PLEASE NOTE: The bald pricing figures below do not tell the whole story (and by their very nature we are obliged to caveat them to warn that, should you choose to instruct us, actual quoted cost to your individual circumstances might be different), so we encourage you to contact or speak with one of our solicitors for them to understand your needs so that they can quote you personally.
________________________________________________________________________________________________
WHO DOES THE WORK?
Our probate work is undertaken by Ingmar Heil, a Solicitor qualified in 2002 and who deals with all of the private client services we offer outside of conveyancing.
________________________________________________________________________________________________
WHAT ARE THE PRICES?
We offer flexibility in our approach to probate work and in the pricing of our probate work.
We can undertake any probate or estate administration work on a time spent basis, charging for what we do in units of 6 minutes at Ingmar’s hourly rate of £217 plus VAT (£260.40).
We can otherwise undertake work on a fixed fee basis, agreed with you in advance.
The starting point is usually a fixed fee of 1% of the gross value of the estate, plus VAT.
We mostly agree bespoke fixed fee prices for the majority of our clients, fixed at the beginning of their matter at a single figure.
PAST EXAMPLES:
At their simplest, past fixed fees have started at £1,500 inclusive of VAT to obtain a Grant of Probate only, in estates where there is a Will, a single Executor, simple assets (all of which were in the UK) and no inheritance tax to pay so only a short form inheritance tax account (IHT 205) required.
In a more middling example, fixed fee work undertaken for past clients has been at £5,650 inclusive of VAT charged for not only obtaining a Grant of Probate but also collecting in all assets and distributing them, in an estate where there was a Will, two Executors, simple but numerous assets (all of which were in the UK) and whilst there was no inheritance tax to pay (because the total value of the estate was below inheritance tax free allowances) there was a house being inherited by adult children and to utilise a transferable residence nil rate band from the first parent who died many years ago, a full form inheritance tax account (IHT400 with schedules) was required and had to be submitted to HMRC.
Towards the upper end, work has been undertaken at £9,500 inclusive of VAT for doing everything from valuing assets, obtaining Grant of Probate, paying inheritance tax and collecting in all assets and distributing them, in a relatively complex estate where there was a Will, three Executors (one of whom renounced the role), numerous assets (all of which were in the UK) including property and shares, where the deceased person had been making lifetime gifts and regular payments out of income and where a full form inheritance tax account (IHT400 with schedules) was required and had to be submitted to HMRC.
________________________________________________________________________________________________
WHAT OTHER COSTS ARE THERE?
In addition to our prices, there will always be disbursements (the name given to costs payable to third parties) which would be the same at any firm. Because they are set by the third parties who receive the payments, they may vary but are usually:
- Probate Registry fee £155 (if application is made through a solicitor)
- official copies of Grant of Representation £1.50 (per copy if obtained at same time as the Grant)
- swearing of Executors’ Oath £7 (for each executor)
- Notices posted in the London Gazette and local newspaper to help protect executors from unexpected claims from unknown creditors, starting at around £240 plus VAT
- Bankruptcy searches against beneficiaries £2 (per beneficiary)
________________________________________________________________________________________________
WHAT IS THE PROBATE PROCESS?
No two estates are the same and much varies (including timescales) depending on the size, value and assets of an estate. In very general terms, the following things often have to be done in most estates and you can choose to ask us to assist in some or all, at your discretion:
- identifying the last Will, the legally appointed executors or administrators and the beneficiaries
- ascertaining the assets and liabilities of the estate
- calculating taxes due
- obtaining a grant of representation (completing relevant HMRC forms and the documents needed for the probate application)
- collecting the assets
- paying debts, taxes and administration expenses
- producing estate accounts
- distributing monies due to beneficiaries
You should expect, generally, for things to take many months. At its simplest, if we assist you to obtain a Grant of Probate only, in an estate where there is a Will, you are the sole Executor, there are simple assets (all of which were in the UK) for which you can provide full information and there is no inheritance tax to pay, Grant can potentially be achieved within around 2 months.
Return to the start: Our Prices
