Probate Fees How much does our Probate service cost? The exact cost of probate will depend on the individual circumstances of the matter.
We have a couple of examples of Probate to give you an idea of what fees are involved.
For example if you simply require a solicitor to apply for the grant of probate on your behalf and you distribute the estate in accordance to the Will our fees will be in the region of £500.00 plus VAT and Disbursements. This is applicable in very straightforward matters, where there is a Will, one bank account or building society account.
As part of this fixed fee we will:
Prepare the Oath and the relevant HMRC form Make an application to the probate court on your behalf and obtain the probate and securely send two copies to you Another example would be if there is only one beneficiary and no property to sell, costs will be at the lower than what is quoted listed below. However if there are multi beneficiaries and properties, several bank accounts, stocks & shares to sell, costs will over and above the quote listed below.
The following is a quotation for estates, where
There is a valid Will There is no more than one property There are no stocks or shares There is no more than two bank accounts or building society accounts There are no more than 4 beneficiaries residing in England and Wales There is no dispute between beneficiaries on division of assets. If disputes arise this is likely to lead to an increase in costs. 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 There are no missing beneficiaries. Total: Fixed fee of £1800.00 inclusive of VAT plus Disbursements.
This includes obtaining the grant, collecting assets and distributing them.
BREAKDOWN OF FEES Disbursements please see below
Disbursements are costs relating to all matters in Probate that will payable to third parties, such as court fees. We handle all the disbursements payments on your behalf except for the swearing of the Oath to ensure a smooth process.
Disbursements comprise of the following:
Probate court fee of £155.00 plus £0.50 pence per copy of the Grant £5.00 Swearing of the oath (per executor) - this fee is payable to an independent Solicitor. Bankruptcy only searches with Land Charges Department searches £1.00 per beneficiary £101.52 inclusive of VAT Advert in the London Gazette – this protects against unexpected claims for unknown creditors; and £227.00 inclusive of VAT Advert in Local Newspaper – this also protects against unexpected claims and is used when the deceased owns a house or other property. As part of our fixed fee we will:
Provide you with a dedicated and experienced probate solicitor Identify the appointed executors or administrators and beneficiaries. Accurately identify the type of application you will require Obtain the relevant documents application Complete the probate application and the relevant HMRC IHT form Draft a legal Oath for you to swear Make an application to the probate court on your behalf and obtain the probate and securely send two copies to you Collect and distribute all the assets in the estate If there is a property to be sold a solicitor who has conveyancing experience will be instructed by this firm. A typical legal fee for handling the sale of a property will be in the region of £400.00 plus VAT and disbursements.
On average, estates that fall within this range are dealt within 6 to 12-month timescale. Typically obtaining the grant of probate takes 2 to 4 weeks. Collecting the assets then follows which can take 2 to 4 weeks. Once this has been done a simple set of estate accounts will be drafted for the beneficiaries approval and then we can distribute the assets normally, which normally takes 3 to 4 weeks.
Karen Gorton, who is the Principal of the Practice, has been qualified, as a solicitor since 2001, will handle your matter.
