Probate/Administrate of Estates – Costings

If instructed to apply for a Grant, without collecting and distributing assets, we estimate this will take between 5 to 6 hours work at £240.00 plus VAT per hour. Our costs are estimated therefore at £1200 to £1440 plus VAT. There will also be disbursements payable (see below).

We will handle the full process for you. This estimate is for estates where:

• There is a valid will
• There is no more than one property
• There are no more than 12 bank or building society accounts
• There are no other intangible assets
• There are no more than 4 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

We anticipate this will take between 10 and 25 hours of work at £ 240 per hour plus VAT. Total costs estimated at between £2400 to £6000 plus VAT.

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.

• Probate application fee of £273 (plus 1.50p for extra copies of the Grant (1 per asset generally)
• Bankruptcy-only Land Charges Department searches (£2 per beneficiary) – if required
• Approximately £200.00 plus VAT to post an advert in The London Gazette and a Local Newspaper – if required (protects against unexpected claims from unknown creditors).

Disbursements are costs related to your matter that are payable to third parties, such as court fees. We can handle the payment of the disbursements on your behalf to ensure a smoother process at no additional cost.

• If there is no will, the estate consists of any shareholdings (stocks and bonds) or exceeds the criteria set out above, there are likely to be additional costs that could range significantly. We can give you a more accurate quote once we have more information.
• Dealing with the sale or transfer of any property in the estate is not included.

On average, dealing with the administration of an Estate that falls within this range takes around 8 to 12 months. Typically, obtaining the grant takes 2 to 5 months once the value of the estate is known. Collecting assets then follows, which can take between 4-12 weeks provided no property is involved. Once this has been done, we can distribute the assets, which normally takes 3-4 weeks after clearance has been received from HMRC, if appropriate.

The Court can take up to six months to process an application depending on the volume of applications it receives.