PROBATE & ADMINISTRATION OF ESTATES
Grant only applications
The cost to obtain a Grant only which does not include any work needed to deal with the Administration of an estate after the Grant.
This will involve the preparation of the IHT account (based on figures provided by the Client), Oath and dealing with the application process with the Probate Registry. For this service we work on a fixed fee basis which is dependent on which Inheritance Tax account is required:
For the IHT205 we charge a fixed £850.00 + VAT
For the IHT400 we charge a fixed £1,100.00 + VAT
Full Administration of an Estate (including Grant application)
No two Estates are ever the same and therefore fees do vary on a case by case basis. You will be provided a quote based on the individual circumstances of your matter.
Our fees for the full administration are based on 0.5% of real property and 1% of all other assets, plus time charged at half the fee earners usual hourly rate, which range from £125.00 - £300.00 plus VAT. From experience fees can range from £3,000.00 for small simple Estates to £35,000.00 for large complex Estates.
Factors which we consider before quoting on your transaction are:
- Whether there is a valid will or intestacy
- Size of the Estate
- There are no other intangible assets
- The amount of beneficiaries
- Whether inheritance tax is payable, or a full account is required to HMRC
- Whether there are any claims made against the estate. Such claims will be referred to our litigation department as a separate matter.
Disbursements
Court/Probate registry application fee currently £155.00 plus 50p per copy, (we will advise how many copies will be required depending on the assets)
Statutory notice fee (a newspaper notice in the London Gazette and a local paper which protect personal representatives from claims) – circa £200.00 depending on the paper in which the notice is placed
Bankruptcy Search - £2.00 per person
Swearing the Oath fee - £5.00 per person extracting the oath and £2.00 for each additional document annexed thereto
Land registry official copy fee - £3.00 per document
Valuers fees for both real estate and chattels – we will obtain 3 quotes from local valuers for you to choose.
How long will your transaction take to complete?
It is difficult to predict how long a Probate matter will take and each matter is dependent on various factors. The average Probate, in our experience takes some 4-6 months to obtain the Grant of Probate and a further 4-6 months to complete the administration of the Estate. If any complications arise, this could take longer than anticipated. Where we need to liaise with third parties in order to achieve the task, we are somewhat reliant on their turnaround times in addition to our own work. We will keep you up to date and inform you if we anticipate any delays.
Steps involved – Full administration where the Grant is required
1. Steps to be carried out pre-grant
- Carry out a bankruptcy search at HMLR to check the Estate is solvent
- Locate the original Will including conducting a search of Certainty, the National Wills Register
- Assess of the validity of the Will, ensure that all is in order and nothing has been tampered with (if applicable)
- Advise you on the possibility of a claim under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975
- Secure the deceased’s property if vacant and notify insurers of the death
- Prepare Estate Accounts:
- write to all asset holders to obtain valuations and register the death
- obtain appropriate withdrawal/closure forms for use post grant
- obtain details of any debts of the deceased
- draw up a full schedule of assets and debts in the estate of the deceased valued at the date of death
- Identify beneficiaries under the Will/Intestacy rules and inform them of their interest and its approximate value
- Collect and distribute the assets which pass outside of the Estate
- Identify and prepare the correct IHT Account
- If applicable, submit relevant documents to HMRC and pay Inheritance Tax
- Identify and prepare the appropriate Oath
- Submit all relevant documents to Probate Registry
2. Steps to be carried out following the Grant of Probate
- When the Grant is obtained we will place a statutory notice in the London Gazette and a local paper
- We will then collect in the assets, obtaining all relevant paperwork
- Deal with the sale of any assets if required to create liquid funds
- Pay any outstanding debts
- Bankruptcy Search against each beneficiary
- Pay Specific legacies
- Review/update the estate accounts
- Distribute the residuary Estate