What are the costs of probate?
We can help you with the probate process. We offer a range of services which includes applying for the Grant only, to assisting with the full administration of the estate.
We offer a fixed fee for a ‘Grant’ only application.
Our fees for a ‘full administration of the estate’ service will be determined by the amount of time we spend doing that and the seniority of the fee earner in our firm whom you appoint.
The following is a summary of our fees:
1. Applying for a Grant only
Our fees :
- £1,200 plus VAT at 20% = £1,500.
Additional charges you are required to pay to third parties:
- Court fee of £273.00 plus £1.50 per certified copy
- £91.08 to enter a Trustee Act Notice in the London Gazette – Protects against unexpected claims from unknown creditors
- From £124.32 to place a Trustee Act Notice in a Local Newspaper – This also helps to protect against unexpected claims against the estate
There may also be Inheritance tax to pay which you will be responsible for paying.
Our fixed fee includes:
- Providing you with a dedicated and experienced probate practitioner to work on your matter;
- Identifying the legally appointed executors or administrators and beneficiaries
- Accurately identify the type of application you will require
- Obtaining the relevant documents required to make the application
- Completing the Application and the relevant HMRC forms
- Drafting a legal oath for you to swear
- Making the application to the Court on your behalf
- Obtaining the Grant and providing you with two copies
How long will this take?
On average it will take 16 – 20 weeks to obtain the Grant from the Court from the date the application is submitted.
2. Applying for the Grant, collecting and distributing the assets
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, a property and multiple bank accounts, costs will be at the higher end.
We will handle the full process for you. This following estimate is for estates where:
- There is either no will or a valid will
- There is no more than one property
- There are no more than 3 bank or building society accounts
- There are no other intangible assets
- There are between 1 and 4 beneficiaries
- There are no disputes between beneficiaries on division of assets. If disputes arise this is likely to lead to an increase in 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
In that type of scenario, our fee will be between £3,000 and £5,000. On top of that VAT calculated @ 20% will be added.
Additional charges you are required to pay to 3rd parties – see summary above under 1 ‘Additional Charges’. The same additional charges apply here. There may also be inheritance tax to pay which you will be responsible for paying.
We would handle the payments to 3rd parties on your behalf to ensure a smoother process.
Potential additional costs of probate?
- If there is no will or the estate includes share holdings (stocks and bonds) there are likely to be additional costs that could range significantly depending on the complexity of identifying the beneficiaries or the complexities of identifying or valuing the assets in the estate. We can give you a more accurate estimate once we have all relevant information from you
- Considering and calculating inheritance tax
- If any additional copies of the grant are required, they will cost £1.50 per copy (usually we gauge this by obtaining 1 copy per asset)
- Dealing with the sale or transfer of any property in the estate is not included
- Preparing returns to HMRC for income tax and/or CGT
