Probate Fees

We can help you with the whole process of ascertaining the extent of the estate – notifying asset holders such as banks, ISA providers, obtaining valuations of stocks and shares, arranging valuations of properties, dealing with HMRC; preparing the necessary Inheritance Tax forms, the online Legal Statement for executors or administrators or the paper application form when necessary, and applying for the grant; then completing the application forms to close accounts, sell or transfer shares and ISA holdings, gathering in the assets; and distributing the funds to the beneficiaries in accordance with the Will or the intestacy rules.

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Our work will include:

1. Providing you with a dedicated and experienced probate solicitor to work on your matter
2. Identifing the legally appointed executors or administrators and beneficiaries
3. Accurately identifing the type of probate application needed
4. Obtaining the relevant documents required to make the application
5. Preparing the Probate Application and the relevant HMRC forms for the executors or administrators to sign
6. Submitting Inheritance Tax forms to HMRC and arranging payment of tax from the deceased's banks or other asset holders
7. Making the application to the Probate Court on your behalf
8. Obtaining the grant and sealed copies
9. Reporting estate income to HMRC and paying any tax due
10. Seeking rebates of Inheritance Tax where assets have been sold for less than their probate value
11. Preparing estate accounts for approval
12. Collecting and distributing the Estate to the beneficiaries

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Our fees

We can charge on an hourly rate basis, or we can agree a fixed fee with you.

These are similar to our estimates because we try to fix a fee which will cover the work we expect to do, but we add a small margin for error in order to give you certainty as to what you will pay.

An estate worth around £1,000,000 including a property worth about £700,000, a number of uncomplicated investments and several bank accounts, would attract a fee between £15,000 and £18,000 depending on the likely complexity of the assets when we see the full papers available. The fixed fee would include:

• If appropriate, doing an asset search (the fee of round £165 would be a disbursement added to our invoice) to check for any assets which may not be obvious from the deceased's papers
• If appropriate, advertising for creditors to come forward – to ensure any debts are taken into account before the estate is distributed (again, the advertising fees of between £100 and £200 would be disbursements added to our invoice – but this is also not always necessary)
• Preparing inheritance tax forms (IHT400 and accompanying schedules) including forms to claim the Residence Nil Rate band, and to transfer the Nil Rate Band and Residence Nil Rate band from a deceased spouse and advising on any obvious inheritance tax issues arising (e.g., re gifts in last 7 years or the possibility of saving tax by using a deed of variation)
• Preparing the online probate application and arranging for you to sign it
• On receipt of the grant of probate, completing all necessary forms to close accounts, sell or transfer shares, and gather in the assets
• Preparing final accounts
• Calculating any Income tax or Capital Gains tax payable on income or gains made on assets during the administration period
• Distributing the net estate in accordance with the Will or the intestacy rules

The fixed fee does not cover any disputes which may arise during the administration of the estate, such as a claim under the Inheritance (Provision for Family & Dependants) Act 1975; nor does it cover the costs of any work preparing a deed of disclaimer or deed of variation. If any such work becomes necessary, we will advise you and give you an estimate for the likely costs.We would be happy to discuss the particular circumstances of the estate with which you are dealing and to give you an estimate (on an hourly rated basis) or to quote a fixed fee.When quoting a fixed fee, we reserve the right to alter this once we have seen the papers relating to the estate as we may find more issues and complexity than was apparent when we had our discussions with you; we will advise you about these matters and give a revised figure for you to agree. We sometimes find that there are issues with the validity of the Will, or where there is no Will, there is a need to investigate the family tree to ascertain who is entitled to benefit from the estate. In some cases, more investigations into the extent of the assets may be needed and there may be a need to obtain insurance in relation to missing beneficiaries. These will all affect how much work we will have to do and therefore how much we charge.

1. Notice to creditors – advertising for possible debts before you distribute the estate – (usually £200 – £250)
2. Valuation fees – these vary but between £150 and £450 plus VAT
3. Landmark Asset search – £135 plus VAT
4. Certainty Will search – £45.60 to £114 plus VAT

Administering the whole estate from start to finish will normally take 6 to 12 months. It can be longer if there are complicating factors, or it takes time to sell a property. It is sensible to wait 10 months after the grant of probate is issued in case of any claims being made against the estate; this isn’t always necessary where the executors are sure that there aren’t any unknown debts or assets, and there aren’t any people who might be able to claim a share of the estate.

Our Wills and Probate service is headed by Beth King who has been a solicitor for over 30 years. Beth is a partner and a member of the LLP. She is assisted by a small team of assistants.