Probate Pricing
Grant of probate (Uncontested)
Probate is the legal right granted to a person (or more than one person) to deal with someone else’s property, money and possessions after they die. This is also sometimes referred to as dealing with someone’s estate.
It can be a particularly difficult time following someone’s death. However our legal experts are on hand to represent you in obtaining the Grant of Probate. Our experts can also collect and distribute assets that form part of someone’s estate on your behalf.
Our legal experts are:
Jacqui Nicholls, who is a Senior Private Client FILEX Lawyer and Joint Head of Private Client.
Deniece Lines, who is a Senior Private Client FILEX Lawyer and Joint Head of Private Client.
Hina Tailor, who is a Senior Solicitor.
All our Lawyers have extensive experience advising on all aspects of administration of estates and delivering high quality work with a personal service.
What does it cost for you to help me obtain a Grant of Probate?
We can assist you with obtaining a Grant of Probate and administrating an estate from start to finish. We can deal with as little or as much of the process as you require. We intend to be as transparent and flexible with our fees as possible leaving you in control to decide on what basis you would like to instruct us. We can work for you in the following ways.
Initial Fixed Fee Meeting
We offer an initial fixed fee meeting for £395 + VAT of 20 % (£474 inclusive of VAT). At the meeting we will discuss with you the Will and the estate and answer any questions that you have. We will discuss our services that we offer and provide you with legal advice on the next steps. Our advice will be confirmed to you in writing.
You may find it helpful to have this initial fixed fee meeting if you are unsure about the next steps or if you are unsure if a grant is required.
We offer the following Grant Services
Probate – Grant Only Service
We offer a Fixed Fee Grant Only Service for non-taxable estates often referred to as Excepted Estates which are estates worth less than the Nil Rate Band (NRB), which is £325,000 or £650,000 where the NRB has been transferred between spouses, there is a spousal or charity exemption and no IHT forms are required. The service is limited to obtaining the Grant of Probate on your behalf.
This service includes:
- An initial Meeting with you to obtain your full instructions and advise you on the next steps.
- Providing you with details of what information you need to provide.
- On receipt of that information, preparing and submitting the application to the Probate Registry for the Grant of Probate.
- Providing the Grant of Probate (and copies) to the executors.
Providing there are no complications, our fee for this service is set out below. There may be other charges (disbursements) that are mandatory and that we will need to pay on your behalf during the process.
| Fee Type | Cost | Vat at 20% | Total |
| Our Fixed Fee * | £995.00 | £199.00 | £1194.00 |
| Court Fee | £300 | £300.00 | |
| Certified Copy of Grant | £1.50 for each certified copy* | £4.50 | |
| Anti-Money Laundering (AML) identity check for each executor. | £25.00 ** | £5.00 | £30.00 |
| Total Cost Payable. | £1528.50 |
*Based on 3 certified copy grants being obtained. ** Based on one Executor.
On average, the Grant of Probate will be received in around 10 weeks from receipt of application to the Probate Registry.
This service is useful for those who wish to deal with the administration of the estate themselves or where the estate is very simple but they would prefer not be burdened with the application for the Grant. If you need other assistance after the Grant has been issued then you are free to instruct us on the basis of our hourly rates.
Probate – Grant and Estate Administration
Our costs are charged at our hourly rates of £300 plus VAT of 20 %. The amount of charges will depend on the simplicity or complexity of the estate and the amount of time spent. We will provide you with an estimate of our charges at the outset, which will be based on the time required to deal with the estate. You only pay us for the actual time that we spend. We do not charge a percentage of the value of your Estate.
We can assist you with whatever aspects of the estate administration you wish. We can accept limited instructions from Executors who feel able to deal with some areas of the work themselves, but who require legal support in other areas. This is a good way to minimise your legal costs. We endeavour to agree which parts of the estate administration Executors can deal with and which parts we will manage at the outset of your case.
Excepted Estates – What we will do and how long will this take
The precise stages involved in an uncontested probate vary according to the circumstances. We have set out the key stages of a standard transaction that, as part of our fee, includes:-
- Initial Meeting to take full instructions from you;
- Checking whether there is a valid Will;
- Identifying the assets and the beneficiaries;
- Preparing and submitting the online application for Probate on your behalf;
- Obtaining the Grant of Probate and sealed copies;
- Serving the Grant on relevant organisations;
- Collecting in the assets;
- Preparing an estate account;
- Paying any liabilities including any outstanding taxes;
- Distributing the assets in accordance with the terms of the Will by making payments to the beneficiaries
On average, an Excepted Estate will take between 6 and 18 months to complete.
