Probate

Probate generally refers to obtaining a ‘Grant of Representation’ required by law when someone dies where they owned property or land or where a bank or financial institution requires a ‘Grant’ to release any funds.

A ‘Grant of Probate’ must be obtained before an Executor (if there is a Will) or a ‘Grant of Letters of Administration’ by an Administrator (generally when there is no Will) can start to gather and distribute the assets associated with the estate of the deceased.

We will work with you to apply for the correct Grant and can help with the formalities of the estate following the receipt of the Grant on your behalf (Administering the Estate).

Key Stages

Applying for a Grant of Representation

Services that are included in obtaining a Grant of Representation:

• Initial interview to advise on the deceased’s Will/intestacy provisions
• Discuss the role of Executors/Administrators
• Discuss the method of collating information regarding the assets and liabilities of the deceased
• Consideration of the availability of the Transferable Nil Rate Band and Residence Nil Rate Band and the documentation needed to claim if appropriate to calculate whether Inheritance Tax is payable
• Identify whether there are any reliefs/allowances available to reduce Inheritance Tax and the information the Revenue will require to consider the claim for the relief/allowance
• Prepare Inheritance Tax forms
• Prepare Oath for Executors/Administrators and meet with you to go through these
• Apply for a Grant of Representation

Administering the Estate

Services included in dealing with the formalities after receiving the Grant of Representation

• Collect the assets due to the estate
• Pay liabilities and administration expenses of the estate
• Ascertain the deceased’s Income Tax position
• Deal with any correspondence from the Revenue regarding information reported in the Inheritance Tax form
• Planning payment of any Inheritance Tax due
• Correspond with beneficiaries regarding distributions from the estate and pay legacies and interim distributions as instructed
• Prepare estate accounts
• Bankruptcy checks
• Pay final balance to beneficiaries

Subsequent Work (NOT included in obtaining a Grant of Representation)

These services potentially trigger an increase in our fixed fees, which will be discussed with you as and when these matters arise

• Property sales
• Tracing beneficiaries
• Work in connection with related trusts
• Business or farming advice
• Advice concerning assets and liabilities out of the jurisdiction of England and Wales
• Trusts set up under the deceased’s Will
• Financial advice regarding the disposal of assets in the future
• Issues relating to long-term care or care packages of the deceased
• Challenges to the validity of a Will
• Claims against the estate
  Issues relating to the domiciled status of the deceased
• Anything else not specifically agreed

Fees

As a guide, for a more straightforward estate, our fees are usually in the range of £3,000 to £7,000 plus VAT and any disbursements (VAT is currently charged at 20%).  This fee covers our management of the entire probate process on your behalf.   

This estimate applies where:

• A valid will exists, or the next of kin can be clearly identified (without the need for genealogical investigations)
• The will does not include any complex trust arrangements.
• The deceased was domiciled in the UK.
• No Inheritance Tax is payable and no business or agricultural reliefs are required.
• The estate includes no more than one property.
• Regular visits to any property for insurance purposes are not anticipated.
• The estate does not contain complicated assets such as business interests, cryptocurrency or other digital assets, foreign holdings, agricultural property, or assets held in trust.
• There are no more than 10 beneficiaries, all based in the UK, with no more than two being charities.
• There are no disagreements between beneficiaries regarding how the estate should be distributed. If a dispute arises that cannot be resolved quickly, we may be unable to continue acting and you may need to seek advice from a firm specialising in contentious probate.
• No claims have been made against the estate.

Complex Estates

You will appreciate that providing an exact quotation for a more complex estate is difficult without detailed information, as many factors can increase the level of work involved.  

Examples of some complex factors can include, registering the death, arranging for property insurance to be put in place and managing a property, dealing with personal possessions, the number of assets and liabilities in an estate (the more assets in an estate, the more complicated this can become), shareholdings and investments, business property and agricultural property, multiple legatees and beneficiaries (with additional complexity if they are difficult to locate), where Inheritance Tax is payable and preparing a full IHT400 form, advising in respect of lifetime gifts, inclusion of trusts in an estate (either already in existence that have been created by the deceased during their Lifetime or of which they are a beneficiary, or the creation under the terms of the Will or intestacy rules), claims for loss relief and Income and Capital Gains Tax considerations for the period of administration. 

We would therefore need to discuss your specific circumstances before offering a tailored estimate. 

As a general indication, our fees for complex estates typically start from £8,000 plus VAT and disbursements (VAT currently 20%). This applies to estates that fall outside the parameters of the straightforward estate criteria outlined above.

We will provide a fee estimate at the beginning of the work depending on the circumstances of your case and the number of hours we anticipate the work will take. We would usually have an initial meeting with you to obtain the relevant information and then provide a fee estimate. 

Our team will provide you with a bespoke quotation at the outset of the matter, but our firm can offer additional services which are not included in the costs above:

• Preparing Deeds of Variation
• Preparing Deeds of Appointment for Will Trusts
• Acting in the sale, transfer or assent of a property

Disbursements

The following disbursements are commonly incurred when administering an estate:

Timescales

It takes on average 9 to 12 months to deal with estates that fall within the above fee estimate. Typically, obtaining the Grant takes 12 to 16 weeks. Payment of liabilities and collection of assets then follows and this can take between 4 to 8 weeks. Once this has been done, we would be in a position to distribute the assets and finalise the administration which can on average take up to 16 weeks. Please note that the timescales can also be affected by the cooperation of third parties, such as other professionals and the executors.