Probate Costs 
Where Uncontested and where all Assets are held in the UK
All work is undertaken by qualified practitioners with extensive knowledge and expertise in that area. Qualifications of the person dealing with the work are provided on the Our Team Page, please click here.
The cost of administering an Estate depends upon the individual circumstances of the matter. A simple Estate with perhaps two Bank accounts and one beneficiary will cost less to administer than Estates that is more complex. Our charges are on a fixed fee basis. All charges are subject to the addition of VAT.
We tailor our services so it is clearly understood at the outset the legal work that we are required to do and the cost. We offer two services Grant only and Full estate administration.
Grant of Probate only service
Our fee for obtaining a grant of probate, on behalf of an Executor start from £1,200 plus VAT (£1,500 inc. VAT) and disbursements payable (see below). We will make the application based on the values of the assets and liabilities provided by you, the Executor.
This does not include applications where an Inheritance Tax account (IHT400) is required to be submitted. The fee for a Grant only service where an IHT400 is required start at £2,500 plus VAT (£3,000 inc. VAT) plus disbursements (see below).
Full Estate Administration
Our fee for dealing with the entire estate from start to finish on behalf of the Personal Representative is on a fixed fee basis. This gives the Personal Representative certainty as to the costs of administering the estate on their behalf from the outset
Our fees range from 1.5% to 2% of the gross value of the estate depending upon the circumstances and complexity of the estate.
We however set a minimum fee £3,500 plus VAT (£4,200 inc. VAT) and disbursements where an estate has a value of below £150,000.
For example.
Where there:
- Is no requirement for an IHT400 inheritance tax account to be completed;
- Is a valid Will with no issue of mental capacity;
- Are no more than 4 beneficiaries who are all are based in the UK, have full mental capacity and are able to receive their legacy or share of the estate;
- Are no more than 3 financial institutions involved;
- Is no more than 1 property in the UK associated with the estate;
- Are no farming or business assets associated with the estate, and
- Are no disputes claims or potential disputes or claims against the estate.
Our fee would 1.5% of the gross estate plus VAT and disbursements.
This does not include the costs of any conveyancing that may need to be undertaken. However, a separate quote would be provided upon request.
Estates that are more complex our fee would be 2% of the gross value of the estate and details of what would be covered is sets out here
Please click here to see the work undertaken on your behalf based upon the level of service you have chosen.
Disbursements
These are costs payable to third parties relating to the matter.
We facilitate the payment of disbursements on your behalf.
The possible disbursements are:
- Probate Court Fee £300 plus £1.50 per copy required (at this time);
- Trustee Act Notice (this is optional), this would protect any Executor against claims of unknown creditors (in respect of the distribution of the estate) by placing a notice in the London Gazette and local paper. The fee for this is typically £250 to £300, a quote can be obtained upon request.
- Certainty Will Search (this is optional) this would involve undertaking a search for a Will or later Will with the National Will Register to ensure the Personal Representative is dealing with the estate based upon the last Will made or if no Will, following the rules of intestacy.
- Bankruptcy Searches, these are £2 per person in the UK or between £100 and £200 for those outside the UK
- Land Registry title information document these would be between £3 and £6 per property
- Property valuations these can range from free up to £500
- Other valuations such as personal items including jewellery can be in the region of £100 to £300
- Contents valuations (dependant on the number of items to be valued) these can be in the region of £100 to £300
- House clearance in the region of £500 to £1,500
Please note that above may be subject to VAT.
Duration of your matter
On average, more simple Estates are dealt with within six to nine months. It can take up to four to six weeks to value all of the assets in the Estate, preparation of forms applying for the Grant of Probate and completing all necessary IHT forms takes two to three weeks and once applying for the Grant of Probate will take approximately another four to eight weeks. This is dependent upon how quickly HMRC and or the probate registry take to deal with matters. Collecting assets can then follow, which can take between four to six weeks, completing, approving Estate Accounts, and then distributing three to four weeks.