By making a Will, your mind will be put at ease before and after death. You decide who will inherit your estate, what will happen to your assets and who will look after your children when you pass away.
Over the years, we have seen families in distress due to badly drafted Wills; where money and property has gone to people to whom the deceased had no intention of leaving to.
Our friendly Will writing service team will help you properly draft your Will and plan your estate so that ultimately, you leave your property to the intended recipients. Each Will that we prepare is tailor-made to meet your requirements, by taking into consideration your best interests alongside your financial circumstances and family commitments.
Not only will your Will be professionally drafted, but we offer the option of having it securely stored in our office safes.
We also offer a stress-free administration of estate service, helping the loved ones behind to prepare applications for grant of representation, dealing with the administration of the estate and liaising with HM Customs & Revenue relating to inheritance tax liability issues.
Example range of costs with fixed fee for additional work
Applying for the grant
We anticipate this will take between 3 and 5 hours work at £300 per hour plus VAT at 20%. Total costs are capped at £900 plus VAT of £180 (total of £1,080) plus the court fee of £155.
Collecting and distributing the assets
Having obtained the grant or letters of administration (see above), the cost of collecting and distributing the assets of the estate various enormously depending on the complexity of the estate but we anticipate this will take between 4 and 30 hours work at £300 per hour plus VAT. Typical fees (in addition to those above) range between £1,440 including VAT and £9,720.
The exact cost will depend on the individual circumstances of the matter. For example, if there is one beneficiary and no property, costs will be at the lower end of the range. If there are multiple beneficiaries, a property and multiple bank accounts, costs will be at the higher end.
We will handle the full process for you. A typical estate (for example assets of around £350,000 including a property) would cost as follows:
- Obtaining Grant/Letters of Administration: £900 plus VAT of £180 (total of £1,080) plus the court fee of £155.
- Administration of the estate, 10 hours at £300 plus VAT per hour: total £3,600 (including VAT at 20%).
Total cost including court fee of £155 and VAT at 20%: £4,835
This fee does not including conveyancing and assumes the following:
- There is a valid will
- There is no more than one property
- There are no more than 3 bank or building society accounts
- There are no other intangible assets
- There are 1-6 beneficiaries
- There are no disputes 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
Disbursements included in this fee (where applicable VAT is included at 20%):
- Probate application fee of £155
- £10 Swearing of the oath (per executor)
- Bankruptcy-only Land Charges Department searches (£3.20 per beneficiary)
- £240 Post in The London Gazette – Protects against unexpected claims from unknown creditors.
- Approximately £60 Post in a Local Newspaper – This also helps to protect against unexpected claims.
Disbursements are costs related to your matter that are payable to third parties, such as court fees. We handle the payment of the disbursements on your behalf to ensure a smoother process.
Potential additional costs
- If there is no will or the estate consists of any share holdings (stocks and bonds) there is likely to be additional costs that could range significantly depending on the estate and how it is to be dealt with. We can give you a more accurate quote once we have more information.
- If any additional copies of the grant are required, they will cost £1.50 (1 per asset usually).
- Dealing with the sale or transfer of any property in the estate is not included.
How long will this take?
On average, estates that fall within this range are dealt with within 3-6 months. Typically, obtaining the grant of probate takes 6-12 weeks. Collecting assets then follows, which can take between 12-24 weeks. Once this has been done, we can distribute the assets, which normally takes 1-2 weeks.
As part of our fixed fee we will:
- Provide you with a dedicated and experienced probate solicitor to work on your matter
- Identify the legally appointed executors or administrators and beneficiaries
- Accurately identify the type of Probate application you will require
- Obtain the relevant documents required to make the application
- Complete the Probate Application and the relevant HMRC forms
- Draft a legal oath for you to swear
- Make the application to the Probate Court on your behalf
- Obtain the Probate and securely send two copies to you
- Collect and distribute all assets in the estate
Please note that in the normal course of business for residential conveyancing, probate and debt collection we do not make a charge for AML searches or bank transfers (TT fees). We never charge for BACS payments but where due diligence becomes complex or several CHAPS payments are required we charge £36 per instance (including £6 VAT).