Our Costs

We are able to offer a fixed fee for the majority of our private client services. Our fees for the administration of estates are charged on a time-spent basis, which is outlined below.

Wills

Lasting Powers of Attorney (LPAs)

We offer a fixed fee for LPAs.

Disbursements (Wills & LPAs)

In respect of both Wills and LPAs, the following disbursements may also apply to your matter:

Grant of Probate

We also offer fixed fees for Grant of Probate applications. This service is available on the basis that you contact the financial companies to provide us with the information. We will use this information to prepare and submit the Probate application on your behalf. Our fixed fees for probate applications are as follows:

These fees are the same if there is no Will and it is an application for Letters of Administration instead, provided the applicant is a spouse or child of the deceased. If the circumstances are more complex, an alternative quote can be provided.

Once the Grant has been obtained, we will pass this to you so that you are able to administer the remainder of the estate. If you require our assistance at this stage, we can provide you with a quote for the work.

Disbursements (outside the fixed fee)

We can also offer additional services such as a financial asset search and/or a Will search, which are not included in the fixed fee; we can provide a quote at the time, subject to your requirements.

Full Administration of Estates

We are more than happy to assist with the full administration of an estate from start to finish. This includes (but is not limited to):

• Contacting the financial companies to ascertain assets and liabilities
• Carrying out a financial asset search for any missing assets
• Carrying out a Will search for any unknown or missing Will
• Preparing the inheritance tax account and paying inheritance tax using the deceased's assets
• Preparing and submitting the Grant of Probate (or Letters of Administration) application
• Once the Grant has been obtained, sending this to the relevant financial companies and collecting in or transferring assets to beneficiaries
• Dealing with all taxes such as income tax and capital gains tax throughout the administration period
• Paying legacies
• Preparing estate accounts for the executors' approval
• Distributing the estate in accordance with the Will (or the rules of intestacy if there is no Will)

Our fees for full administration are charged on a time-spent basis and our hourly rate is £200.

Example: a standard estate

To give you an idea of the cost, a standard estate which includes the following:

• A valid Will
• No more than one property
• Two or three bank / building society accounts
• A maximum of three beneficiaries
• No foreign assets
• No disputes or claims made against the estate
• No inheritance tax to be paid

Our estimated fees would be £2,000–£3,000.

Disbursements

* These services are not compulsory and are at the discretion of the executor.

Disbursements are costs related to your matter that are payable to third parties, such as the probate fee. We handle the payment of disbursements on your behalf to ensure a smoother process.

Please note that the more assets involved, or the greater the complexity of the estate, the more time it can take — which will be reflected in the fees. We always provide an estimate of fees in our initial meeting and terms of business, which we ask you to agree and sign before we proceed.

If we provide a cost estimate and the matter becomes complex during the administration period (for example, a claim is made against the estate or a foreign asset is discovered), then the cost estimate will be reviewed.

Timescales for probate work

As part of the probate application and administering estates, we do have to rely on multiple third parties to be able to progress the matter. HMCTS currently advise that Grant of Probate applications can take 5–12 weeks from when they are submitted. We therefore provide the following timescales for clients (from start to finish):

Please note the above timescales can change subject to the complexity of the estate; a timescale will be provided to you based on the information you provide in the initial meeting.

VAT

Please note that we are not VAT registered and do not charge VAT for our services. VAT will only be charged on disbursements, as these are payable to another business who is VAT registered.