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Contents
When a person dies, it may become necessary to apply for probate of the deceased person’s estate. Probate is the legal right to deal with someone’s property, money and possessions (their ‘estate’) when they die. A grant of probate needs to be applied for through the Probate Registry and once granted, it gives you the legal right to deal with a person’s estate after they have died. If a person dies intestate, a grant of letters of administration is used instead. In addition, there are times when probate is not required, however HMRC forms need to be completed.
At ABA Solicitors Ltd, our wills and probate team have experience in advising on probate matters and from the outset can guide you on the best course of action and assist with the complex task of obtaining probate, collecting and administering the estate.
At ABA Solicitors Ltd we charge either a fixed rate (for specific cases) or an hourly rate incurred in dealing with these matters regardless of the complexity of the matter whereas other firms charge you their fees on hourly rates as well as up to 1.5% of the value of the estate.
Fixed Cost is available in the following circumstances only;
- its value is below the current inheritance tax threshold (currently £325,000)
- the estate is worth £650,000 or less and any unused threshold is being transferred from a spouse or civil partner who died first
- the deceased left everything to a spouse or civil partner living in the UK or to a qualifying charity and the estate is worth less than £1 million
- the deceased was living permanently outside the UK (a ‘foreign domiciliary’) when they died and the value of their UK assets is under £150,000
Where fixed fee pricing is available.
- Fixed price from £750 (no VAT)
Work to be undertaken: Submit grant of probate application and advice needed around administration.
You will need to : contact relevant organisations and get valuations of assets and debts, gather all documentation and verify who is to inherit; handle the estate administration yourselves.
Any additional advice needed is charged at hourly rates.
Where Work Charged out at Hourly Rates
- Where a full probate application is needed and a full tax declaration is required. The costs are charged on an hourly basis.
There is no ‘typical’ administration of estate and therefore it can be difficult to quantify the costs however in more straightforward cases, in applying for the grant, valuing, collecting and distributing the assets, we anticipate this will take between 5 and 50 hours work at £280.00. There is no charge for VAT. Total costs estimated at £1,400 to £14,000.
The fee ranges we have set out above are based on several assumptions, as follows:
- There is either a valid Will held by the Deceased, or all relatives to inherit the estate via the intestacy rules are known and traceable. Evidence of their eligibility and relation to the deceased is readily available.
- It is agreed between all relevant parties at the outset who will act as our client and obtain the Grant, with no disputes or challenges to this arising in the course of the matter.
- If the estate is to be varied, then the terms of the variation is agreed by all relevant parties in a reasonable time.
- There are no disputes between beneficiaries as to the division of the deceased’s assets, or any claims made under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975.
- There are no foreign or intangible assets which we are required to administer.
- There are no more than 3 bank or building society accounts
- There are no other intangible assets
- There are 2-4 beneficiaries
Our standard hourly rates of solicitor are as follows:
| Solicitor Grade | Hourly Rates |
| A – Solicitors and Legal Executives with over 8 years’ experience. | £280 (no VAT) |
| B – Solicitors and Legal Executives with over 4 years’ experience. | £230 (no VAT) |
| C – Other Solicitors or legal executives and fee earners with 1 to 4 years’ experience. | £180 (no VAT) |
| D – Trainee solicitors, paralegals and other fee earners. | £130 (no VAT) |
In addition to the standard hourly rates, we have also outlined some of the disbursements (fees payable to third parties) that are likely to apply during the course of any administration. We believe that the following disbursements will be incurred routinely in almost all matters:
| Item | Amount |
| Probate Fee | £300 incl VAT |
| Office Copies for the Grant of Probate (1 copy needed per asset) | £1.50 incl VAT |
| Land Registry – Office Copy Entry | £4.20 incl VAT |
| Bankruptcy Search Fee | £4.20 incl VAT |
| Post In the London Gazette | £200-£300 incl VAT |
| Share Valuation Fees | £25.00 plus VAT at 20% |
| Property Valuation Fee | £150.00 plus VAT at 20% |
| National Will Register | £105 plus VAT at 20% |
There are potential other costs which can be incurred during the process of obtaining probate such as valuers, house clearance, auctioneers, genealogists, estate agents; these costs cannot be quoted as individual quotes are provided on a case-by-case basis. Dealing with a sale or transfer of the property is not included.
TIME SCALE
The timescale in dealing with estate administrations varies between cases.
Where the estate is valued at less than £325,000 or less than £1,000,000 and where there is no inheritance tax to pay, these are dealt within 3 weeks from obtaining all asset information. The grant of probate or letters of administration can take up to 3 weeks from submission to be issued.
In all other cases where there is inheritance tax to pay or the full IHT400 needs to be completed, it can take up to 3 or 4 weeks from submitting the full tax information to HMRC to receive the code (needed for probate) from them.
Once the code is received from HMRC, the grant of probate / letters of administration can take anything up to 3 months to be issued.
Collecting the assets then follows which can take up to 6 months depending on the assets. Property assets that need to be sold can take longer and are dependent upon securing a sale. Assets such as stocks and shares are usually dealt within 2-4 weeks.
Once this has been done, we can distribute the assets, which normally takes 4-12 months from the grant of probate assuming there are no further complications or disputes that arise.
