Dealing with someone’s affairs when they die

Applying for probate gives you the legal right to deal with someone’s property, money and possessions (their estate) when they die. In England and Wales, there are two types of grants which give you this legal right: 

– Grant of Probate – if the person left a will
– Grant of Letters of Administration – if the person did not leave a will (intestacy)

A Grant of Probate / Letters of Administration is an official document issued by the Probate Registry (part of the HM Courts & Tribunal Service).

Instructing Powell Spencer & Partners 

Whether acting on behalf of an Executor or an Administrator or acting as Professional Executors, we can help with all aspects of Probate.
We can guide you through the stages of applying for probate as follows:

– Tell you if you need to apply for probate
– Value the estate
– Submit inheritance tax forms to HMRC
– Apply for a grant of representation for you
– Collect the assets of the estate
– Make sure the estate is distributed accurately

Probate Fees

The fees set out below are a general guide and cover all of the steps listed above: The hourly rate charged is currently £200.00 + 20% VAT per hour. Total costs are estimated at between £2000.00 + VAT to £10,000.00 + 20% VAT.

VAT is charged at the rate of 20%.

The exact cost will depend on the individual circumstances of the matter. For example, if there is one beneficiary and no property, with no inheritance tax to pay and the executors are not required to submit a full account to HMRC, costs will be at the lower end of the range. If there are multiple beneficiaries, one or more properties, and multiple bank accounts, with inheritance tax to pay, costs will be at the higher end.

We should be able to offer a more personalised quote if you telephone us and provide details of your circumstances.

Potential disbursements in addition to our fees are:

– Probate application fee of £155.00 (no VAT). Please note that this is expected to increase in the near future.
– Extra copies of the Grant are £1.50 each (no VAT)
– Will search fees – £38.00 + 20% VAT to £95.00 + 20% VAT.
– Bankruptcy-only Land Charges Department searches (£2.00 per beneficiary – no VAT)
– Notice in The London Gazette and/or the local newspaper to protect against unexpected claims from unknown creditors – together from £150.00 – £300.00 + 20% VAT

Please note that this list is not exhaustive but it covers the most commonly required disbursements. It also does not cover any costs associated with the sale or transfer of a property in the estate. We do not undertake Conveyancing work so generally, you would need to instruct other solicitors for this. We can handle the payment of the disbursements on your behalf to ensure a smoother process.

How long will this take?

On average, it takes 1 – 2 months to obtain all relevant information about the estate in order to complete the relevant inheritance tax forms and schedules. Once these forms are completed, it would usually take another 1 – 2 months to submit these to HMRC and receive the approved form(s) from them to allow an application to the Probate Registry for the Grant. Typically, obtaining the Grant takes another 4 – 6 weeks after submission of the application. Collecting assets and / or transferring ownership of property then follows, which typically can take between 2 – 8 weeks. Thereafter, we can distribute the assets which would normally take 1 – 2 weeks.

The overall process is likely to take between 6 – 12 months.

For further information please Contact Us.