Our fees for our probate service can be fixed, if you would like us to just apply for the Grant. Alternatively, if you would like our full probate administration service, our fees are based on an hourly rate and percentage element.
Applying for the Grant of Representation (Probate) ONLY
If you would like to deal with the majority of the estate administration yourself but would like us to just apply for the Grant then we can prepare and submit the online probate application and any HMRC forms for you. Our Fixed Fee is £975.00 plus VAT if no IHT forms need to be completed. If the HMRC form IHT400 is needed but there is no Inheritance Tax (IHT) to pay this will increase to £1,275 plus VAT. We can provide a fixed fee service if there is IHT to pay on the estate and please contact us for an individual quote.
Full Probate Administration Service
This involves the following:
- Notify all the asset holders and obtain details of balances and valuations at the date of death for cash assets, property, other assets and details of any liabilities.
- Prepare the online probate application and any IHT forms required.
- Once Probate is granted this needs to be registered to close accounts, clear liabilities, deal with property sales and deal with any final tax matters (if necessary). Once complete accounts are prepared, any legacies need to be paid and the estate distributed to the beneficiaries.
If providing the full Probate Administration Service, we charge on an hourly rate basis with a percentage value element. The hourly rates charged range from £195 plus VAT to £300 plus VAT depending upon the experience and seniority of the team member working on the matter. The percentage is charged in accordance with the total value of the deceased’s Estate.
- Where we have not been appointed as Executor we will charge ½% on the value of the home, plus 1% of the value of the rest of the estate.
- Where we have been appointed Executor/Joint Executor we charge 1½% of the value of the home and 1% of the value of the estate.
This allows us to handle the full process for you without charging extra for more complicated estates.
Typical Administration of an Estate Fees
Below are three examples of cases and the related charges. All of the examples below are scenarios where the firm is not acting as an executor. There may also be additional fees if there is a property involved that needs selling, our fees for selling a property can be found here.
1. Simple Estate
- Valid Will
- Grant of Probate required
- 2 beneficiaries
- No property
- 2 bank accounts.
- No liabilities
- Estate value £120,000
Value element of our fees £1200 (£120,000 x 1%). Hourly rate element based on 7 hours spent working on the file at £270 per hour - £1890.
Total costs £3090 + VAT
2. Medium Estate
- Valid Will
- Grant of Probate required
- 4 Beneficiaries
- Property worth £450,000
- 4 bank accounts / accounts with other financial institutions. Value £80,000
- Shares in 2 companies listed on stock exchange £5000
- Estate liabilities to be dealt with
- No IHT payable due to reliefs available
Value element of our fees £3100 comprising 0.5% x property value of £450,000 (£2250) plus 1% x value of rest of estate £85,000 (£850). Hourly rate element based on 20 hours spent working on the file at £280 per hour - £5600
Total costs £8700 + VAT
3. Complex Estate
- No Will. Intestate.
- Grant of Letters of Administration required.
- 4 Beneficiaries
- Property worth £525,000.
- 6 bank accounts / accounts with other financial institutions. Value £250,000
- Shares in 4 companies listed on stock exchange. Value £10,000
- Estate liabilities to be dealt with
- Inheritance Tax payable. IHT400 and schedules to be prepared.
Value element of our fees £5225 comprising 0.5% x property value of £525,000 (£2625) plus 1% x value of rest of estate £260,000 (£2600). Hourly rate element based on 25 hours spent working on the file at £290 per hour - £7250
Total costs £12,475 + VAT
All of our professional service fees attract VAT at a rate of 20%. You would not be expected to pay VAT on any Probate Registry fees, however, you would ordinarily be expected to pay VAT at the same rate on most other disbursements to be incurred, such as the ones listed under the heading ‘Disbursements’ on this page.
Disbursements
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. Please note that this is not an exhaustive list but an indication of likely disbursements to be incurred.
Disbursements which might need to be paid are:
- Probate Court application fee of £300.00
- Probate Court Fee for each copy of the Grant - £1.50 per copy.
- Bankruptcy Land Charges Department searches - £2.00 per person
- Land Registry searches - £7.00 per search
- Statutory legal notice - London Gazette £98 plus vat
- Statutory legal notice - Local newspaper. This varies depending on location. Between £106 to £140 plus vat.
- Will Search £99 plus vat
- Financial Asset and Liability Search Premium £195 plus vat
How long will it take?
To hear back from all asset holders with the valuations that are required to complete the probate application and Form IHT 400 if required usually takes between 2 to 3 months. Once all this information is obtained then we prepare and submit the online probate application and IHT form (if required). The probate registry state that it can take up to 16 weeks for them to issue the Grant, or longer, if they request further information. However, it usually takes them between 4 to 8 weeks where there is no tax payable and it would take a further 4 weeks if a Form IHT 400 has to be submitted to HMRC. Once the Grant has been received we will then collect in the assets, deal with property sales and deal with any final tax matters (if necessary) complete accounts and distribute the estate to the beneficiaries. Most estates when properly administered can take between 9 months to 1 year to finalise but the time frames will vary depending upon the number of assets in the estate, the location in the world of the assets, the tax position of the estate and the number of beneficiaries. Very complex estates can take much longer.
Experience and qualifications
Our Probate work is carried out by our dedicated team which is comprised of:
- Brendan McNicholas, Head of Private Client, admitted 1991.
- Bernadette Paramytha, Solicitor, admitted 2024.
- Emma Roderick, Solicitor, admitted 2006.
- Laura Boyle, Probate executive.
Please see the link to our Team's page here.
We know our fees are competitive in relation to the service we provide. However, if you have received a lower quotation from a local reputable firm then please do not hesitate to get in contact with us and we will endeavour to match it.
