As we are regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority, we are required to display prices and service information about our Uncontested Probate practice.
The new Transparency Rules aim to make sure you have the information you need to make an informed choice of legal services provider, including understanding what the costs may be.
Probate – pricing policy
It is difficult to publish comprehensive pricing information for Probate; this is because any given estate administration could be straightforward or incredibly complicated. No two people who die are ever the same, which means each estate is different.
1 – How we calculate our fees
We calculate our fees on the hourly rates of the fee earners involved in your matter and the time spent carrying out your instructions. This will depend upon whether there is a Will, the terms of the Will, the size and complexity of the estate and the type of assets involved.
It will also depend on how much of the estate administration you want the firm to do on your behalf. If we only act up until obtaining the Grant of Probate, this will be less expensive than asking us to deal with the estate right up until distributing the assets to the beneficiaries.
Once we have sufficient information about the estate, we will provide you with a tailored estimate. If further assets or complications come to light, we will discuss the impact of these on our fees with you first and agree the best way forward. You will always remain in control.
All hourly rates are currently set at £190 and our fee earners have at least 3 years qualified probate experience. No VAT is due on our fees.
2 – The average cost of service
In our experience, our fees can range from as little as £595 to help you obtain a Grant of Probate. If you are looking at help with the entire estate administration, we can only really provide you with a more precise estimate once we know a little more about the estate.
We have calculated an example estimate below to give you a model of our fees:
Estate Example 1:
Estate outline:
- There is a Will with 2-4 beneficiaries.
- There is only one property in the estate.
- There are no foreign assets or unmanaged private shares.
- No inheritance tax is due.
- No claims are being made against the estate and there are no disputes between beneficiaries.
Our service includes:
- Gathering the evidence needed for the probate application including ascertaining the assets and liabilities of the deceased.
- Preparing the probate and inheritance tax papers.
- Assisting you to sign the paperwork.
- Submitting the application on your behalf and liaising with the relevant bodies.
- Collecting in the estate assets or their sale value.
- Dealing with HMRC.
- Paying any debts, taxes, legacies and funeral and administration expenses from the estate.
- Preparing full estate accounts and tax returns.
- Distributing the estate to the entitled beneficiaries.
Fee estimate: 10 to 20 hours at £190 per hour = £1,900 to £3,800
3 – Excluded Services
Our fees do not include conveyancing work for the sale of property. This will need to be carried out by a registered conveyancer.
4 – Third-party expenses
In addition to our fees, there may be expenses payable to third parties that need to be paid by you. Likely expenses include death certificates (£11 per copy) and the fee for the grant of representation (£273) and additional copies (£1.50 per copy).
Further third-party expenses will depend on the type of assets in the estate. If any additional expenses need to be incurred, we shall let you know the reason for the extra expense, the likely amount and when we need payment.
5 – Timescales
The time taken to complete the estate administration will largely depend on the assets in the estate and your instructions. The average estate administration takes between 6 -12 months to complete. However, a sale of property may mean the estate takes over 12 months to complete.