Probate Charges

If you need help with Probate, there are 2 ways we can help you. They are a Grant of Probate or Administration of the Estate. The costs for each option are explained below.

Grant of Probate Application

Our Fixed Fee Grant of Probate application service costs just £1,500 (VAT included) when no Inheritance Tax is payable and £2,500 (VAT included) where Inheritance Tax is payable.

The same fees apply to Estates where there is no valid Will and you want us to apply for a Grant of Letters of Administration.

Please note that our Probate Solicitor fees include VAT – most other law firms don’t.

Our legal fees include:

• The help and advice of an experienced Probate practitioner to work on your case
• Identification of the legally appointed Executors or Administrators and the beneficiaries
• Identify the type of Grant of Representation you need – either Grant of Probate or Letter of Administration.
• Complete the application form for the Grant
• Complete the correct HMRC inheritance tax forms
• Prepare the Probate Registry Application form
• Send off the Grant application to the Probate Registry (Court)
• Get the Grant back and send you 2 copies

Additional Costs

You’ll need to pay some additional costs on top of your legal fees. These are called disbursements and include:

• £155 Court (Probate Registry) fee. This Court fee is less because you are using a Solicitor
• £13 for two certified copies of the Grant
• £95.50 to enter a Trustee Act Notice in the London Gazette
• Around £300 to put a Trustee Act Notice in a local newspaper

How Long Does a Grant of Probate Application Take?

It usually takes about 16 to 20 weeks to get the Grant of Probate, but it really depends on how busy the Probate Registry is when your grant application is made.

Administration of the Estate

Our Administration of the Estate service includes applying for the Grant of Probate and includes collecting and distributing the assets.

Our Probate Solicitors charge on a time spent basis for the Administration of the Estate.

The hourly rate charged will depend on the experience and expertise of the Solicitor or Lawyer working on your case, typically these are between £140 and £230 per hour. We charge in units of 6 minutes, so each hour is made up of 10 units.

The exact cost of the Administration of the Estate depends on a number of things such as:

• The number of beneficiaries
• How many bank accounts or building society accounts there are
• Whether there is a property
• If inheritance tax is payable

Fixed Fee Probate Costs

We offer a fixed fee Probate fee where the Estate is made up of:

• A house
• A maximum of 2 bank or building society accounts
• A valid Will
• Maximum of 3 beneficiaries
• No more than 1 pension fund
• No more than 1 life insurance policy

Our Fixed Fee Probate Quote for this Estate would be £3,200 (VAT included).

For more complicated Estate, we’ll give you a bespoke quote to make sure you get the best price to suit the Estate.

As a guide to help you understand the range of costs involved, if it’s a Small Estate where there’s one beneficiary and no property, legal costs will be about £2,600 (VAT included).

Where there are multiple beneficiaries, property and multiple bank accounts you would expect to pay about £10,000 (VAT included). We will always discuss the amount of work involved beforehand and give you a fixed fee before we start work.

What’s Included

In this range of Probate Fees, it includes Estates in England and Wales where:

• There’s a valid Will
• There’s only one property
• No more than 3 bank or building society accounts
• There are 1 to 4 beneficiaries
• There are no disputes between the beneficiaries
• There are no claims made against the Estate

Additional Costs

You also need to pay some additional costs, which are called disbursements. These include:

• £155 fee to the Probate Registry for the Grant of Probate. This is a reduced fee because you’re using a Probate Solicitor
• £1.50 per certified copy of the Grant. You’ll normally need 1 copy per asset, such as a bank or building society account
• £3 for office copies of the property title from Land Registry
• £2 for each beneficiary to complete bankruptcy searches
• £95.50 to enter a Trustee Act Notice in the London Gazette
• About £300 to put a Trustee Act Notice in a local newspaper
• Valuation fees for assets

What’s Not Included

There are some things that aren’t included in these costs and will cost more. They are:

• Dealing with the sale or transfer of any property in the Estate
• Where there’s no Will
• If the Estate has any stocks, shares or bonds

We can provide an estimate of how much it will cost to deal with these additional items.

Remember, all figures quoted here include VAT.

Be careful when comparing our fees to another law firm, as many don’t include VAT on their website.

How Long Does the Administration of an Estate Take?

Usually around 9 to 12 months, with 16 to 20 weeks to get the Grant of Probate.