Non-Contentious Probate Costs

Your case will be dealt with by Lisa Caine. Your LPA will be dealt with by Hayley Brown,

 Fixed Fee

Our minimum charges for obtaining a Grant of Representation on behalf of the estate are £600 plus VAT at 20 (and any additional disbursements).

Non-Fixed Fee

Should you wish for us to deal with the administration of the estate which would include;

• Ascertain the assets and liabilities comprised in the estate and register the death
• Complete Inland Revenue Account IHT 400/205 for your approval, calculate the Inheritance Tax payable and organise the initial payment of this
• Prepare Oath for Executors and attend with you on the signing of all of the probate papers before a Commissioner for Oaths
• Lodging the Inland Revenue Account IHT 400/205 with the Capital Taxes Office and obtaining their receipt and sending all of the papers to the Probate Registry to extract Grant of Probate
• Register the grant where necessary and deal with the transfer or encashment of assets
• Settle all liabilities
• Pay over legacies
• Deal with all enquiries raised by the Capital Taxes Office relating to the value of the assets and where necessary disclose to them variances with date of death values. Obtain clearance from that office before finalising the estate

Our charges will be calculated mainly by reference to the time spent by me and by other solicitors and executive staff dealing with this matter. The hourly rate is £160.00 per hour plus VAT at 20%. This includes advising, attending upon you and others, dealing with papers, correspondence, e-mails, telephone calls, travelling and waiting time.

Please note Probate charges do not include conveyancing cost associated with the disposal of real owned by the estate.

The charges are recorded against the fee-earners hourly charge out rate. The hour is divided into 10 six-minute segments called a ‘Unit‘. Each Unit costs one tenth of the fee earners’ hourly rate.

Routine letters/e-mails that we write and routine telephone calls that we make and receive will be charged as units of one tenth of an hour. Routine letters/e-mails received will be charged at one-tenth of an hour. Other longer letters will be charged on a time basis. All additional document work and attendances in person will be charged on a time basis.

Therefore, the total costs of the transaction are determined by the complexity of the assets held by the deceased rather that the value of the estate. However, some reasonable estimates are provided below:

Simple Estates: Straight-forward Will. Estate comprising only bank and building society accounts and either no real property or a family home. IHT 205 required – £1500-£2000 plus VAT at 20%.

Moderate Estates: Straight-forward Will. Estate comprising bank and building society accounts, possibly NS&I products, some property, small amounts of shares. Possible TNRB required. IHT 205/non-complex IHT 400 required – £2000-£3000 plus VAT at 20%.

Complex Estates: Possible complex Will including Trusts. Investment portfolios or property portfolios. Private limited company shares. BPR or APR elements. IHT 400 required – £3500-£15000 plus VAT at 20%.

HNW/Ultra HNW Estates: By their nature High Net Worth and Ultra High Net Worth estates are usually complex. They may include foreign or extra jurisdictional issues. Complex or unusual assets. Complex company structures and complex taxation issues the value element of between 0.5% relating to property and 1% relating to other assets. IHT 400 required – £5000-£40000 plus VAT at 20%.

Third Party disbursements will be required during the Probate process. These will likely include the following:

Death Certificate – £20.00
Probate Registry Fee – £273.00
Additional Grant of Probate copies – £1.50

Key stages

Grant of Probate

• Provide advice in relation to the Grant of Probate and the process
• Completion of IHT 205
• Application to Probate Registry for the Grant of Probate
• Providing copies of the Grant of Probate

Administration of the Estate

• As above
• Collecting in of assets, communication with DWP and HMRC
• Identifying and verifying beneficiaries
• Identifying liabilities
• Preparing Estate Accounts
• Payment of specific legacies
• Distribution of Estate

Timescales

On average, the distribution of estates can take between 6 to 12 months depending on the size and complexity of the estate and the turnaround times for third party agencies such as the Probate Registry. The Registry is currently experiencing delays and as such, the time to issue a Grant of Probate/Letters of Administration could be on average take from 6 to 12 weeks. Collecting assets then follows, which can take between 2-3 months. Once this has been done, we can distribute the Estate within 1 month however this can take longer if there is a property in the Estate.