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Our team will deliver high quality work in all matters relating to Wills and estate administration. The team has particular expertise in high value estates and inheritance tax matters.
Estates vary greatly in both value and complexity. Your estate will be dealt with by fee earners whose expertise is appropriate to the task in hand
Hourly Rates
Our service is tailored to individuals’ needs as no two estate administrations are the same.
To this end, we aim to provide a clear and transparent indication of our professional charges at the outset of any instruction and our fees are reviewed with the executors on an ongoing basis, throughout the estate administration process.
Our hourly charging rates for professional staff engaged in estate administration are as follows:-
| Consultant Solicitor/Director/ legal executives with over 8 years’ experience | £225.00- £350.00 |
| Consultant Solicitor/Director/ legal executives with over 4 years’ experience | £200.00 -£225.00 |
| Other solicitors or legal executives and fee earners of equivalent experience | £145.00 – £200.00 |
| Trainee solicitors, paralegals and other fee earners | £110.00 – £145.00 |
Low Complexity Grant of Probate
We estimate the cost of us handling the full process for a basic Grant, which falls within the following description, would be from £950.00 + VAT and disbursements.
A low complexity Grant comprises:
- An estate with a valid will or alternatively clear entitlement to apply for the grant under the intestacy rules;
- Completion and submission of the relevant probate forms
- Completion and Submission of form IHT205 (if required depending on the date of death) or alternatively providing details of the gross and net estates for inheritance tax and probate to HMCTS. Completion of form IHT207 if the deceased was domiciled abroad but had limited assets in the UK
- Completion and submission of form IHT217 – application to transfer the nil rate band if required and if circumstances are such that there is no need for a full IHT400 account to be submitted
This estimate comprises our fees plus the following disbursements. Disbursements are costs related to your matter that are payable to third parties, such as court fees.
| 1 | Probate application fee | £300 |
| 2 | ID search per Executor | £6 plus VAT |
| 3 | If additional copies of the grant are required | £1.50 (we suggest 1 per asset usually) |
This is suitable for estates where:
• There are no disputes between beneficiaries or the executors or with any other party involved.
• There is no inheritance tax payable and the executors do not need to submit a full account (IHT400) to HMRC
• There are no claims made against the estate
• There are no assets outside of the UK
• We are not required to deal with any income tax/capital gains tax returns or queries
Medium Complexity Grant of Probate
We estimate the cost of us handling the full process for a medium complexity Grant, which falls within the following description, would be from £1500.00 + VAT and disbursements.
A medium complexity Grant comprises:
- a valid will or alternatively clear entitlement to apply for the grant under the intestacy rules
- Completion and submission of the relevant probate forms
- Completion and submission of a full IHT400 account and schedules including an application to transfer any unused nil rate band if required
- Payment of any inheritance tax due in order to obtain the grant
This estimate comprises our fees plus the following disbursements. Disbursements are costs related to your matter that are payable to third parties, such as court fees.
| 1 | Probate application fee | £300 |
| 2 | ID search per Executor | £6 plus VAT |
| 3 | If additional copies of the grant are required | £1.50 (we suggest 1 per asset usually) |
This is suitable for estates where:
• It is not necessary to make an application to use the Residence Nil Rate Band or Transferrable Residence Nil Rate Band
• There are no disputes between beneficiaries or the executors or with any other party involved.
• There are no claims made against the estate
• There are no assets outside of the UK
• We are not required to deal with any income tax/capital gains tax returns or queries
• If inheritance tax is payable there are funds readily available to pay the same. If this is not the case then additional work is likely to be required and a further cost estimate can be provided for assisting with the same.
• HMRC do not raise a query or enquiry in relation to the submitted inheritance tax return. If an enquiry is opened then the matter is likely to become more protracted and a further cost estimate can be provided once we have more information.
High Complexity Grant of Probate
We estimate the cost of us handling the full process for a high complexity grant, which falls within the following description, would be from £2000.00 + VAT and disbursements.
