Probate

For Probate cases, we will sometimes provide a fixed-fee service (see below), but will usually charge the estate based on the work which is necessary in order to achieve what you ask us to do. The exact cost will depend on the individual circumstances of the matter, and we never charge you a percentage of the value of the estate in addition to the cost of the legal work (unlike many other firms), because we do not consider that to be fair to our clients. For example, if there is a Will, one beneficiary, with no disputes, and just one or two assets which are of high value, the cost of the time spent in administering the estate would be quite low, and it would simply not be appropriate to add to the cost of the work a percentage of the value of the assets.

 

Summary of Procedure

In order to be able to deal with estate assets, and transfer or sell/encash them, it is usually necessary to obtain a Grant of Probate. This is the legal document which proves to those holding the assets that the executors are the correct people from whom they can accept such instructions. In order to apply for a Grant of Probate, it is necessary to obtain valuations of all the assets and liabilities of the person who has died. If Inheritance Tax is payable, the tax must be paid before the Grant of Probate application can be submitted to the Probate Registry (although tax due on properties and agricultural or business assets can be postponed, and paid later).

 

Approximate timings

All estates are different, so all take different lengths of time to deal with, but our experience shows that the following aspects of the administration of a straightforward estate without Inheritance Tax to pay will usually take approximately the lengths of time indicated below:

• Period up to applying for the Grant of Probate - 4-6 weeks
• From application for Probate to receiving the Grant of Probate - 3 weeks
• Collecting assets and paying bills - 4 weeks
• Drafting estate accounts, obtaining approval of the accounts, and completing distribution of money and assets – 2 weeks.

If there is a property which needs to be sold, this will obviously affect the length of the estate administration.

If Inheritance Tax is payable, this will substantially affect the timings, as valuations will usually take longer, and it will take time to arrange payment of the Inheritance Tax, and to deal with any queries which HM Revenue & Customs may raise about the estate or the valuations, and the approximate timings would then be:

• Period up to applying for Grant of Probate – 8-10 weeks
• From application for Probate to receipt of Grant of Probate – 5-6 weeks (we have to wait for the HMRC receipt for payment of the Inheritance tax before applying to the Probate Registry, and this takes at least 2 weeks and often longer)
• Collecting assets and paying bills – 4 weeks
• Receiving and answering HMRC queries – 1-6 months
• Drafting estate accounts, obtaining approval of the accounts, and completing distribution of money and assets – 2 weeks.

 

Costs

We charge for the estate administration work based on the amount of work it is necessary for us to do, and we will take our clients’ instructions on how involved they wish to be. Some clients wish to carry out a lot of the administrative work themselves, perhaps notifying all the authorities, obtaining valuations, and then closing accounts and encashing assets, paying bills and legacies. Other clients do not wish to do any of that, and simply bring us bags or cases full of papers, and ask us to sort through it all, and do everything which needs to be done.

The hourly charging rates of our specialist Probate lawyers vary from £180 to £270 plus VAT of 20%. As can be seen, it is not possible to give a precise estimate for estate administration without a detailed examination of the facts of a particular case, but our experience shows that the legal charges are usually within the range of 1%-2% of the gross value of the estate.

For those clients who wish to carry out a lot of the administrative work themselves, notifying all the authorities, obtaining valuations, and then closing accounts and encashing assets, paying bills and legacies, they may instruct us only to complete the Probate Registry forms and an IHT205 form (with no Inheritance tax to pay). If so, we can then agree a fixed fee for doing just that work. Our fixed fee for this is £750 plus 20% VAT.

Fees will also have to be paid to third parties for various matters during the administration of an estate, and the usual third party fees are as follows:

• Solicitor/commissioner for oaths, to deal with the “swearing” of the executor’s oath - £7 per executor (£5 if there is no Will, and an additional £2 for each Codicil to a Will)
• Probate Registry fee - £155, plus 50p for each official copy of the Grant of Probate (NB: the Probate Registry fees are likely to be increased substantially in April 2020, if current proposals are passed by Parliament)
• Statutory notices - £150-£200 (protect executors against unexpected claims from unknown creditors)
• Bankruptcy-only Land Charges searches - £2 per beneficiary
• It may of course also be necessary to pay tax to HM Revenue & Customs (income tax, capital gains tax, inheritance tax or corporation tax, for example), and any such liability can only be calculated when all the necessary information has been collected.

We are happy to work in whichever way our clients want, in order to achieve their objectives.