Estate Administration (Probate)

Probate is the legal process of administering a person’s estate after they have died, including the payment of Inheritance Tax and/or liabilities and the distribution of assets, whether or not a Will is present. Put simply, it gives someone the legal power and authority to deal with that individual’s legal and personal affairs, including carrying out their final wishes.

Our specialist Team will provide legal support to help you every step of the way with the Probate process, making a difficult time a little easier and straightforward for both the Executors and any Beneficiaries. The reassuring and approachable nature of our Team will help advise Executors of their duties, the process itself and making with the application for the Grant of Probate or Letters of Administration, including dealing with HMRC. We can also provide further advice and guidance regarding valuation of assets, the investigation of any assets and liabilities, and where applicable the benefits of a Deed of Variation to the Will, as well as ultimately distribution of the Estate and the administrative tasks.

The main steps typically undertaken during a basic Probate include:

• Will: Seeing if there is a Will in place, and whether it is valid and/or the latest Will
• Assets & Liabilities: Investigating both the assets and liabilities the deceased had, including those they held jointly, any business interests and assets overseas.
• Application: Completing the relevant application to obtain a Grant of Probate or Letters of Administration, and possibly the payment of Inheritance Tax
• Post Grant Work: This may be the sale of assets, paying the liabilities and any outstanding Inheritance Tax balance.
• Beneficiaries: The preparation of Estate Accounts and providing information to the Beneficiaries, and then distributing the Estate accordingly.

Our Private Client Team take pride in providing an extensive range of legal advice and professional services to our Clients. The Team has particular expertise in relation to Interitance Tax matters, particularly high value Estates. Whilst one of Team Members will conduct most of the work on your Matter, other members of the Team may be involved where appropriate and in order that work is carried out at the right level.

We are here to assist you through the difficult process of Probate during what is undoubtedly a challenging time, as well as undertaking the collecting in and administration of the Estate after the Grant is issued.

As an Executor or Administrator of an Estate, you may prefer to seek Legal Representation but are wary about the Fees and Costs. Below, we have set out an indication of our services, including their respective costs. If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Our Service covers the gathering of Estate information to obtain the Grant of Probate, the collection of Assets, payment of any Liabilities, and the distribution of the Estate to the Beneficiaries. On taxable Estates, we will also calculate the Inheritance Tax liability and, where possible, arrange the payment of this from the Assets held by the Estate. We will hold monies on behalf of the Estate and any proceeds from Assets on our Client Account, and we produce Estate Accounts to detail the monies received, paid out and the distribution of the Estate to the Beneficiaries.

Each Estate is unique and we will tailor our Services to your requirements, as well as the needs and level of involvement of the Executor or Administrator throughout the transaction.

How much does Probate and the Administration of the Estate cost?

It can be difficult to provide an estimation of the likely Fees for any Estate until we know further details about the nature of the Estate and its complexity, however, we will ask for some basic information so we can tailor our advice to you based on your individual circumstances. Please feel free to contact our specialist Team to provide you with a tailor quote.

Obtaining a Grant of Probate (Letters of Administration) in England & Wales:

IHT205 (Non Taxable Estate): £900 – £3,000 plus VAT

IHT400 (Taxable Estate): £2,400 – £6,000 plus VAT

VAT is currently charged at the rate of 20% and is charged on all appropriate Fees, Expenses and/or Disbursements, except where we indicate such Disbursements fall outside the scope of VAT.

Our Fees for the Administration of an Estate will range between 0.75% – 2.5% of the Gross Estate Value, and is dependent on the complexity of the matter. In the event of any increase in the scope of the work and estimated fees would be disclosed to you prior to the continuation of any further work.

Therefore, the Fees on the Administration of the Estate would be 0.75% – 2.5% of the Gross Estate Value (minimum fee £1,500), plus an Hourly Rate of £120 – £350 (+ VAT).

Whilst we try to provide an accurate estimation of Fees, it does depend on the size of the Estate, the type and number of Assets held, the number of Liabilities, the type and number of Beneficiaries, and ultimately the overall complexity of the matter.

Presently, it can take 3 – 6 months to obtain a Grant of Probate for a relatively standard Estate, with a further 6 – 12 months to conclude matters, whereas more complex Estates can take between 18 months – 2 years. When taking on your matter, we will try and provide you with both an estimation of our Fees and a likely timescale, updating you should any of this change during the course of the matter. 

Our Team are able to transfer Property to Beneficiaries once a Grant is issued, which may incur additional Land Registry Fees which we will inform you of at the outset. We can also recommend our Real Estate Department should you need to sell any Property associated with the Estate, however any Fees charged for such a transaction will not form part of the Probate Fees and you will be provided with a separate estimation.

Please note that Inheritance Tax, and other Taxes, as imposed by Law, and as such do not form part of our Fees.

Breakdown of Costs

There may be Disbursements (costs) which are payable to Third Parties, such as Court Fees, which we will pay on your behalf to assist with the smooth nature of the matter.

The general Disbursements can include:

• Probate Court Fee: £273 (plus £1.50p per additional Copy)
• Bankruptcy-only Land Charges Department Searches: £2 per Beneficiary
• Post in The London Gazette (to protect against unexpected Claims from unknown Creditors): £80
• Post in a Local Newspaper (also helps protect against unexpected Claims): £120 – 200 depending on the Institution

How long does Probate and the Administration of the Estate take?

As previously mentioned, each Estate is unique and can vary in the time it takes from the commencement to the settling of a matter. Part of the transaction depends on the timescales of the processing of applications at HMRC and/or the Probate Registry, which is unfortunately out of our control.

Other matters which may affect the timeframes include:

• Inheritance Tax
• Trusts
• Financial Institutions – some are more efficient than others in processing matters
• Shares – the investigation of any Shares held, as well as the selling and/or transferring of the same)
• Property Matters – Land Registry prioritise some Applications over others, and therefore this may take some time.
• Foreign Assets and/or Liabilities
• Department for Work & Pensions (DWP) – they frequently make enquires and can request information regarding the full disclosure of the Estate, particularly if there are means-tested benefits
• Any disputes between the Executors or Administrators and/or the Beneficiaries