Our Charges
Probate Services
Every individual, every family is different, which means that the administration of the estate also needs to be tailored to the circumstances at hand.
We offer a range of probate services to suit individual needs. We can help with any aspect of the administration process, whether that would be dealing with only the technical matters such as obtaining the Grant of Probate or dealing with Inheritance tax accounts or dealing with everything from registering the death to the final distribution.
We will review the estate and the level of support you require at the initial meeting. We will provide you with the estimate of costs so that you may consider and choose the most suitable service for you.
Our Experts
Please get in touch for information that is tailored to your individual needs.
Pricing
Our fees are calculated based on the hourly rate of £300+VAT. VAT is payable at a rate of 20%.
Grant of Probate only
Fees
£1200+VAT (£1,440.00)
Non-taxable excepted estates where the value of estate is up to £650,000 for married persons or £325,000 single persons and the full Inheritance Tax account is not necessary
Expenses to third party
- Court fees
- £300 for application
- £1.50 per copy of the grant
- ID checks £9.60 per person
- Land title check £8.80 each
- Bankruptcy checks £7.80 per person
- Certainty Will search if necessary £126
- Will retrieval costs if necessary of around £50
- Initial meeting.
- Preparing a schedule of assets and liabilities of the estate based on the information provided by you.
- Preparing the appropriate probate application documents
- Applying for and obtaining The Grant of Representation.
- All correspondence, telephone calls, meetings etc.
Fees
Non-taxable estate for spouse/civil partner or where the entire estate passes to charity valued more than £650,000 but up to £3M, no full Inheritance Tax account is necessary
Expenses to third party
- Court fees
- £300 for application
- £1.50 per copy of the grant
- ID checks £9.60 per person
- Land title check £8.80 each
- Bankruptcy checks £7.80 per person
- Certainty Will search if necessary £126
- Will retrieval costs if necessary of around £50
- Initial meeting.
- Preparing a schedule of assets and liabilities of the estate based on the information provided by you.
- Preparing the appropriate probate application documents
- Applying for and obtaining The Grant of Representation.
- All correspondence, telephone calls, meetings etc.
Fees
£2500+VAT (£3,000)
Non-taxable estates where an Inheritance Tax account is necessary because is it is necessary to claim residence nil rate band for the gift of property to direct descendants
Expenses to third party
- Court fees
- £300 for application
- £1.50 per copy of the grant
- ID checks £9.60 per person
- Land title check £8.80 each
- Bankruptcy checks £7.80 per person
- Certainty Will search if necessary £126
- Will retrieval costs if necessary of around £50
- Initial meeting.
- Preparing a schedule of assets and liabilities of the estate based on the information provided by you.
- Preparing Inheritance Tax account and submitting the same to HMRC
- Obtaining the necessary permission from HMRC to proceed to probate
- Preparing the appropriate probate application documents
- Applying for and obtaining The Grant of Representation.
- All correspondence, telephone calls, meetings etc.
Fees
Taxable estate up to the value of £1M because it exceeds Nil Rate Band of £325K or £650K and there are no direct descendants
Expenses to third party
- Court fees
- £300 for application
- £1.50 per copy of the grant
- ID checks £9.60 per person
- Land title check £8.80 each
- Bankruptcy checks £7.80 per person
- Certainty Will search if necessary £126
- Will retrieval costs if necessary of around £50
- Initial meeting.
- Preparing a schedule of assets and liabilities of the estate based on the information provided by you.
- Preparing Inheritance Tax account and submitting the same to HMRC
- Calculating tax due and arranging for payment to HMRC
- Obtaining the necessary permission from HMRC to proceed to probate
- Preparing the appropriate probate application documents
- Applying for and obtaining The Grant of Representation.
- All correspondence, telephone calls, meetings etc.
Fees
£5000+VAT (£6,000)
Taxable estates valued over £1M but up to £2M
Expenses to third party
- Court fees
- £300 for application
- £1.50 per copy of the grant
- ID checks £9.60 per person
- Land title check £8.80 each
- Bankruptcy checks £7.80 per person
- Certainty Will search if necessary £126
- Will retrieval costs if necessary of around £50
- Initial meeting.
- Preparing a schedule of assets and liabilities of the estate based on the information provided by you.
- Preparing Inheritance Tax account and submitting the same to HMRC
- Calculating tax due and arranging for payment to HMRC
- Obtaining the necessary permission from HMRC to proceed to probate
- Preparing the appropriate probate application documents
- Applying for and obtaining The Grant of Representation.
- All correspondence, telephone calls, meetings etc.
Fees
Hourly rate of £280+VAT (£336)
The work carried out in making the application and obtaining the Grant of Representation where the estate is valued from £2M to 3M and the estate is taxable
An estimate of costs will be provided based on the complexity of the matter and the level of work and time required – minimum cost £5000+VAT (£6,000)
Expenses to third party
- Court fees
- £300 for application
- £1.50 per copy of the grant
- ID checks £9.60 per person
- Land title check £8.80 each
- Bankruptcy checks £7.80 per person
- Certainty Will search if necessary £126
- Will retrieval costs if necessary of around £50
- Initial meeting.
