When someone dies, in order to deal with their estate the first stage is usually to apply for and obtain the grant of probate or letters of administration. For further information on the process of obtaining probate and estate administration, please use the links which will take you to Legal Choices website, which can explain in full detail. If you would like us to assist you, our charges for these services (which exclude any costs in relation to the sale or transfer of any property in the estate), are as follows:
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Our Fees |
Third party Disbursements | ||
| Obtaining the Grant of Probate only where there is a valid will and no inheritance tax account is due to be delivered.
The key steps of the probate process, if an inheritance tax account is not required to be submitted, are as follows: Step 1 : Take your instructions to establish the value of the estate. In a typical estate we would expect it to take you between 1-3 months to collate the estate value and provide us with full instructions. Step 2: Draft the Legal Statement for your approval and submission to extract probate. The legal statement is usually prepared, for your, approval within 10 working days of receipt of full instructions for your approval and once signed and approved submitted to the Probate registry within 5 working days. The probate registry are currently advising that it can take up to 16 weeks, from acknowledgement which can take two weeks, for probate to be extracted unless they have any queries then it will take longer. In practice it usually takes between 4-6 weeks for probate to be extracted. This service does not include:
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£1,850 – £2,300 plus VAT (at a rate of 20%) | Probate Fees £300 + £16.00 for each additional copy
Land charges search £6 Bankruptcy Search – £6 per person |
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| Obtaining the Grant of Probate only where there is a valid will and no inheritance tax is payable and a full inheritance tax account is due to be delivered.
The key steps of the probate process, if an inheritance tax account is required to be submitted, are as follows: Step 1 : Take your instructions to establish the value of the estate. In a typical estate we would expect it to take you between 1-3 months to collate the estate value and provide us with full instructions. Step 2: Draft the Inheritance tax account for your approval and submission. On receipt of full instructions, in a typical estate we would expect this to take 4 to 8 weeks. Step 3: Draft the Legal Statement for your approval and submission to extract probate. The legal statement can be prepared, on receipt of confirmation from HMRC which takes up to 20 working days, after submission of the inheritance tax account, assuming the first installment of tax has been settled. The legal statement is usually prepared, for your, approval within 10 working days of confirmation from HMRC for your approval and once signed and approved submitted to the Probate registry within 5 working days. The probate registry are currently advising that it can take up to 16 weeks, from acknowledgement which can take two weeks, for probate to be extracted unless they have any queries then it will take longer. In practice it usually takes between 4-6 weeks for probate to be extracted. To summarise, we would expect the process to take between 4 to 8 months. For non-standard estates these timeframes may differ. This service does not include:
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£3000 – £5000 plus VAT (at a rate of 20%) |
As above
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| Obtaining Grant of Letters of Administration where there is no valid Will (or with Will Annexed) and no inheritance tax account is due to be delivered.
The key steps of the probate process, if an inheritance tax account is not required to be submitted, are as follows: Step 1 : Take your instructions to establish the value of the estate. In a typical estate we would expect it to take you between 1-3 months to collate the estate value and provide us with full instructions. Step 2: Draft the Legal Statement for your approval and submission to extract probate. The legal statement is usually prepared, for your, approval within 10 working days of receipt of full instructions for your approval and once signed and approved submitted to the Probate registry within 5 working days. The probate registry are currently advising that it can take up to 16 weeks, from acknowledgement which can take two weeks, for probate to be extracted unless they have any queries then it will take longer. In practice it usually takes between 4-6 weeks for probate to be extracted. This service does not include:
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£ 1,850 -£2,300 plus VAT (at a rate of 20%) | Probate Fees £300 + £1.50 for each additional copy
Land charges search £6 Bankruptcy Search £6.00 per person
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| Obtaining Grant of Letters of Administration where there is no valid Will (or with Will Annexed) and no inheritance tax payable, and a full inheritance tax account is due to be delivered.
The key steps of the probate process, if an inheritance tax account is required to be submitted, are as follows: Step 1 : Take your instructions to establish the value of the estate. In a typical estate we would expect it to take you between 1-3 months to collate the estate value and provide us with full instructions. Step 2: Draft the Inheritance tax account for your approval and submission. On receipt of full instructions, in a typical estate we would expect this to take 4 to 8 weeks. Step 3: Draft the Legal Statement for your approval and submission to extract probate. The legal statement can be prepared, on receipt of confirmation from HMRC which takes up to 20 working days, after submission of the inheritance tax account, assuming the first installment of tax has been settled. The legal statement is usually prepared, for your, approval within 10 working days of confirmation from HMRC for your approval and once signed and approved submitted to the Probate registry within 5 working days. The probate registry are currently advising that it can take up to 16 weeks, from acknowledgement which can take two weeks, for probate to be extracted unless they have any queries then it will take longer. In practice it usually takes between 4-6 weeks for probate to be extracted. To summarise, we would expect the process to take between 4 to 8 months. For non-standard estates these timeframes may differ. This service does not include:
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£3000 – £5000 plus VAT (at a rate of 20%) | As Above | |
For contentious probate matters please contact Fred Harrison-James
Full Estate Administration
If you are the personal representative of an estate, or are involved in estate administration, you are responsible for ensuring that the assets in the estate are safeguarded, any outstanding debts are discharged, the relevant tax is paid which in many cases includes claiming agricultural or business property reliefs and the estate is distributed in accordance with the terms of the Will or Intestacy Provisions. We have the expertise and skills to offer a full estate administration service tailored to our client’s needs.
After probate has been extracted, we would expect the full estate administration to take between 6 to 12 months unless it is particularly complicated. A full estate administration may include:
- Collecting cash assets.
- Attending to property and land transfers.
- Preparing estate accounts.
- Distributing the estate.
It would not include, selling property, land or buildings, anything contentious or completing any tax forms or advising on tax.
The exact cost will depend on the individual circumstances of the matter. 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 and multiple bank accounts, or there are challenges from HMRC as to claiming any inheritance tax reliefs, costs will be at the higher end.
Our charges are based on an hourly rate and will depend on the lawyer acting on your matter. This would be based on a blended rate. Our current hourly rates are between £320 to £440 plus VAT (at a rate of 20%). We do not charge a percentage of the estate as part of our fee structure, we only charge for the actual work undertaken.
Our fees are normally charged at our standard hourly rates for work carried out during our usual Monday to Friday business hours. If you ask us to act urgently, or require work to be completed outside these hours, a higher hourly rate might apply.
Typically estates can take between 20- 50 hours. Total costs estimated at £6,400 and £19,250 (plus VAT (at a rate of 20%) and disbursements)