Personal

Pricing for Probate Services & Administration of Estates

SOLVING PERSONAL LEGAL MATTERS

The administration of an estate includes applying for a Grant of Probate or Letters of Administration, collecting in and distributing the assets of the estate to the beneficiaries as set out in the Will of the deceased or under the Intestacy Rules (if the person passed away with no Will).

In order to apply for a Grant of Probate or Letters of Administration, an Inheritance Tax form must be completed. This is the case regardless of whether there is any Inheritance Tax to pay and whether or not the deceased left a Will.

There are two Inheritance Tax forms; short form IHT205 for simple and lower value estates and long form IHT400 for complex and higher value estates.

If the estate is straightforward and none complex it is sometimes the case that you may need a solicitor's assistance in applying for the Grant only and are able to deal with the rest of the administration yourself.

Alternatively we can deal with all aspects probate and administration of an estate where we will calculate our fee depending on the value and complexity of the estate.

Obtaining Grant only with short form IHT205 (see above)	£800 + VAT @ 20%
Obtaining Grant only with long form IHT400 (see above)	£1200 + VAT @ 20%
Full administration, straightforward estate:
Estate value less than £325,000 based on short form IHT205 (see above)	£1500 - £3500 + VAT @ 20%
Estate value over £325,000 based on short form IHT205 (see above)	£1500 - £5000 + VAT @ 20%
Estate value over £325,000 based on long form IHT400 (see above)	£2500 - £10000 + VAT @ 20%

Factors which might necessitate a higher fee include:

Higher value estates worth over £1m
Lifetime gifts
Claims to transfer Inheritance Tax Nil Rate Band
or Residence Nil Rate Band
Business or agricultural property
Multiple properties
Multiple beneficiaries or missing beneficiaries
Charitable beneficiaries
Multiple bank accounts or shareholdings
Operating or selling a business
Private company shares
Assets abroad
Assets of a specialist nature i.e. fine art
Complex tax issues including taxable estates
An unclear Will
Property issues i.e. missing title deeds
Arranging/involvement with clearing property and preparing for sale
Transfer of investments and other assets to beneficiaries
Deeds of Variation, disclaimer or renunciation of executor
DWP investigations or claims against the estate
Engagement in litigation or a contested or disputed estate
Any other duties of an unusual or complex nature

Our fees for full administration of a straightforward estate include:

A specialist solicitor dealing with your case
Meetings with you
Probate valuation of investments (not including property valuations, chattels valuations for jewellery and fine art etc or share valuations which may incur a separate charge - see disbursements)
Preparing the probate application and any inheritance tax forms
Postage and telephone costs as well as all correspondence received and sent out
Arranging statutory notices
Closing accounts, arranging the sale or transfer of investments and assets
Arranging for income tax affairs to be dealt with.
Preparation of Estate accounts to evidence the distribution of the estate.
Distributing the Estate to beneficiaries

Disbursements

All fees quoted above are exclusive of disbursements, expenses and third party costs incurred e.g. estate agents, valuation fees and conveyancing costs, which will be charged in addition to the fees quoted above. The regular disbursements that may arise on the administration of an estate include but are not limited to the following:

Land Registry Office Copies - £3 plus VAT@20% per title
Bankruptcy charges - £2 plus VAT@20% per beneficiary
Statutory Notices Fee - £200 - £250 (approx)
Dormant Asset Search Fee - £135 plus VAT@20%
Probate Court Fee (payable to HM Courts & Tribunal Services) - as at August 2019 £155 plus £1.50 for each official copy of the grant required

Our fees do not include:

Accountants Fees - this may be required if estate tax returns are needed for the estate administration period. For more information on estate tax returns and the necessary forms you can visit https://www.gov.uk/self-assessment-tax-returns/returns-for-someone-who-has-died
Conveyancing Fees on sale of a property - this can however be dealt with by our conveyancing department and it can be cost effective and quicker to have everything dealt with "under one roof". Please click here to obtain a quote for a property sale or transfer
Estate Agents Fees - these would be agreed with whichever estate agent is instructed to deal with any property sale

For a full case specific estimate please contact us to discuss the specifics of your probate and administration of the estate needs.

Timescales

Timescales will depend on the complexity of the Estate. In probate matters, it can take up to 6 months before probate is granted and it can be at least a further 6 months before the estate is finalised. Sometimes there are complications and the matter can become more protracted but we would seek to keep you updated with any unexpected delays in dealing with the administration. If appropriate we would make interim distributions prior to the administration being completed.