A high complexity Grant comprises:
- a valid will or alternatively clear entitlement to apply for the grant under the intestacy rules
- Completion and submission of the relevant probate forms
- Completion and submission of a full IHT400 account and schedules including an application to transfer any unused nil rate band if required
- Completion and submission of an application to apply the Residence Nil Rate Band and/or Transferrable Residence Nil Rate Band if required
- Payment of any inheritance tax due in order to obtain the grant
This estimate comprises our fees plus the following disbursements. Disbursements are costs related to your matter that are payable to third parties, such as court fees.
| 1 | Probate application fee | £300 |
| 2 | ID search per Executor | £6 plus VAT |
| 3 | If additional copies of the grant are required | £1.50 (we suggest 1 per asset usually) |
This is suitable for estates where:
• There are no disputes between beneficiaries or the executors or with any other party involved.
• There are no claims made against the estate
• There are no assets outside of the UK
• We are not required to deal with any income tax/capital gains tax returns or queries
• If inheritance tax is payable there are funds readily available to pay the same. If this is not the case then additional work is likely to be required and a further cost estimate can be provided for assisting with the same.
• HMRC do not raise a query or enquiry in relation to the submitted inheritance tax return. If an enquiry is opened then the matter is likely to become more protracted and a further cost estimate can be provided once we have more information.
Low Complexity Estate
We estimate the cost of us handling the full process for a basic estate, which falls within the following description, would be from £2000.00 + VAT and disbursements.
A low complexity estate comprises:
- a valid will
- no more than 1 property
- no more than 3 bank or building society accounts
- no other intangible assets
- 3 or fewer beneficiaries
- no disputes between beneficiaries on division of assets. If disputes arise this is likely to lead to an increase in costs
- no inheritance tax payable and the executors do not need to submit a full account to HMRC
- no claims made against the estate.
- there are no assets outside the UK
This estimate comprises our fees plus the following disbursements. Disbursements are costs related to your matter that are payable to third parties, such as court fees.
| 1 | Probate application fee | £300 |
| 2 | Bankruptcy-only Land Charges Department searches | £2 plus VAT per beneficiary |
| 3 | A post in The London Gazette and post in a local newspaper to protect against unexpected claims |
£200 – £250 typically |
| 4 | If additional copies of the grant are required | £1.50 (we suggest 1 per asset usually) |
| 5 | Land Registry fees | £3 per title |
| 6 | Lost Asset Search | approx £150 plus VAT |
| 7 | ID search per Executor and Beneficiary | £6 plus VAT |
Medium Complexity Estate
We estimate the cost of us handling the full process for a medium complexity estate, which falls within the following description, would be from £5000.00 + VAT and disbursements.
A medium complexity estate comprises:
- a valid will or extremely clear and uncomplex entitlement under the intestacy rules
- no more than 3 properties
- no more than 5 bank or building society accounts
- no more than 5 shareholdings or other intangible assets
- 5 or fewer residuary beneficiaries
- no disputes between beneficiaries on division of assets. If disputes arise this is likely to lead to an increase in costs
- no claims made against the estate
- there are no assets outside the UK
This estimate comprises our fees plus the following disbursements. Disbursements are costs related to your matter that are payable to third parties, such as court fees.
| 1 | Probate application fee | £300 |
| 2 | Bankruptcy-only Land Charges Department searches | £2 plus VAT per beneficiary |
| 3 | A post in The London Gazette and post in a local newspaper to protect against unexpected claims |
£200 – £250 typically |
| 4 | If additional copies of the grant are required | £1.50 (we suggest 1 per asset usually) |
| 5 | Land Registry fees | £3 per title |
| 6 | Lost Asset Search | approx £150 plus VAT |
| 7 | ID search per Executor and Beneficiary | £6 plus VAT |
Property/chattel valuation fees – A quote can be obtained if required
High Complexity Estate
We estimate the cost of us handling the full process for a high complexity estate, which falls within the following description, would be from £10000.00 + VAT and disbursements.
