PROBATE FEES

Administration of Estates (Probate/Letters of Administration)

Dealing with the affairs of loved ones who have passed away can be difficult and often the last thing you want to do when you are grieving. We can assist you with all matters and we have an experienced empathetic team to offer the guidance and support that you require. 

We can handle the whole process for you or assist you with certain parts as per your individual requirements. 

Who will do the Work and Costs

The Partner, Anousha Kandiah, in the Probate Department is STEP accredited (The Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners) and has more than 16 years of experience in dealing with probate and other private client areas. 

Pearse Gallen is a Trainee Solicitor and works alongside Anousha Kandiah. He deals with Wills and Probate matters. He has been working in the Wills & Probate Department since January 2022.

Initial Appointment

It can be overwhelming when a loved one passes away and many of us find ourselves at a loss as to what needs to be done. We offer an initial appointment at a fixed fee of £150 plus VAT*. At this meeting we will offer initial guidance and discuss the estate and the relevant services that we offer. Following the meeting you will be sent an e-mail or letter summarising what was discussed. Should you go on to instruct us in relation to the complete probate process this fee will be deducted from our final costs. 

Grant Application Service – Fixed Fee

This service is offered to assist with part of the probate process i.e., the preparation of the IHT (inheritance tax) forms and the application for the Grant of Probate/Letters of Administration. This service is appropriate for individuals who wish to deal with the administration of the estate themselves (for example where the estate is simple and or there is just one or two beneficiaries) but would rather pass on the burden of completing the IHT forms and making the application to the probate registry to an experienced professional. You will be required to provide us with all the information we require to complete all the forms. Once we are in receipt of the Grant, this will be passed on to you to complete the administration of the estate. If you decide you require further assistance to deal with matters post receipt of the Grant of probate this will be charged on a time spent basis on the hourly rates noted below. 

For excepted Estates - where there is no inheritance tax required to be submitted to HMRC our fee is £1,500 plus VAT.*

For larger estate – where completion of IHT400 (and supplemental forms) is required our fee is £2,500 plus VAT.*   

Complete Probate Service

We offer flexible fee options for our complete probate service, it is difficult to estimate what the exact costs are likely to be as these will depend on the individual circumstances and complexity of each matter. 

Our charges will be based on the time spent dealing with the matter on an hourly rate of £300 plus VAT* (Partner rate); £196 plus VAT* (Solicitor rate) and £165 plus VAT* (Trainee Solicitor rate). For estates where:    

• There is a valid will (or if intestate (someone passing away without a Will) and the beneficiary is clear i.e., spouse or children) 
• There is no more than one property
• There are no more than 5 bank or building society accounts
• There are no other intangible assets 
• There are no more than 5 beneficiaries 
• There are no disputes between beneficiaries on division of assets. If disputes arise then this is likely to increase 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

We anticipate this will undertake between 12 to 30 hours of work and based on the same we estimate our costs at £3,600 to £9,000 plus VAT*. 

As indicated above, our charges will vary case by case - 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 considerably less and if there are multiple beneficiaries, properties and multiple bank accounts, costs will be at the higher end. Please contact us to obtain a more specific quote. 

Included in our complete probate service: 

(i) Reviewing all paperwork/information provided by you and based on the same we will write to all companies with who you notify us the Deceased had associations with, in relation to identifying the assets and liabilities of the estate. 
(ii) Where the estate includes a property, this includes writing to any council tax/utility service provider to establish date of death balances and freeze/apply exemptions
 on such accounts in the Deceased’s name. 
(iii) Where the Deceased received state and or private pensions, we will write to such provider to establish any over or under payments and any death benefits. 
(iv) Based on the information provided by you and the responses provided by the companies we have written to, we will ascertain the assets and liabilities of the Deceased at the date of death and produce a summary of the same. 
(v) We will prepare the appropriate HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) Inheritance Tax Form(s).  
(vi) Preparation of the Statement of Truth (required by the Probate Registry). 
(vii) Providing you with the asset & liability summary together with the Inheritance tax form(s) and the Statement of Truth for you to review, approve and sign in person or otherwise as per your preference. 
(viii) Submission of form(s) to HMRC and/or the Probate Registry on your behalf for the Grant of Probate/Grant of Letters of Administration (the Grant). 
(ix) Dealing with any HMRC or Probate Registry enquiries in relation to the forms submitted. 
(x) Identifying the beneficiaries of the estate.
(xi) On receipt of the Grant we will deal with the realisation (or transfer) of assets and settlement of liabilities of the estate.    
(xii) Ascertaining the net estate and distributing it or holding it in trust in accordance with the Will or the rules of intestacy. 
(xiii) Preparation of estate accounts. 
(xiv) All routine meetings with you; time spent considering, preparing and working on papers; routine letters, e-mails and telephone calls made and received.   

