Probate Costs

Probate Costs

When a loved one dies, it can be a difficult and emotional time and putting their affairs in order can sometimes be confusing, stressful and time consuming. It’s not easy having the hassle of trying to work your way through the complexities of administering an estate and worrying and getting stressed over what to do. It’s also not easy to work out what the costs of probate might be.

One big decision you need to make at an early stage is whether to do the probate work yourself and save costs or whether to delegate the work out to a firm of specialist solicitors such as ourselves and pay the costs of the solicitors doing the work on your behalf. It’s not an easy decision to make.

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We Can Help

When faced with administering a loved ones estate and having to obtain a grant of probate then you don’t have to do it all by yourself. We can help! Seeking help and assistance and delegating some aspects of your loved one’s estate to a firm of specialist solicitors like ourselves (and having the costs of that work paid and deducted from the estate assets) is perfectly normal. In fact, many executors and administrators use solicitors to sort out the administration of their loved ones estate on the basis that the estate pays the legal costs. By delegating out obtaining a grant of probate and dealing with the administration of the estate then hopefully you can find some time and space and peace of mind so you can concentrate on more important things such as starting the grieving process and coming to terms with your loss.

Free Probate & Estates Information Guide

We offer a free no obligation guide called “How to Administer a Loved Ones Estate”. It’s packed with useful information and hints and tips on what to do. So if you are not sure what to do at the moment, and simply want some further information, then download our free information guide.

Probate: Range Of Costs

We are required to publish prices for Probate work in relation to uncontested cases where all the assets are in the UK. This includes both testate (where there is a will) and intestate (where there is no will) and taxable and non-taxable estates.
We have set out below two different options in relation to our charges:-

(1) Applying for the Grant of Representation only (Grant Only)

(2) Applying for the Grant of Representation and collecting and distributing the assets (Full Estate Administration);

We pride ourselves on offering an outstanding legal service at a highly competitive cost, and are confident that in service and price and value for money we can match and usually beat most of our competitors.

Cost Of Probate Services Breakdown

1. Applying for a Grant of Representation Only (Grant Only – Not Collecting and Not Distributing Assets)

We can help you through this difficult process by obtaining the Grant of Probate or Grant of Letters of Administration only on your behalf.  This does not include any other estate administration work such as the collecting in the assets, paying off liabilities or and distributing the net estate.

How much does this service cost and what are the probate costs?

  • Online Applications: Fixed fee of £750 plus £150 VAT = £900 and Disbursements.
  • Paper Based Applications: Fixed fee of £950 plus £190 VAT = £1140 and Disbursements.

This includes obtaining the Grant.  It does not include collecting assets, paying liabilities or distributing the estate.

Essential Disbursements:

  • Probate court fee of £280.50.

Optional Disbursements:

  • Bankruptcy-only Land Charges Department searches (£5.00 per beneficiary).
  • Trustee Act Notice £150.00 (estimated) to post in the London Gazette and in a local newspaper – Protects against unexpected claims from unknown creditors.

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

Home Visits:

£100 + £20  VAT = £120 If local

£200 + 40 VAT = £240 If not local

As part of our Probate fixed fee costs we will:

  • Provide you with a dedicated and experienced probate lawyer to work on your matter
  • Identify the legally appointed executors or administrators and beneficiaries
  • Accurately identify the type of Probate application you will require
  • Obtain the relevant documents required to make the application
  • Complete the Probate Application and the relevant HMRC IHT forms
  • Draft a legal oath or statement for you to swear or sign
  • Make the application to the Probate Court on your behalf
  • Obtain the Grant of Representation and securely send two copies to you

How Long Will This Take?

On average, estates that fall within this range are dealt with within 1-2 months. Typically, obtaining the Grant of Representation takes 16 weeks.

2. Applying For The Grant, Collecting And Distributing The Assets (Full Estate Administration)

Total Probate costs start from £2,500.00 plus £500 VAT totalling a start of £3000.00 and disbursements.

The exact Probate cost will depend on the individual circumstances of the matter.  For example, if there is one beneficiary and no property, the probate costs will be lower. If there are multiple beneficiaries, a property and multiple assets, then the probate costs will be higher.

We will handle the full process for you. This quote is for estates where:

There is 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 1-4 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

Disbursements include:

Probate application fee of £280.50
Unclaimed Assets Register Search £25,00 (no VAT)
PSAS search – for unknown creditors £20.00 (with VAT)
Bankruptcy-only Land Charges Department searches (£5.00 per beneficiary)
Trustee Act Notice -£150.00 (estimated) to post in the London Gazette and in a local newspaper – Protects against unexpected claims from unknown creditors.

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

Potential additional probate costs

If there is no Will or the estate consists of any shareholdings (stocks and bonds) there is likely to be additional costs that could range significantly depending on the estate and how it is to be dealt with. We can give you a more accurate quote once we have more information.
If any additional copies of the Grant are required, they will cost £2.00 (1 per asset usually).
Dealing with the sale or transfer of any property in the estate is not included.

Home Visits

£100 + £20 VAT If local

£200 + £40 VAT If not local

How long will this take?

On average, estates that fall within this range are dealt with within 3-6 months. Typically, obtaining the Grant of Probate takes 3-6 weeks. Collecting assets then follows, which can take between 3-6 weeks. Once this has been done, we can distribute the assets, which normally takes 2-4 weeks.

Here for you.

We act for clients in Corby, Kettering, across Northamptonshire as well as all over the country in England and Wales. Distance is not a problem!

Call our Corby office on 01536 276300 or our Kettering office on 01536 311690 today or contact us online.

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