Probate & Administration Fees

Probate Services and Key Stages of the Process

Price Proposals with clear, set fees

We charge slightly differently to other solicitors – we charge a bespoke price for your case, and the work you would like us to do. This price is not formed from a classic ‘hourly rate’, but is an amount agreed between ourselves and you based on the amount of work that needs doing, the complexity of the work, the length of time we need to be involved, the risk of the work, amongst many other factors.

We do not believe that charging the classic ‘percentages’ of an estate is a fair approach to charging, and therefore we do not charge percentages of estates.

A full proposal of costs will always be provided to you before any fee-generating work is carried out, and we are always happy to discuss the contents of the proposal. Our work is subject to VAT, which is currently 20%.

Key Stages of Estate Administration – Your Matter from Start to Finish

1. We receive your enquiry for our services, and we will either arrange a meeting to discuss it with you in one of our offices or via Teams. If this isn’t possible, we can discuss the issue over the phone.

2. You will meet with your dedicated solicitor, who will review the documents that you provide and explain the services that we can offer. They will also help to identify any complex matters at this point that can be foreseen, such as a missing beneficiary or a defective Will. This meeting is free of charge to you, to make sure you are getting the best advice and service.

3. We will provide you with a bespoke quotation document, listing all of the actions we will take for you in your matter, broken down into 4 distinct stages:

Before the Grant of Representation
Applying for the Grant of Representation
Collecting in Assets and Paying Liabilities after the Grant of Representation
The Final Distribution.

We will also let you know what work isn’t included in our bespoke quotation. Usual examples of this will be any trust work, or changes to your own Will.

4. Once you instruct us, we will require your identification documentation for our internal requirements. Once this is received, we can begin work.

5. Our first task is to establish all of the assets and liabilities that the deceased person had on the exact date that they died. This is important, because it helps to establish whether Inheritance Tax (IHT) is payable. We may undertake unknown asset searches if you wish us too. At the end of this stage, we look to provide a full list of assets and liabilities as at the date of death.

6. Once we have established this, we look to submit the Inheritance Tax return (if there is one) and apply for the Grant of Representation (Probate).

7. After the Grant of Representation is received, we look to collect in all of the assets, pay all liabilities and prepare estate accounts to show you exactly what has come in and gone out of the estate. These estate accounts will also show the exact amount of inheritance each beneficiary receives.

8. We will make the payments to the beneficiaries on behalf of the executors so that they can finalise the estate, knowing that their personal liability (their duty to the estate) is fully completed.

Of course, each estate is different, and some estates take a longer or shorter time than others, depending on their complexity.

Below we have provided some examples of simple and complex estates, and their likely charges.

Timescales

We always tell our clients to prepare for the “Executor’s Year”, which is an accepted legal concept and is the timeframe in which we hope to have completed the majority of estates. However, just as two people are never the same, two estates are never the same, and so it is important to bear in mind that the more complex the assets, the longer the administration will take.

As administration is essentially the coming together of all institutions in a person’s live, including the addition of HMRC, the time scales for the completion of an estate are heavily dependent on the third parties.

Wait times at banks, HMRC and the Probate Courts change all the time. Contact Us to find out about the current expected timeframes.

Administration of an estate – applying for the Grant, collecting and distributing the assets

As all matters are different, it is very hard to estimate a price for a typical matter. We have demonstrated some rough examples below, but it is important to discuss your unique circumstances with us for us to generate a price.

Estate A contains:

1. 3 bank accounts, with a total value of £100,000
2. No property
3. 5 beneficiaries
4. Inheritance Tax is not due
5. 2 lay executors, who work well together

An estimate in this case would be around £5,000, plus VAT at 20% (total cost of £6,000), plus any disbursements.

Estate B contains:

5 bank accounts, with a total value of £100,000
Investment portfolio
A property, which is vacant, and which we need to visit to ensure insurances are valid and arrange regular inspection visits to comply with insurance requirements
Inheritance Tax is due
Lawson West Solicitors are appointed as Executors
A possible claim to the estate from someone excluded from the Will
1 beneficiary
We are required to register the death and arrange the funeral

An estimate in this case would be around £20,000, plus VAT at 20% (total cost of £24,000), plus any disbursements.

Estate C contains:

No will
Family tree that requires tracing
Family members as administrators, and they do not speak to each other
3 bank accounts, with a total value of £200,000
Investment portfolio
A property, which is vacant, and which we need to visit to ensure insurances are valid
10 beneficiaries

An estimate in this case would be around £18,000, plus VAT at 20% (total cost of £21,600), plus any disbursements.

We can handle the full process for you. As part of our fee we will:

Provide you with a dedicated and experienced Probate solicitor
Identify the legally appointed executors and beneficiaries
Complete HMRC Inheritance Tax Forms (where applicable)
If Inheritance Tax is payable, this must be paid before the Grant of Probate or Grant of Letters of Administration is granted by the Court. We can assist with liasing with HMRC to pay the Inheritance Tax
Correspond with all the relevant banks, building societies, and asset holders
Correspond with all utility providers (if the property is vacant)
Identify the type of Probate application you will require
Obtain the relevant documents required to make the application
Complete the Probate Application and relevant HMRC forms
Draft a Legal Statement for the executors to sign
Make the application to the Probate Court on your behalf
Obtain the Grant of Probate
Collect and realise all assets in the estate
Pay estate liabilities
Pay cash legacies
Prepare Estate Accounts
Distribute the remainder of the Estate to the beneficiaries

Disbursements anticipated within Probate work are:

Probate application fee of £300 (No VAT to pay)
Statutory Notice in London Gazette – protects against unexpected claims from unknown creditors (estimate £110.40 including VAT)
Statutory Notice in Local Newspaper – this also helps to protect against unexpected claims (estimate £162.00 including VAT)
Pre-distribution checks (estimate £24 including VAT) per beneficiary
Each official sealed copy of the Grant £16 (no VAT)
Land Registry Searches £8.40 (including VAT) for each property in the estate.
The disbursement fees above are based on a non-complex estate with minimal Inheritance Tax advice, if any.
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. The fee charged for Statutory Notices will depend upon the content of the notice. There is no VAT charged for court fees and more about court fees can be found here.
We will clearly discuss with you what work we are not including in your proposal, although you are welcome to include these services if you need or require them. Examples of frequently excluded works (and excluded in the estimates above), are below.
If the estate includes shares, additional fees will be payable to a Stockbroker or the Share Registrars to deal with the sale or transfer of the shares

An example of services that may not be included in the price range above

Dealing with the sale or transfer of any property in the estate, although this can be added to the service we offer
If there is a need to prepare a Deed of Variation, although this can be added to the service we offer
If there is a need to prove the validity of the Will, although this can be added to the service we offer
If the estate consists of foreign property or assets. This will include bank accounts or property in Jersey, Guernsey, Isle of Man or Ireland as well as other Countries. Additional work will be required to obtain a Grant for the relevant country.
If it is necessary to claim a partial Spousal/Civil Partner Transferable Nil Rate Band, the executors will need to submit a full account to HMRC although this can be added to the service we offer
If it is necessary to claim the Residence Nil Rate Band and/or Transferable Nil Rate Band, the executors will need to submit a full account to HMRC although this can be added to the service we offer
Completion of Income Tax Returns and/or Capital Gains Tax Returns, although we would be happy to assist you with finding a suitable Accountant to carry out work on your behalf.