- Preparing a schedule of assets and liabilities of the estate based on the information provided by you.
- Preparing Inheritance Tax account and submitting the same to HMRC
- Calculating tax due and arranging for payment to HMRC
- Obtaining the necessary permission from HMRC to proceed to probate
- Preparing the appropriate probate application documents
- Applying for and obtaining The Grant of Representation.
- All correspondence, telephone calls, meetings etc.
Estate Administration
Fees
Estates values up to £2M or up to £3M where the estate passes to spouse or charity
- Grant of Probate application as above
From £1200 +VAT (£1,440) to £5000+VAT (£6,000)
Plus administration
- Closing accounts (banks, savings, shares, investments etc.) -£420+VAT (£504) per institution
- Paying liabilities and debts – £420+VAT (£504) per debtor
- Preparing estate accounts – from £1680+VAT (£2,016) for estates up to £1M or £3360+VAT (£4,032) or estate values £1M-£2M
- Distribution to beneficiaries – £280+VAT (£336) per person/institution
Expenses to third party
- Creditors notices – approx. £200
- Court fees
- £300 for application
- £1.50 per copy of the grant
- ID checks £9.60 per person
- Land title check £8.80 each
- Bankruptcy checks £7.80 per person
- Bank transfer charges
- Certainty Will search if necessary £126
- Will retrieval costs if necessary of around £50
- Initial meeting.
- Preparing a schedule of assets and liabilities of the estate based on the information provided by you.
- Preparing Inheritance Tax account and submitting the same to HMRC
- Calculating tax due and arranging for payment to HMRC
- Obtaining the necessary permission from HMRC to proceed to probate
- Preparing the appropriate probate application documents
- Applying for and obtaining The Grant of Representation.
- Closing accounts
- Settling liabilities
- Preparing estate accounts
- Distributing funds to beneficiaries in accordance with the Will or Rules of Intestacy
- All correspondence, telephone calls, meetings etc.
Fees
Hourly rate of £280+VAT (£336) for the work carried out in administering the estate. Plus a charge equal to 0.5% of the value of the estate will be applied
An estimate of costs will be provided based on the complexity of the matter and the level of work and time required – minimum cost £15000+VAT (£1,800)
Expenses to third party
- Creditors notices –approx. £200
- Court fees
- £300 for application
- £1.50 per copy of the grant
- ID checks £9.60 per person
- Land title check £8.80 each
- Bankruptcy checks £7.80 per person
- Bank transfer charges
- Certainty Will search if necessary £140
- Will retrieval costs if necessary of around £50
- Initial meeting.
- Preparing a schedule of assets and liabilities of the estate based on the information provided by you.
- Preparing Inheritance Tax account and submitting the same to HMRC
- Calculating tax due and arranging for payment to HMRC
- Obtaining the necessary permission from HMRC to proceed to probate
- Preparing the appropriate probate application documents
- Applying for and obtaining The Grant of Representation.
- Closing accounts
- Settling liabilities
- Preparing estate accounts
- Distributing funds to beneficiaries in accordance with the Will or Rules of Intestacy
- All correspondence, telephone calls, meetings etc.
Example of estate costs
Estate up to the value of £650,000
Grant of Probate application with no tax, one surviving beneficiary
- Obtaining grant of probate – £1200.00
- Closing bank accounts with 2 banks – £840.00
- Closing investments with 2 companies – £840.00
- Dealing with 4 debts/liabilities – £1680.00
- Preparing estate accounts – £1680.00
- Distributing balance to beneficiary – £280.00
Total legal costs – £6520.00
Plus VAT – £1304.00
Total – £7824.00
Plus disbursements necessary for every transaction:
- Court fees – £300.00
- Copies of grant – £1.50 per copy
- ID checks – £9.60 per person
- Land Registry checks – £8.80 each
- Bankruptcy checks – £7.80 each
- Bank transfer admin fee – £49 plus VAT (£58.80) for every transaction
Total disbursements – £386.50
Total costs – £8210.50
Plus disbursements only if required depending on the circumstances of the case:
- Creditors notices – approx £200
- Will search – £126
- Will retrieval from storage – £50
- Asset search – approx. £250
WHAT IS NOT INCLUDED:
This service does not include the following:
- Dealing with DWP investigations – additional costs charged at an hourly rate would be applied to deal with the enquiries raised
- Dealing with income and capital gains taxes of the deceased or the estate – we can refer you to the appropriate service
- Varying the terms of the Will or Intestacy – this service can be provided separately as part of the estate planning for beneficiaries so please ask about this service
- Dealing with claims against the estate – we can refer you to an appropriate service
- Locating missing beneficiaries – we can refer you to an appropriate service
- Transferring or selling property – a conveyancing service will be required. We can refer you to a trusted service provider.
- Establishing or managing a trust under a Will – this service can be provided for post estate management so please ask about this service
- Searching for unknown assets – we can refer you to an appropriate service
FREE Initial Consultation
Get in touch
When it comes to legal processes, we know how daunting things can be, that's why we offer a FREE Initial consultation, so you can talk to an expert Family Lawyer and take the right steps from the start.