000
Fees for dealing with an application for a Grant of Probate & no inheritance tax is payable is a fixed fee: £850.00 plus vat (£1020.00 incl vat)
Additional Fees to the administer and settle a simple the Estate : £1000.00 plus vat (£1200.00 incl vat)
Fees for Estate valued £325,001 - £500,000 - from 1% of net value of estate plus vat*
Fees for Estate valued over £500,001 - from 2% of net value of estate plus vat*
*Vat charged at 20%
The exact cost will depend on the individual circumstances of the matter. For example, if there is one beneficiary and no property, costs will be at the lower starting level. If there are multiple beneficiaries, more than one property and multiple bank accounts, costs will be higher. We will confirm any higher-level costs once we have received the full details of the estate and agree the costs with you before proceeding.
We will handle the full process for you. The price guides are for dealing estates where:
Disbursements are costs related to your matter that are payable to third parties, such as the Probate Registry application fee. We handle the payment of disbursements on your behalf to ensure a smoother process.
As part of our fee we will:
Typically, from receiving your instruction to applying for a Grant of Probate takes 2 – 3 weeks and the Probate Registry are currently taking 16 weeks to process applications, but this is subject change.
The timescale for dealing with settlement of an uncontested estate will depend on the complexity of the estate and the number of beneficiaries. After obtaining the Grant of Probate, collecting assets, settling any liabilities and distributing the estate to the beneficiaries normally takes 6 – 12 months.
The costs incurred in dealing with a Probate matter are based upon the time taken to carry out the work and depending upon who is dealing with it and their hourly rate.
Those hourly rates are:
Senior Solicitor/Legal Executive: £278.00 + vat (£333.60 inclusive of vat)
(over 8 years’ experience)
Solicitor/Legal Executive: £233.00 + vat (£279.60 inclusive of vat)
(over 4 years’ experience)
Solicitor/Legal Executive/Fee Earner: £190.00 + vat (£228.00 inclusive of vat)
Trainee Solicitor/Paralegal/Fee Earner: £134.00 + vat (£160.80 inclusive of vat)
(under 4 years’ experience)
We do not provide any tax advice and will only be able to confirm if any inheritance tax is payable when all the details of the estate and beneficiaries have been received. Whether inheritance tax is payable or not, inheritance tax forms and the payment of any taxes must be submitted to HMRC before an application for probate can be submitted to the Probate Registry.