Conveyancing | Probate | Employment | Debt Recovery
Each estate is different and has specific requirements. The information provided is a guide only and we will provide a personalised estimate for fees and timescales on each new matter before starting any work.
Our fees cover an initial meeting with the family and/or executors, valuing the estate, applying for the grant (including submitting the inheritance tax account), collecting and distributing the assets. Our fees are usually based solely on the amount of time spent administering an estate and we do not generally charge an additional value element. We roughly divide estates into three grades of complexity: low, medium and high.
Where VAT applies this is a rate of 20%
We estimate our total costs to be between £5,000 – £20,000 (plus VAT). We anticipate this will take between 20 and 80 hours of work, at a current (2022/23) hourly rate of between £200 – £495 per hour, plus VAT. The exact cost will depend on the individual circumstances of the matter. For example, if there is one executor, one beneficiary and no property, costs will be at the lower end of the range. If there are multiple executors, multiple beneficiaries, a property and multiple bank accounts, costs will be at the higher end. We will handle the full process for you.
A low complexity estate might be one where:
We estimate our total costs to be between £10,000 – £45,000 (plus VAT). We anticipate this will take between 40 and 200 hours of work, at a current (2022/23) hourly rate of between £250 – £495 per hour, plus VAT. Again, the exact cost will depend on the individual circumstances of the matter and we will handle the full process for you.
In these estates typical features may include:
We estimate our total costs to be between £35,000 to £150,000 plus VAT (and in some cases more). We anticipate this will take between 130 and 450 hours of work (and could be more), at a current (2022/23) hourly rate of between £250 – £495 per hour, plus VAT. Again, the exact costs will depend on the individual circumstances and we will handle the full process for you. It may be necessary to involve experts to deal with specific issues e.g. an accountant to value a business.
Estates such as this will often have more than one of the following features:
For some estates we may be able to offer a range of pricing options, including charging on a fixed fee basis or percentage by value. We will consider whether these options are suitable on a case by case basis.
The following additional costs or disbursements will be payable on most estates:
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Probate Registry fee |
£273 |
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Fee for office copies of the grant |
£1.50 for each copy (the number required will depend on the number/range of assets) |
Potential additional disbursements include:
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Certainty Will search |
£126 plus VAT |
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Asset search undertaken by Estatesearch |
£185 plus VAT |
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Land Registry search fee (if there is a property) |
£3 plus VAT |
|
Section 27 Trustee Act Statutory advertisements in the London Gazette and local newspaper |
Approximately £325 plus VAT – protects against unexpected claims from unknown creditors – prices may vary according to the publication |
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Accountants’ fees for dealing with income tax up to the date of death and sometimes during the estate administration period. |
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Valuers’ fees for valuing assets such as contents of a property, real estate or land, shares, business assets, etc. |
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These are some of the most common additional disbursements, but the list is not comprehensive. The additional disbursements necessary will vary depending on the circumstances of an estate.
The disbursement prices shown are subject to change by the organisations concerned.
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.
How quickly an estate can be dealt with will depend on many factors including how quickly requests for information are dealt with and the involvement of third parties such as accountants, the DWP and HMRC.
On average, estates that fall within the low complexity range set out above are dealt with within 5-12 months from receiving full instructions. Typically, taking initial instructions, valuing the estate and pre-grant administration takes 3-4 months. Submitting the application and obtaining the grant of probate can take between 8-12 weeks. Post- grant administration and distribution of the estate then follows, which normally takes a further 3–6 months. For medium or high complexity estates the timeframe is likely to be considerably longer and often takes more than a year. We will provide you with a bespoke timescale once we know more about the estate.
We can also offer a fixed fee service for probate where there is no inheritance tax payable and the executors do not need to submit a full account to HMRC.
If there is no will or the estate consists of any share holdings (stocks and bonds) there is 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.
If any additional copies of the grant are required, they will cost £0.50 (1 per asset usually). Dealing with the sale or transfer of any property in the estate is not included. Any post death variations will also carry an additional charge.
We can help you through this difficult process by obtaining the Grant of Probate on your behalf.
How much does this service cost?
TOTAL: fixed fee of £2,400 (inclusive of VAT).
This includes: obtaining the grant only.
Breakdown of costs:
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 fixed fee we will:
On average, estates that fall within this range are dealt with within 1-3 months.