A high complexity estate comprises:
- no or an invalid will and the entitlement to the estate is unclear or complex
- more than 3 properties
- more than 5 bank or building society accounts
- overseas or high value assets
- business or agricultural assets
- a large number of shareholdings and/or investment portfolios
- 5 or more residuary beneficiaries
- disputes between beneficiaries on division of assets
- complex inheritance tax issues
- outstanding Income Tax/CGT liabilities or returns prior to the date of death
- potential claims made against the estate
- there may be assets outside the UK
- the deceased is not domiciled in the UK
- there are missing beneficiaries
This estimate comprises our fees plus the following disbursements. Disbursements are costs related to your matter that are payable to third parties, such as court fees.
| 1 | Probate application fee | £300 |
| 2 | Bankruptcy-only Land Charges Department searches | £2 plus VAT per beneficiary |
| 3 | A post in The London Gazette and post in a local newspaper to protect against unexpected claims |
£200 – £250 typically |
| 4 | If additional copies of the grant are required | £1.50 (we suggest 1 per asset usually) |
| 5 | Land Registry fees | £3 per title |
| 6 | Lost Asset Search | approx £150 plus VAT |
| 7 | ID search per Executor and Beneficiary | £6 plus VAT |
Property/chattel valuation fees – A quote can be obtained if required
We acknowledge that every estate is different and it is not easy to simply categorize every estate using the same criteria. We have given this pricing information as a guide only and we will of course provide you with more bespoke fee estimate when we have discussed the matter with you.
Key Stages
The estimates set out above include all of the work in relation to the key stages of administering an estate, which may include.
• Identifying the legally appointed executors or administrators and beneficiaries
• Accurately identifying the type of Probate application you will require
• Obtaining the relevant information required to make the application
• Completing the Probate Application and the relevant HMRC forms and submitting the same together with payment of any Inheritance Tax due
• Making the application to the Probate Registry on your behalf
• Identifying the legally appointed executors or administrators and beneficiaries
• Accurately identifying the type of Probate application you will require
• Obtaining the relevant information required to make the application
• Completing the Probate Application and the relevant HMRC forms and submitting the same together with payment of any Inheritance Tax due
• Making the application to the Probate Registry on your behalf
If we are instructed to undertake the full administration of the estate then we may also:
• Send the grant to all relevant parties together with any other required paperwork
• Collecting all assets in the estate Paying any outstanding liabilities of the estate
• Payment of legatees
• Finalising any income tax and/or CGT liabilities during the period of administration
• Preparation of estate accounts and distribution to the residuary beneficiaries
Timescales
In terms of anticipated timescales, the nature of the assets in the estate and the complexity of the estate will have a direct bearing on the time which it will take to carry out the key stages of the administration. The extent to which family members are able to assist us in the information gathering stage of the process will also have a bearing on the time which we will need to spend.
Broadly, we usually aim to have collected in all the information required for the inheritance tax return, submitted the inheritance tax return, made a payment of all or part of the inheritance tax due and submitted an application for a Grant of Representation within 3-6 months of taking instructions.
It will then typically take between 9 and 12 months to collect in the estate assets, settle the liabilities, satisfy any queries raised by HMRC, agree the inheritance tax position and receive clearance from HMRC for both inheritance tax and income tax/capital gains tax purposes and complete the administration of the estate.
As we are required to do under our professional rules we will provide with you with best information we can about the likely overall cost when you first instruct us at the outset of your matter and update you at appropriate stages as the matter progresses. When an unforeseen complexity arises or where the way in which you ask us to proceed means additional work, we will discuss the likely impact on the overall cost and timescale with you.
Qualifications
A fully qualified and regulated Solicitor will undertake the day to day estate administration under a Director’s supervision.