The fees for preparing a Will for you and/or Wills for you and your partner will depend upon the complexity of instructions and the extent to which it is necessary or appropriate to provide tax advice.

Please contact one of our offices to arrange an appointment at which the pricing options will be discussed with you.

How long will it take

We will prepare a draft Will usually within 2 weeks of receiving your full instructions.If you require any amendments to your draft Will then we will aim to provide you with a further draft within 1 week of receiving further instructions from you.

Click here to visit our Will Drafting page to learn more.

If your matter is not straightforward, then the hourly rate of the person giving advice will apply. (these hourly rates range from £150 - £325 plus VAT - £180 - £390 inclusive of VAT). This will of course be agreed with you beforehand.

Please also note that a charge will be made for time spent on your matter whether or not you decide to complete your LPA(s).

Registration Fees

There is also a registration fee of £82 for each LPA registered at the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG). The LPA cannot be used until it has been registered at the OPG.

In certain situations the registration fee may be waived. You would be eligible for a fee exemption if you receive one of a number of means-tested benefits and have not been awarded damages of more than £16,000, which were disregarded when determining eligibility for the benefit.

If you do not qualify for a fee exemption, you may be eligible for a fee remission of 50% if your gross annual income is less than £12,000.

How long will it take?

Once we have all the information to prepare the relevant documents, we anticipate that it will take:

• 3 weeks to complete the paperwork for registration; and

• up to a further 12-16 weeks before the OPG registers and returns the LPA.

Click here to visit our Lasting Powers of Attorney and Deputyships page to learn more.

Grant of Probate only

Our fees start from £1,545 plus VAT depending upon the complexity of the application and whether IHT forms need submitting.

There are also the additional fees when applying for a Grant of Probate as follows:

• probate court fees of £300. However, there is no fee if the estate is £5,000 or less;

• extra copies of the Grant of Probate of £1.50 each.

As part of our fixed fee, we will:

• explain the terms of the Will (if there is one);

• identify those appointed as executors or administrators (if there is no Will) and what you can do if an Executor does not want to take an active role;

• identify the information required to apply for Grant of Probate;

• complete the relevant HM Revenue & Custom form IHT205, if the person has died before January 2022;

• draft the statement required by the Probate Registry to apply for the Grant of Probate;

• make the application to the Probate Registry; and

• obtain the Grant of Probate and office copies and pass to you to administer the Estate.

Please note that the fixed fees mentioned above may alter if the matter becomes complex or if you require any additional advice. If you require additional advice on the above or any other topic, then the hourly rate of the person giving such advice will apply (these hourly rates range from £150 - £325 plus VAT (£180 - £390 inclusive of VAT)). This will of course be agreed with you beforehand.

Please also note that a charge will be made for time spent on your matter whether or not you decide to proceed and instruct us to obtain a Grant of Probate.

How long will it take?

Once we have all the information to prepare the relevant documents, we anticipate that it will take:

• 3 weeks to complete the paperwork (this is dependent on the time it takes for you to approve the documentation and sign the relevant paperwork); and

• a further 4-8 weeks to obtain the Grant of Probate from the Probate Registry

 
Full Administration of an Estate (including obtaining a Grant of Probate)

Every estate is unique and the exact cost will very much depend on the individual circumstances and the complexity of the estate. Before we proceed with the administration of an estate we will meet with you to discuss the estate and provide you with costs details. We will provide you with different options including working on a traditional hourly rate or providing you with a specific fixed fee. This will apply to both relatively straightforward estates and more complicated estates.

If at any time those fees have been underestimated due to an increase in the volume of work necessary to progress the administration of the estate, we will review those costs with you.

An example of a straightforward estate

• there is a valid will;

• there is no property;

• there are no more than two bank or building society accounts;

• all the assets are in the UK;

• there are no more than two beneficiaries;

• there are no disputes between beneficiaries on the division of assets;

• there is no inheritance tax to pay and the executors do not need to submit a full HM Revenue & Custom Form (IHT400); and

• there are no claims made against the estate.

For the price quoted we will handle the full process for you. Which includes:

• explaining the terms of the Will;

• identifying those appointed as executors and what you can do if an Executor does not want to take an active role;

• gathering the evidence required to apply for a Grant of Probate;

• completing the simplified HM Revenue & Custom form (IHT205) if the person has died before January 2022;

• drafting the statement required by the Probate Registry to apply for the Grant of Probate;

• making the application to the Probate Registry;

• obtaining the Grant of Probate and office copies;

• collecting in the assets within the estate;

• paying outstanding income tax;

• paying any liabilities incurred pre death and during the administration period;

• preparing Estate Accounts; and

• distributing the estate to those beneficiaries entitled.

An Example of a more complicated estate

• there is a valid will;

• there are no more than two properties;

• there are no more than five bank or building society accounts;

• there are no more than five shareholdings/bonds/policies

• all the assets are in the UK;

• there are no more than 10 beneficiaries;

• there are no disputes between beneficiaries on the division of assets;

• there is inheritance tax to pay and the executors will need to submit a full HM Revenue & Custom Form (IHT400); and

• there are no claims made against the estate.

For the price quoted we will handle the full process for you. Which includes:

• registering the death of the deceased with a local registration office (if necessary);

• explaining the terms of the Will (if there is one);

• identifying those appointed as executors or administrators (if there is no Will) and what you can do if an Executor does not want to take an active role;

• gathering the evidence required to apply for a Grant of Probate;

• completing a full HM Revenue & Custom form (IHT400) and arranging payment of tax (if any) from the deceased’s assets;

• finalising the Inheritance Tax affairs;

• drafting the statement required by the Probate Registry to apply for the Grant of Probate;

• making the application to the Probate Registry;

• obtaining the Grant of Probate and office copies;

• collecting in/transferring the assets within the estate;

• dealing with the marketing and negotiations of a property sale (if necessary);

• registering the estate with HMRC if the estate is treated as a “complex estate” by HMRC.

• finalising and if necessary submitting Tax Returns to the date of death and during the administration period;

• paying any liabilities incurred pre death and during the administration period;

• preparing Estate Accounts; and

• distributing the estate to those beneficiaries entitled.

In any estate there can also be (amongst others) the following costs:

• Probate court fees of £300.

• extra copies of the Grant of Probate of £1.50 each;

• accountancy fees;

• asset tracing fee;

• missing beneficiary fee;

• Statutory Notice fee;

• Registrar fees to sell shares;

• financial asset search fee;

• fee for obtaining a copy of the title deeds to a property.

Please also note that in any estate a sale of a property or transfer of a property to a beneficiary will incur additional fees and disbursements and billed separately by our conveyancing department.

How long will it take?

It is difficult to ascertain how long it will take to complete the administration of an estate. On average, it can take between four and six months to obtain the information required to apply for Probate, and then a further 6 months to 12 months to complete the administration.

Timescales will escalate especially when an estate:

• is in dispute;

• is subject to the payment of Inheritance tax:

• has unresolved income tax and/or capital gains tax issues arising pre-death;

• has property/land to be sold

Click here to visit our Administration of Estates page to learn more.