INTRODUCTION
When a person passes away the administration of their estate needs to be dealt with. Often this involves applying for a Grant of Probate (where there is a Will) or a Grant of Administration (where there is no Will).
We recognise that there is sometimes a temptation to deal with matters yourself but often there will be aspects of law and in relation to tax that you may not have considered or even be aware of. The danger is you “don’t know what you don’t know”.
Quite often appointing a professional to act for you will save time and money.
There are three levels of service we offer: -
- “Grant only” service where we make the application for the Grant of Probate / Letters of Administration and then hand it over to the Executors / Administrators to deal with the estate administration themselves.
- “Full Administration” service where we will make the application for the Grant of Probate / Letters of Administration and then administer the estate. This involves cashing in the assets, paying the liabilities, making sure any taxation issues are dealt with, preparing a detailed account of monies received and paid and then dealing with the distribution of those monies.
- “Grant only plus” this is where we make the application for the Grant and deal with part of the estate administration for you. It is an “unbundled” service where you can choose the elements of the administration you wish us to undertake for you.
We do not charge based on a % of the estate.
With this service we will: -
- Review the validity of the Will or in the case of Intestacy, advise you generally regarding your entitlement to deal with matters under the Intestacy rules
- Review the financial position of the estate
- Prepare the application for the Grant of Probate / Letters of Administration
- Submit the application to the Probate Registry and then report to you once the Grant of Probate / Letters of Administration has been issued.
Our likely fees for this service are: -
| Estates where no IHT Return is required |
£800.00 plus £160.00 VAT |
| Estates where this is no IHT to pay but an IHT Return is required |
£1,200.00 plus £240.00 VAT |
| Estates where there is IHT to pay and an IHT Return is required |
£2,000.00 plus £400.00 VAT |
In rare cases it is also necessary to file an additional document with the Probate Registry such as an Affidavit of Due Execution. Where this is required there will be an additional fee of £350 plus £70 VAT
In addition the following “Disbursements” are payable: -
| Probate court fee |
£300.00 (plus £1.50 per each copy required) |
Other disbursements will be advised as required, e.g. accountants fees, Statutory Advertisement to protect your position from unknown Creditors.
Our fees for dealing either with the full administration of an estate or obtaining the Grant of Representation and dealing with some ancillary work will depend upon what work needs to be undertaken and this varies greatly from case to case. However, as a guide are fees are likely to be in within the following ranges.
- For a simple estate with a single property, utility bills, a small number of bank accounts and investments and up to 4 beneficiaries our fees would be between £2,500 and £3,500 plus VAT
- For more complex estates perhaps a larger amount of investments and a larger number of beneficiaries our fees would range between £3,500 and £4,500 plus VAT
- For larger or taxable estates, farming and business estates our fees may well be in the region of £5,000 to £7,000 plus VAT
VAT is presently charged at a rate of 20%.
In many cases we are also happy to discuss a fixed fee arrangement with you.
In addition, there will be some disbursements which may become payable. The most likely disbursements are:
| Probate court fee |
£300.00 (plus £1.50 per each copy required) |
| Online ID verification |
£6 to £8.00 (Incl. VAT) (per beneficiary) |
| Office Copy entries |
£3.00 plus £0.60 VAT |
| Bankruptcy Search fee |
£2.00 plus £0.40 VAT (per beneficiary) |
Other disbursements will be advised as required for example accountants fees, Statutory Advertisement fees to protect your position from unknown creditors etc and will be agreed with you on a case by case basis.
With this service we will deal with all of the elements outlined for the Grant Only service. We will also deal with the following aspects of the administration (where required): -
- Notification to beneficiaries of their entitlement, obtaining proof of their ID and providing them with regular updates as the administration progresses
- Dealing with all of the financial institutions in obtaining information required and then dealing with the closure / transfer of the assets*
- Dealing with payment of all debts and administration expenses of the estate
- Considering with you any potential claims against the estate and the measures that can be undertaken to protect the personal position of the Executor / Administrator
- Finalising the Income Tax position with HMRC
- Agreeing the Inheritance Tax position with HMRC
- Considering with you any potential variation of the Will / Intestacy
- Preparing a Statement of Account or Estate Account and providing a full breakdown of the estate’s finances before carrying out the distribution
- Carrying out bankruptcy searches against beneficiaries prior to distribution to protect the personal position of the Executor / Administrator
- Dealing with the distribution of the estate by bank transfer
*this does not include the sale or transfer of land / property which we deal with separately and again can provide a fixed fee quote for
Our fees for the Full Administration or Grant Only Plus Service are as outlined above for the Grant Only service but in addition add the following fees (where required) plus VAT at 20% :
| Dealing with beneficiaries (notification, ID, updates, distribution) |
£100.00 plus £20.00 VAT (per beneficiary) |
| Dealing with utilities / debtors of the Estate (notification, updates, payment) |
£75.00 plus £15.00 VAT (per company) |
| Dealing with the financial institutions (notification, encashment, reconciliation) |
£100.00 plus £20.00 VAT (per company) |
| Deed of Variation |
From £400.00 plus £80.00 VAT |
| Estate Accounts (under 5 Assets) |
£250.00 plus £50.00 VAT |
| Estate Accounts (Over 5 Assets) |
£400.00 plus £80.00 VAT |
Other disbursements will be advised as required for example accountants fees, Statutory Advertisement fees to protect your position from unknown creditors etc and will be agreed with you on a case by case basis.
With this service we will deal with all of the elements outlined for the Grant Only service plus such other work that you may want us to carry out for you. This can include: -
- Notification to beneficiaries of their entitlement, obtaining proof of their ID and providing them with regular updates as the administration progresses
- Dealing with all of the financial institutions in obtaining information required and then dealing with the closure / transfer of the assets*
- Dealing with payment of all debts and administration expenses of the estate
- Considering with you any potential claims against the estate and the measures that can be undertaken to protect the personal position of the Executor / Administrator
- Finalising the Income Tax position with HMRC
- Agreeing the Inheritance Tax position with HMRC
- Considering with you any potential variation of the Will / Intestacy
- Preparing a Statement of Account or Estate Account and providing a full breakdown of the estate’s finances before carrying out the distribution
- Carrying out bankruptcy searches against beneficiaries prior to distribution to protect the personal position of the Executor / Administrator
- Dealing with the distribution of the estate by bank transfer
*this does not include the sale or transfer of land / property which we deal with separately and again can provide a fixed fee quote
Generally simple estates can take anywhere from 6 to 9 months to deal with. This can be longer if there is a property to sell and will depend on how quickly a suitable buyer is found. More complex estates involving Inheritance Tax can take up to 12 months and again sometimes longer if there is a property to sell.