Please note that the costs information given here is generic and more precise and personalised information will be provided in your Client Care Letter and as your matter progresses. Should you wish to discuss this in more detail then please contact or Danielle Hanson for more information.
Obtaining Grant of Probate, Letters of Administration Only (Fixed Fee)
We can help you through this difficult process by obtaining the Grant of Probate or Letters of Administration on your behalf. This includes obtaining the Grant and ascertaining the value of assets for Inheritance Tax purposes. This costs £550.00 plus VAT.
Disbursements which may be required to be paid:
• Probate application fee which is £155.00 plus £1.50 for each copy of the Grant that is required.
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.
As part of our fixed fee service we will:
• Provide you with a dedicated and experienced probate lawyer to work on your matter
• Identify the legally appointed executors or administrators and beneficiaries
• Accurately identify the type of Probate application you will require
• Obtain the relevant documents required to make the application
• Complete the Probate Application and the relevant HMRC forms
• Make the application to the Probate Court on your behalf
• Obtain the Probate and send copies to you
• Collect and distribute all assets in the estate
Applying for the grant, collecting and distributing the assets
We anticipate this will take between 8 and 12 hours work at £200.00 per hour. Total costs estimated at between £1600.00 and £2400.00 plus VAT.
The exact cost will depend on the amount of time taken to deal with the matter, which will depend upon the individual circumstances. For example, if there is one beneficiary and no property, costs will be at the lower end of the range. If there are multiple beneficiaries, a property and multiple bank accounts, costs will be at the higher end.
We can handle the full process for you. This quote is for estates where:
• There is a valid will
• There is no more than one property
• There are no more than 3 bank or building society accounts
• There are no other intangible assets
• There are only immediate family as beneficiaries
• There are no disputes between beneficiaries on division of assets. If disputes arise this is likely to lead to an increase in costs
• There is no inheritance tax payable and the executors do not need to submit a full account to HMRC
• There are no claims made against the estate
Disbursements which may be required to be paid:
• Probate application fee which is £155.00 plus £1.50 for each copy of the Grant that is required
• Bankruptcy-only Land Charges Department searches (£2.00 per beneficiary)
• Post in The London Gazette – Protects against unexpected claims from unknown creditors, to be advised.
• Post in a Local Newspaper – This also helps to protect against unexpected claims, to be advised.
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.
Potential additional costs
• If there is no will or the estate consists of any share holdings (stocks and bonds) there is likely to be additional costs that could range significantly depending on the estate and how it is to be dealt with. We can give you a more accurate quote once we have more information.
• If any additional copies of the grant are required, they will cost £1.50 each (1 per asset usually).
• Dealing with the sale or transfer of any property in the estate is not included.
How long will this take?
On average, estates that fall within this range are dealt with in approximately 9 months. Typically, obtaining the grant of probate takes 4 to 8 weeks. Collecting assets then follows, which can take between 8-12 weeks. Once this has been done, we can distribute the assets, which normally takes 6-9 months.
Stages of Process
• Provide you with a dedicated and experienced probate lawyer to work on your matter
• Identify the legally appointed executors or administrators and beneficiaries
• Accurately identify the type of Probate application you will require
• Obtain the relevant documents required to make the application
• Complete the Probate Application and the relevant HMRC forms
• Make the application to the Probate Court on your behalf
• Obtain the Probate and send copies to you
• Collect and distribute all assets in the estate and provide Estate Accounts