An example of our charges and the work that we undertake for obtaining a Grant of Probate under our Grant and Estate Administration Service for Excepted Estates
While it is not easy to provide an accurate estimate of costs until such time as we have met with you and taken detailed information about the estate, its value, the number of any beneficiaries and any likely complexities, below are some fee examples for average estates:
An example of our charges for Excepted Estates will be:
| Fee Type | Cost | Vat of 20 % | Total |
| Our Charges based on our hourly rate | £3,000 – £6,000* plus vat of 20 % | £600 – £1,200 | £3,600 – £7,200 |
| Section 27 Notice fee | £200-£400 | £40 – £80 | £240 – £480 |
| Probate Court Fee
|
£300 | £300 | |
| Certified Copy of Grant | plus £1.50 for each certified copy Grant* | £4.50 | |
| Bankruptcy Search Fees | £12 per beneficiary = £24.00 ** | £4.80 | £28.80 |
| Anti-Money Laundering (AML) identity check for all executors and each beneficiary | £25 per executor **
£25 per beneficiary = £50.00 ** |
£5.00
£10.00 |
£30.00
£60.00 |
| Total Cost Payable. | £4263.30 – £8,103.30 |
*This is based on 3 certified Grants being obtained. **This is based on one Executor and 2 beneficiaries.
This example is based on 10 – 20 hours of time spent by your Lawyer.
This estimate is for estates where:
- There is a valid Will;
- There is no more than one property;
- There are no more than five bank or building society accounts;
- There are up to five beneficiaries all based in the UK;
- There are no disputes between beneficiaries;
- 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.
Estates which are Not Excepted – What we will do and how long will this take
In addition to the work undertaken for Excepted Estates, we will also organise the calculation and payment of inheritance tax and submission of the inheritance tax form IHT400 and its supplemental pages. We will assist with inheritance tax, income tax and capital gains tax queries and obtaining a clearance certificate where applicable.
It is usually takes between 6 and 18 months to deal with a straightforward Not Excepted estate.
An example of our charges and the work that we undertake for obtaining a Grant of Probate under our Grant and Estate Administration Service for Non Excepted Estates
An Example of our charges will be:
| Fee Type | Cost | Vat at 20 % | Total |
| Our Charges based on our hourly rate | £6,000 – £10,000 | £1200 – £20,000 | £7,200 – £12,000 |
| Section 27 Notice fee | £200-£400 | £40 – £80 | £240- £480 |
| Probate Court Fee
|
£300 | £300 | |
| For each certified copy Grant | £4.50 * | £4.50 | |
| Bankruptcy Search Fees | £12 per beneficiary = £24** | £4.80 | £28.80 |
| Anti-Money Laundering (AML) identity check for all executors and each beneficiary | £25 per executor **
£25 per beneficiary = £50.00 ** |
£5.00
£10.00 |
£30.00
£60.00 |
| Total Cost Payable. | £7,863.30 -£12,903.30 |
*This is based on 3 certified Grants being obtained. **This is based on one Executor and 2 beneficiaries
This example is based on 10 – 20 hours of time spent by your Lawyer.
Disbursements and Additional Costs
Disbursements are costs related to your matter that are payable to third parties. We handle the payment of the disbursements on your behalf, to ensure a smoother process.
You will be provided with a full list of disbursements in our formal quotation. If we need to incur any further disbursements during your case, you will be notified in advance of the reason and the amount.
Typical disbursements will include: –
| Financial Asset Search | £165.00 plus vat of 20% |
| Probate application fee | £300 payable to the Probate Registry plus £1.50 for each certified copy Grant |
| Bankruptcy search and administration fee | £12.00 plus VAT of 20 % (for each beneficiary). If the beneficiary lives abroad we will provide a quotation for this search which we will agree with you before incurring this cost |
| Placing Section 27 Trustee Act Notices in The London Gazette – Protects against unexpected claims from unknown creditors – | from £200.00 – £400.00 plus VAT of 20 % (£240.00 – £480.00 inclusive of VAT)
|
| HMLR Office Copy Entries | £7.00 plus vat for each property. |
| Anti-Money Laundering (AML) identity check for all executors/beneficiaries, even those known to you, including administration fee – | £25.00 plus VAT of 20 % (£30.00 inclusive of VAT) per person. This fee may an increase if there are any international elements involved.
|
Potential Additional Costs for Excepted and Non Excepted Estates
The cost examples are for straightforward cases. A bespoke estimate of fees will be provided to you after our initial meeting. Additional costs will be incurred in cases where any of the following apply:
- If there is no Will;
- If there are a numerous beneficiaries, including charities;
- The estate consists of any shareholdings (stocks and bonds);
- In order to value some assets, specialist valuations may be required in which case a fee would be payable to the valuer such as surveyor, valuation of shareholdings, jewellery or personal effects valuation;
- If the Will creates a Trust, there may be additional costs associated with the setting up of the Trust;
- Dealing with the sale of any property in the estate is not included. Please see our conveyancing fees or contact us for further information;
- If the estate contains any foreign assets;
- Advising on and preparing a Deed of Variation;
- The preparation and processing of Income Tax and Capital Gains Tax Returns to the date of death and / or for the period of the administration of the estate.
For more information about our Private Client Department pricing please contact us on 020 8866 1820 or email our specialist team on privateclient@collinshoy.com and we would be happy to assist.