Probate Fees

Obtaining the Grant of Probate only – £550.00 plus VAT.

Preparation of a Deed of Renunciation – £200.00 plus VAT.

Additional Disbursements:

Probate Court fee of £150.00 plus £1.50 for each office copy.

Statutory Notices – to file a notice in the London Gazette approximately £100.00 to protect against unexpected claims from creditors, and to file a notice in a local newspaper approximately £160.00.

This fixed fee includes the completion of the necessary Probate application and the relevant IHT205 form for HMRC (any other HMRC form such as an IHT400 will attract additional fees).

Probate Matters – Price and Service Information

1. Grant of Probate – Fixed Fee

We can obtain the Grant of Probate on your behalf based on a fixed legal fee.

We set out below the typical costs for estates where:

• There is a valid will
• There is no more than one property and the estate does not exceed £325,000
• There are no other intangible assets
• There are no disputes between beneficiaries on division of assets. If disputes arise this is likely to lead to an increase in costs
• There are no claims made against the estate and no inheritance tax  payable and the executors do not need to submit a full account to HMRC.

This work can be undertaken on the basis of a fixed fee.  The range of fixed fees we charge fall between £400 (plus VAT) and £950 (plus VAT).

Possible Disbursements: (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.)

• Probate application fee of £155 plus £1.50 per copy
• Bankruptcy-only Land Charges Department searches (£2 per beneficiary)
• Land Registry Official Copy £6
• £69.50 plus VAT Post in The London Gazette – protects against unexpected claims from unknown creditors.
• £300 – £350 plus VAT Post in a Local Newspaper – This also helps to protect against unexpected claims.

What services does this fee include:

The following steps are included:

• Identify the legally appointed executors or administrators and beneficiaries and

establish the extent of the estate by identifying the various assets and liabilities;

• Prepare the probate application along with the Statement of Truth to be signed

which are then submitted to the appropriate Probate Registry together with the

Will, if there is one;

• Once the Grant of Probate is received from the Probate Registry we provide this

to you in order for you to administer the estate.

Potential additional costs include:

If for example the deceased has died without a will or the estate assets include any share holdings (stocks and bonds) there are 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 £1.50 (1 per asset usually);

Dealing with the sale or transfer of any property in the estate is not included, but we could provide you with further information and likely cost relating to this.

On average, estates that fall within this range are dealt with within 3 – 6 months.

Typically, obtaining the grant of probate can take between 2 -6 weeks.

If you would also like us to deal with administering the estate for you after the grant of probate, please see below under “Administering an Estate”.

2. Administering an Estate

We also have specialists to deal with the administration of the estate and dealing with the deceased’s assets, relieving you of the anxiety of doing it yourself at a time when you may need help the most.

Work involved would include:

• Identify the legally appointed executors or administrators and beneficiaries and establish the extent of the estate by identifying the various assets and liabilities;
• Prepare the Probate Application and have it sworn by the executor(s) and submitted to the appropriate Probate Registry together with the Will, if there is one;
• Once the Grant is received from the Probate Registry it is submitted to the various organisations with whom assets are held in order to start the process of transferring the assets into the beneficiaries’ names;
• All estate liabilities have to be paid before the estate can be distributed among the beneficiaries;
• Confirming that tax is paid up to date and there are no outstanding HMRC claims;
• Preparation of the Estate accounts and distribution of the estate in accordance with the terms of the Will.

The costs of this type of work would vary significantly and would be considered on its own merit, and dependant upon the assets that need to be dealt with and the complexity.

On a matter where there is:-

• a valid will
• no more than one property and the value of the estate doesn’t exceed £325,000
• no more than 5 bank or building society accounts
• no other intangible assets
• no more than 4 beneficiaries
• no disputes between beneficiaries on division of assets. If disputes arise this is likely to lead to an increase in costs
• no claims made against the estate and no inheritance tax payable and the executors do not need to submit a full account to HMRC
• the estate does not include:

A business, farms, farmhouses or farmland, an interest in another estate, loans or mortgages payable to the deceased, foreign assets, assets held in trust, national Heritage assets or unlisted stocks and shares and control holdings.

On average, estates that fall within the above range are dealt with within 3 – 6 months. Typically, obtaining the grant of probate from court can take between 2 -6 weeks. Collecting assets then follows, which can take between 4 – 8 weeks. We aim to do this as promptly as possible.

Once this has been done, we can distribute the assets, which normally takes another 4 – 8 weeks.

Our costs could be charged in two different ways.

Our fees for administration of the estate are based upon the size of the estate and the level of complexity of the matter.  Generally speaking we charge 1.5% of the gross value of the Estate plus VAT.  The gross estate is the total of the assets in the estate including property and any lifetime gifts which have been reported to HMRC.  By way of example

An estate valued at £125,000 our legal fees would be £1875.00 + VAT at 20%.

An estate valued at £300,000 our legal fees would be £4500.00 + VAT at 20%.

An estate valued at £500,000 our legal fees would be £7,500.00 + VAT at 20%

If the circumstances require an hourly rate basis, this could be between £180 and £260 plus VAT per hour depending on who is best dealing with the matter. We would discuss this with you when taking your instructions.

When you instruct us we will send a letter to you setting out the basis we will send a letter to you setting out the basis upon which we will charge our fees.

Possible Disbursements:

• Probate application fee of £155 plus £1.50p per copy
• Bankruptcy-only Land Charges Department searches (£2 per beneficiary)
• Land Registry Official Copy of Title £6.00
• £69.50 plus VAT Post in The London Gazette – Protects against unexpected claims from unknown creditors.
• £300 – £350 plus VAT Post in a Local Newspaper – This also helps to protect against unexpected claims.

The experience of the people who may carry out the work for you:

The professional details of the firm’s specialist Probate lawyers are stated on the Wills Probate and Lasting Powers of Attorney page on our website. All work is undertaken under the supervision of a Director.