There are six stages in probate cases which are as follows:

• Valuing and collating the Estate
• Paying Inheritance Tax, if applicable to HMRC
• Applying for Grant of Probate or Letters of Administration if there is no Will
• Informing interested parties
• Gathering the Estate assets and then paying any debts from the Estate
• Distributing the Estate in accordance with the Will or Rules of Intestacy if there is no Will

Our Fees

One Off Consultation or Initial Advice    £150.00 – £300.00

• Smaller Estates i.e. below £500,000 – will be between £2,000 – £3,000 plus VAT
• Value of the Estate between £500,000 – £1,000,000 will be between £6,000 – £10,000 plus VAT
• Value of the Estate more than £1,000,000 – will be in excess of £10,000 to be agreed
• Average fees for probate are around £4,000 plus VAT
• VAT is currently applicable at 20%
• The Value Element – Our charges will also contain an element based on the value of the Estate. This is because the value reflects the importance of the matter, and consequently, the responsibility of this firm. Therefore, we will also charge up to 1% of the gross value of the Estate, excluding the house, which will be at the rate of no more than 0.5%. Naturally, VAT will also be added.

If we are instructed to undertake further work, we would need to make additional charges and we would provide you with an estimate of what they might be, if and when the circumstances arise.

Disbursements – In a probate matter the following disbursements are often incurred

• Probate Application Court Fee – £155.00
• Plus, for each additional office copy of grant – £1.50
• Anti-Mooney Laundering and Identity Searches – Starting from £17.00
• Costs for Statutory Advertising in the London Gazette – £84.75 plus VAT
• Costs of Financial Assets Search – £155.00 plus VAT
• Land Registry Title Deeds (OCEs) – TBC
• Property/business valuations (independent/online) – TBC

 

Likely Timescales

It is difficult to estimate the length of time your case will take at the moment.  Dealing with the winding up of the affairs of someone who has died can take a long time.  It is not unusual for it to take up to 12 months, longer if it is a large estate with various different assets or if the matters are complex in nature.  Winding up an Estate involves dealing with many organisations, for example banks, building societies, insurance companies, share registrars and HM Revenue and Customs.  The deceased’s Estate cannot be dealt with until all claims to it have been received. Individuals have a period of six months from the date when probate is granted to make any claims against the Estate.

Also other factors that may affect the time taken to administer an Estate namely whether the financial affairs of the deceased person were in order, or whether they had an interest in a business, whether there are any legal disputes for example, claims against the estate or claims by the estate and any arguments between family members, beneficiaries or executors/personal representatives.  All these factors are issues which have to be resolved before the affairs of the deceased can be settled.

In Probate cases and in some other cases we can agree a fixed fee for the whole case or certain stages in a case. We will be able to give you an indication as to whether your case is suitable for a fixed fee after an initial consultation.

We are obliged to provide you with detailed information in relation to costs for work undertaken in certain areas of law. Please do click on the below links and feel free to contact us should you have any queries or require further assistance.

Our Probate Solicitors are:

Babulal Nanji Damji Vadher (Jay) – Partner / Solicitor (need hyper link to page)

Amirul Haque – Assistant Solicitor (need hyper link to page)