Probate Fees Explained

You will always be informed who will be responsible for handling the work on your file and (if different) who is the partner with overall responsibility. Leslie Conway is in charge of all Probate Work. Leslie is the senior partner and has over 30 years experience and will personally undertake all the Probate work.

You should feel free to contact Leslie at any time on any aspect of the work. If for any reason he is unavailable you can speak to his secretary who will either be familiar with the latest developments or will, at least, take and pass on a message. Appointments can also be made.

Like most solicitors our charges for work are based on the time spent dealing with the matter charged out at the charging rates of the personnel involved. These rates are based on the level of experience of the person carrying out the work as reflected in their status. Time spent will include meetings with you (and others) as well as considering, preparing and working on papers, correspondence (letter, fax or email) and making and receiving telephone calls. Routine letters, e-mails, faxes and routine telephone calls made and received will be charged in units of 1/10th of an hour but longer communications will be charged for on a time basis. Our time is recorded in units of 1/10th of an hour i.e. 6 minutes per unit. We will provide details of our applicable charging rates at the outset of any matter. We will add VAT to our charges at the prevalent rate. Charge out rates are reviewed annually, and we will notify you in writing of any increased rate.

In addition to the time spent, our charges may take into account a number of additional factors which include the complexity of the issues, the speed at which action must be taken, work done outside normal working hours, the expertise or specialist knowledge that the case requires and, if appropriate, the value of the property or subject matter involved.

When acting in the administration of an estate, our charges will also include a “value element” which is a percentage of the gross (pre-tax) value of the Estate, as the monetary value involved is one measure of the extent of responsibility falling on us. . The actual percentages vary depending on the circumstances of the matter. According to Law Society Guidelines, we may charge a value element of up to 1% of the gross value of the Estate (excluding the value of the deceased’s home if this was owned) and up to ½% on the value of the deceased’s home. This value element may be increased to 1½% and ¾% respectively if one of the partners acts as a Personal Representative, either alone or in conjunction with others, in order to reflect the level of increased responsibility and the possibility of personal financial liability as a result.

In all matters, there may also be other expenses which we pay on your behalf (called disbursements) and for which you will be responsible, for example court fees, Barristers’ fees, search fees and Land Registry fees. VAT is payable on some of these expenses.

We do not act in respect of any disputed matter or in respect of an Estate with overseas property or assets (overseas meaning outside England and Wales).

Simple Estates

These are estates which can be dealt with under the Return of Estates Information Form meaning where the person who has died was domiciled in the UK at the date of the death and gross value of the estate is in accordance with the use of form IHT205.

The work generally involves applying for the Grant, collecting and distributing the assets.

We anticipate this will take between 10 and 15 hours work at £250.00 per hour plus vat.

The Average Total Estimated Costs will be in the region of £2,500.00 plus vat.

The exact cost will depend on the individual circumstances of the matter.  For example, if there is one beneficiary and no property, costs will be at the lower end of the range and may be less as we only charge for the work we carry out. Generally we do not charge a percentage of the Estate and if we do we will advise prior to undertaking the work.  If there are multiple beneficiaries, a property and multiple bank accounts, costs will be at the higher end.

We will handle the full process for you.

This illustration applies where the estate has:

• A valid Will
• There is no more than one property
• There are no more than two bank or building society accounts
• There are a maximum of 4 beneficiaries
• There are no disputes
• There is no Inheritance Tax payable and a full HMRC account does not need to be filed.
• There are no claims against the estate

Disbursements In Addition To Our Fee Above:

Potential Additional Costs:

• If there is no Will or the estate consists of any shareholdings (stocks and bonds) there are likely to be additional costs such as obtaining a valuation.
• Dealing with the sale or transfer of any property in the estate is not included.

On average, estates that fall within this range are dealt with within 6 months provided all the financial information is available.  Typically, obtaining the Grant of Probate takes 6-8 weeks once the application is lodged with the Registry.  Collecting assets then follows, which can take between 6-9 weeks depending on the Institutions who are asked to release funds.  Once this has been done, we can distribute the assets, which normally takes 3 – 6 weeks.

More Complicated Estates

Those estates over the Inheritance Tax Threshold and which require an Inheritance Tax payment and the completion of forms IHT400.

These forms can be lengthy as a form must be completed for each asset, eg. a property; bank accounts, etc.

We anticipate that between 15 to 40 hours work is required at £250.00 plus vat per hour.

The average costs would be in the region of £6,000.00 plus vat

Disbursements

These are the same as for a simple estate but there may be additional fees for the valuation of properties and shares etc.

Any charges for selling or transferring a property will charged separately.

VAT

With the exception of Court Fees Land Registry and Tax All fees and disbursements attract VAT at the prevailing rate. Where VAT is not payable you will be advised. The prevailing Vat rate is presently 20%

How long will this take?

On average, estates that fall within this range are dealt with within 9-12 months.  However, we send the forms to the Revenue and we do not have any control over how long they take to deal with the matter and respond by returning the form needed to accompany the Oath when applying for the Grant.

Typically, obtaining the Grant of Probate takes 6-8 weeks once the application is lodged with the Registry.  Collecting assets then follows, which can take between 4 - 6 weeks.  Once this has been done, we can distribute the assets, which normally takes 2 - 3 weeks.

Please note that it has been our experience since Covid 19 that the time limits given above to have  substantially affected owing to government staff shortages and in some cases the time taken has doubled. Updated 27-02-2022