Services not included:

(i) The sale of any property. 
(ii) The Deceased’s Income Tax and Capital Gains Tax affairs prior to date of death and the
Estate’s Income Tax and Capital Gains Tax affairs. 
(iii) Disclaimers and Deeds of Variations.
(iv) Dealing with any claims made against the estate. 
(v) Dealing with any disputes e.g., disagreements of beneficiaries regarding distribution of the estate. 
(vi) Dealing with (to include reporting to HMRC, if appropriate) any assets discovered after submission of the inheritance tax account. 
(vii) Dealing with any other matter (of which we were not previously informed) relating to the estate after concluding the matter. If this occurs after we have completed the administration of the estate, we can assist you and costs for that will be explained at that time.
(viii) Any other associated matter not listed as services included above. 

The anticipated disbursements (third party expenses) include:

• Probate application fee - £273.00 
• Sealed Copies of the Grant - £1.50 per copy
• Bankruptcy Land Charges Department searches - £2 (per beneficiary)
• Posts in London Gazette - £85.00 plus VAT* (local paper ads – TBA) These help protect against unexpected claims from unknown creditors.
• Oath Fees (if required) - £7  
• Asset search - £185 plus VAT*
• Official Copy Entries - £3.00

There may be other necessary and optional disbursements depending on the type of assets in an estate or there being unknown beneficiaries or any other complexities which could arise as listed below and if such further third-party services are deemed appropriate the costs of these will be discussed with you prior to any costs being incurred.     

For more complicated estates where it is difficult to anticipate the time it will take to deal with the matter, we also offer a fixed charge based on the value of the estate ranging from two to three percent (2% to 3%) of the gross value of the Estate plus VAT*. This is a one-off cost for the whole process. 

Further where we are appointed as Executors our charges will be based on a value charge based on the gross value of the estate and this is usually two and half percent (2.5%) of the gross value of the estate plus VAT*. The fee reflects the importance of the matter and consequently the responsibility of the firm.

* VAT is applied to all our fees and certain disbursement as marked with an “*”. The current rate of VAT is 20%.  

How long will the process take?

The time anticipated to deal with each matter will be dependent on the individual circumstances and will vary depending on the complexity of the matter. Typically for straightforward estates as described above we would expect to be in a position to submit the inheritance tax account and Grant application within 2 months of being instructed. The probate registry is currently taking 16 weeks to issue the Grant. Once in receipt of the Grant it will take another few weeks to collect in assets and to distribute the same. If there is a property in the estate to be sold this process may take longer. 

A more tailored guide of timeframes will be given once we know what is involved in the estate.

Some examples of more complex issues that may either increase legal costs and/or the time taken to conclude matters are as follows:

• Foreign property and other foreign assets
• Non-UK domicile estates
• Claiming Transferable Nil Rate Band
• Claiming the Residential Nil Rate Band and the Transferable Residential Nil Rate Band
• Estates including interests in Trusts or other Estates
• Identifying and investigations into missing family members (or other beneficiaries) in a Will or in accordance with the rules of intestacy
• The number of companies with who the Deceased had associations with 
• The number of beneficiaries 
• The level of assistance required of beneficiaries 
• The speed at which third parties respond to our communications
• Issues raised by HMRC which may lead to unforeseen extra work
• Any other unforeseen complications 
Share by: