Probate Fees
When someone dies the executors of their Will are responsible for collecting the estate in and distributing it in accordance with the Will. Executors are formally appointed, by the deceased, in their Will.
Our Probate and Estate Administration Team
Our Team has a wealth of experience in delivering high quality work in all matters relating to Wills and Estate Administration. They have particular expertise in high value estates and complex estates with business and agricultural property.
We have three members of the team who may work on your matter. Regardless of who works on your matter, they will be supervised by Alana Faal, Partner and Head of the Probate and Estate Administration Team.
The firm’s hourly charges are as follows:
Alana Faal Solicitor Advocate (Civil) and Partner £225 per hour plus vat (vat £45)
Alana has a wealth of experience within private client work specialising in wills and probate. Alana qualified as a Solicitor in 2010 after gaining her LLB Honours from Manchester Metropolitan University. Alana has also qualified as a High Court Advocate in Civil proceedings. She became a partner in 2014.
Kaysie Aljarrah Solicitor £196 per hour plus vat (vat £39.20)
Kaysie has a wealth of experience within private client work specialising in wills and probate. Kaysie qualified as a Solicitor in 2017 after gaining her LLB Honours from the University of Manchester.
India Cassley Trainee Solicitor £125 per hour plus vat (vat £25.00)
India graduated from Lancaster University with a first class LLB Honours and completed the legal practice course at the College of Law in Chester. India began her training contract with us in September 2020 and will work within our Probate, conveyancing and litigation teams.
Our Fees
The exact cost of administering an estate will depend on the individual circumstances of the matter. For example, if there are one or two beneficiaries, no property, a limited number of bank accounts, no inheritance tax to pay and the executors do not need to submit a full account to HMRC costs will be in the region of £1,500- £2000 plus vat (vat £300-£400). If there are multiple beneficiaries, a property, multiple bank accounts, and a full account to submit to HMRC costs will usually be in the region of £3000- £4000 plus vat (vat £600-£800). This is in addition to the below disbursements:
- Probate Court fee of £155 (no vat)
- £1.50 (no vat) for each office copy of the Grant required (1 per asset usually)
- If applicable to your case – possible fees for Trustee Act Notices in the London and Local Gazette– usually range between £160 – £250 plus vat (vat £32- £50). These protect against unexpected claims from unknown creditors
- Bankruptcy Search fees (UK)- £2 plus vat (vat 40p) per beneficiary. Fees will be higher if the beneficiary is located abroad.
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 estimate of the costs once we have more information.
- Dealing with the sale or transfer of any property in the estate is not included.
How long will this take?
On average, a non-taxable estate will be dealt with within 6-12 months. More complex estates with inheritance tax reliefs being claimed can range from 12 -24 months.
Fixed Fee Services
We do offer a fixed fee service for Grant of Probate only applications. This quote is for where the Executors have obtained all of the asset information and require us to only complete the documentation to make the application for the Grant of Probate. We will hand over the Grant of Probate to the Executors so that they can administer the estate.
Fixed Fee for obtaining Grant of Probate only- Return of Estate information (IHT205)
- Legal fee of £750 plus vat (vat £150)
- Probate Court fee of £155 (no vat) (£0 fee if the estate net value is less than £5,000)
- Additional copies of the Grant of Probate £1.50 per copy no vat
How long will this service take?
On average estates that fall within this category take 2-3 weeks from the initial meeting, if we have been provided with all of the information to prepare the documentation ready for signing. Once the documentation has been signed it is submitted to the Probate Registry who take between 2 to 12 weeks to issue a Grant of Probate. Therefore on average it can take up to four months to complete.
Obtaining Grant of Probate only- Full Inheritance Tax Account require (IHT400)
Due to the complexity of completing the IHT400 we are unable to offer a fixed fee for this service, our charges would be charged on an hourly basis as set out above, you could expect our charges to be between £1,000 – £2,000 plus vat (vat £200-£400)
Disbursements payable in addition to our fees
- Probate Court fee of £155 (no vat) (£0 fee if the estate net value is less than £5,000)
- Additional copies of the Grant of Probate £1.50 per copy no vat
As part of this service we will:
- Provide you with a dedicated and experienced probate solicitor to work on your matter
- Prepare the IHT400 and all supporting schedules
- Submit the IHT400, schedules and probate summary to HMRC for stamping
- Upon receipt of the stamped Probate Summary submit the probate application to the Probate Registry
- Obtain the Probate and securely send copies to you
How long will this service take?
It will take approximately three to six months.
