Probate fees

We offer many different services to our clients in relation to Probate work and we are happy to meet with you to consider your requirements and how we may assist you. We will also provide you with an indication of our fees at our meeting which will be confirmed to you in writing.

Our Probate team consists of Alison Kemsley and Tara Pitts. Our team has over 40 years of collective experience in delivering high quality work in all matters relating to wills and estate administration. The team has particular expertise in dealing with complex estates including high value estates, inheritance tax matters, foreign aspects, disputes.

Please see the following fee examples set out below:

• Application for grant only
• Estate administration
• Simple Estate (estimated fee)
• Complex Estate (estimated fee)

Application for grant only (Grant of Probate or Grant of Letters of Administration)

If you plan to identify the assets, collect them in and distribute them yourself, we can assist you with the application for the Grant itself.

This work is carried out for a fixed fee:

Simple application (no inheritance tax, residence nil rate band or transfer relief) £750 plus VAT
Simple application with 100% transfer relief £850 plus VAT
Complex application (inheritance tax payable and/or less than 100% transfer relief and/or residence nil rate band applicable £1,250 plus VAT
Disbursements (costs payable to others)
Probate Registry fees £273
Official copies of the Grant £1.50 each
Fee for swearing Oath £5 plus £2 for any exhibited Will or Codicil (per executor)

Estate administration

We can assist you by dealing with all aspects of the administration of an estate from the initial contact with the asset holders, the application for the grant, the cashing in or sale of assets, payment of liabilities and expenses, tax matters, transfer of assets and the distribution of funds.

As part of our service, we will:

• Provide you with an experienced Probate solicitor to work on your matter
• Identify the executors or administrators and the beneficiaries
• Identify the type of Probate application required
• Obtain the relevant information and documentation to make the application
• Complete the Probate application and the relevant forms for HMRC
• Obtain the Grant of Probate or Letters of Administration as applicable
• Identify any tax issues
• Collect and/or transfer all assets
• Pay any liabilities and expenses
• Prepare detailed estate accounts for approval
• Distribute the estate in accordance with the Will or Intestacy.

The exact costs of administering an estate depend on the circumstances of each estate. We will provide you with a written estimate of our fees, this estimate is based on our knowledge of time we spent dealing with similar estates in the past. Factors which may complicate an estate and lead to additional costs are: Intestacies, the amount of assets involved such a numerous shareholdings, taxable estates, missing beneficiaries, disputes, multiple beneficiaries, assets or beneficiaries abroad etc.

Our fees for probate work are calculated based on an hourly rate of £250 per hour plus VAT. We are always happy to discuss fixing a fee with you for the administration of an estate although depending on the complexity of the estate, agreeing a fixed fee with you may not be possible.

We have provided two examples to show how different two estates can be and the different work which may be required for each.

Simple Estate example (estimated fee)

In this example:

• There is a valid will appointing one executor
• There is one property
• There are 5 bank or building society accounts
• There are no other intangible assets
• There are 4 beneficiaries
• There are no disputes between beneficiaries and/or executors
• 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

Our fees are likely to be between £2,500 and £3,000 plus VAT which is a total cost of between £3,000 and £3,600
Disbursements (costs payable to others)
Probate Registry fees £273
Official copies of the Grant (number required 6) £9
Fee for swearing Oath and Will £7
Bankruptcy search (one per beneficiary @ £2 each) £8
Advertisements in London Gazette and local paper (if required) say £245 (price depends on location)
The total cost for the estate in this example including VAT would be between £3,542 to £4,142.

How long will this type of estate take?

On average, smaller estates can be dealt completed within 6 to 8 months. It can take about 6 – 8 weeks to be ready to apply for the grant of probate. The grant of probate is usually issued within 1 to 3 weeks from the time of application. It may take between 6 to 8 weeks to collect the assets and pay off any liabilities or expenses. Once this has been done, the estate can be distributed which may take about 5 to 7 weeks.

Complex Estate example (estimated fee)

In this example:

• There is an intestacy
• There are three properties – one being the deceased’s residence, two rental properties (one of which is tenanted)
• There are 10 bank or building society accounts
• There are 25 different shareholdings, bonds etc
• There are 15 potential beneficiaries, some of whom live abroad
• There are no disputes between beneficiaries and/or executors
• There is inheritance tax payable and the executors need to submit a full account to HMRC and pay part of the tax by instalments
• There are no claims made against the estate

Our fees are likely to be between £10,000 to £15,000 plus VAT which is a total cost of between £12,000 to £18,000.
Disbursements (costs payable to others)
Probate Registry fees £273
Official copies of the Grant (number required 38) £57
Fee for swearing oath £5
Bankruptcy search (one per beneficiary @ £2 each) £30
Advertisements in London Gazette and local paper (if required) say £245 (price depends on location)
Genealogists fees – amount unknown (dependent on work to be carried out)
Inheritance tax – amount unknown (dependent on value of estate).

How long will this type of estate take?

It is often possible for the administration of more complex estates to take longer than a year to fully administer as there are so many unknown elements. The preliminary work up to obtaining the grant may take between 4 to 6 months. It may take a further 4 to 6 months to collect the assets and pay any liabilities or expenses. It may take a further 4 to 6 months to be in a position to complete the administration.

Potential additional costs

We will always confirm to you any additional costs for work not included in our fees for estate administration. The following are examples of work which will incur additional costs:

• Affidavit evidence required by the Probate Registry
• Contested probates
• Tax Returns
• Renunciations
• Deeds of Variation
• Sales or transfers of property
• Eviction of tenants
• Charges relating to the value of the estate – where we act as executors or if an estate is unusually complex, there may be further charges based on the value of the estate but we will always discuss this with you and make sure that any additional charge is fair and reasonable in all the circumstances.