Probate
Losing a loved one is always a very traumatic experience. This trauma is often compounded by the need to administer their estate, which can often be complicated, time-consuming, and involve highly charged emotions.
Often, the thought of instructing a Solicitor at this stage can itself be equally daunting.
At Wadsworths, we pride ourselves at being able to help to take the stress of administering the Estate off the shoulders of our clients. We offer a service, entirely bespoke to those instructing us, ensuring that we neither do too much, nor too little towards the administration of an estate. We can act either just to obtain the Grant of Probate, just to deal with the financial matters or handling the entire estate.
We are able to offer a fixed fee, giving clients peace of mind that they will not be hit with a large unexpected bill at the conclusion of the matter.
Clients are often very surprised at how reasonable the costs of administering an estate are, and feel that they represent excellent value for money for the service involved.
We offer a free, no obligation half hour consultation to discuss your particular needs – and to give you general advice on whether you need the input of a Solicitor, and if so what the likely fees would be.
Full Administration of Estate
The process of administering an estate and acting as an Executor can be complex and time consuming.
We can assist in administering each aspect of a person’s estate. Our estate administration service includes:-
- Meeting with the Executors / Personal Representatives to discuss the estate and the process involved. This can be achieved via a face-to-face appointment at one of our offices or via a telephone / Zoom / Teams meeting.
- Liaising with all organisations where assets are held to obtain the required information regarding the estate values.
- Contacting creditors to determine liabilities owed by the estate.
- Organising searches such as a Certainty Will Search, a Financial Asset Search or Statutory Notices for creditors
- Drafting all legal paperwork and reporting to HMRC and the Probate Registry as necessary.
- Collecting in all estate assets and discharging estate liabilities.
- Reporting estate income, gains and losses to HMRC where required and ensuring all taxes are paid.
- Preparing Estate Accounts to fully detail all assets collected, liabilities paid and the inheritance due to each beneficiary of the estate.
On average this entire process takes between 16 and 50 hours’ work at an average of £200 per hour, plus VAT.
Total costs estimated at £3,500 to £10,000 plus VAT.
The exact cost will depend on the individual circumstances of the matter.
The estimate given is for estates where:-
- There is a valid Will
- All Executors are in agreement
- There is a single property
- There is no inheritance tax payable and the Executors do not need to submit an Inheritance Tax Account to HMRC
- There are no claims made against the estate
We anticipate that the following disbursements (payments to others) will be payable on a typical estate:
- Probate application fee of £526 plus £2.00 per copy when applied for at the same time as obtaining the Grant (£16 per copy if applied for separately) (no VAT charged).
- Bankruptcy-only Land Charges Department searches £7.80 per beneficiary using InfoTrack (no VAT charged)
- £98-£260 (plus VAT) Statutory Notices to creditors (these protect against unexplained claims from unknown creditors)
The fee quoted above may be increased if it is found that the estate contains any of the following:
- If there is no Will
- If the estate consists of any share holdings (stocks and bonds)
- If the estate consists of investments
- If there are a higher number of beneficiaries (or the whereabouts of a beneficiary is unknown)
- If there are multiple properties or foreign assets
- If the deceased made substantial lifetime gifts or had an interest in a trust
- If the Will contains a trust
We can give you a more accurate quote once we have more information.
TIMESCALES
On average, simple estates that do not include any of the additional problems outlined above can be dealt with within 6 -12 months.
It is common for a Grant of Probate to be received within 8 – 14 weeks after we have obtained all of the necessary information.
We strive to have liquid assets collected within 6 – 10 weeks of the Grant being obtained.
The distribution of the estate after approval of the estate accounts generally takes 2-3 weeks.
Obtaining a Grant of Probate
Wadsworths Solicitors offer a fixed fee service where we obtain the Grant of Probate or the Grant of Letters of Administration on behalf of the Executors or Personal Representatives of an estate.
The Executors or Personal Representatives provide us with the relevant estate information, allowing us to prepare the necessary documentation and Inheritance Tax returns for HMRC and the Legal Statement for the Probate Registry.
Upon the Grant of Probate being issued, the Executors undertake the process of administering the estate.
Our fees for this service start at £2000 plus VAT and are dependent upon which HMRC returns need to be completed and whether the estate is liable for Inheritance Tax.
Smaller Excepted Estates / Non-Complex Estates
Our fixed fee service starts at £2000 plus VAT. An example of an estate which may fall into this category would be where the estate value is less than £325,000 and full spouse/charity exemption applies.
For estates where the value is more than £325,000 but less than £650,000, and where there is a Transferrable Inheritance Tax Nil Rate Band of the first spouse available, our fixed fee cost would start at £2500 plus VAT.
Non Excepted Estates / Taxable Estates
Our fixed fee services for estates which require an Inheritance Tax return (IHT400) to be made to HMRC and/or Inheritance Tax is payable start at £3000 plus VAT for non-taxable estates and £4000 plus VAT where Inheritance Tax is due.
We will prepare and submit the IHT400 together with all require supplemental forms to HMRC. Following this we will also prepare and submit the application to the Probate Registry on behalf of the Executors or Personal Representatives.
Disbursements (payments to others) also payable:
HMCTS Probate fee – This is due to be paid for all estates over the value of £5000 and is £526. A fee of £2 is payable for each copy of the Grant of Probate required (provided that the copies are requested at the time of making the application)
Further copies – additional copies of a Grant of Probate are £16 per copy when requested after the initial Probate application has been made.
Bankruptcy Searches – £7.80 for a UK bankruptcy search.
Please note that when instructed for any of the above fixed fee Probate services, we will not provide advice regarding the administration of estate.
Timescales
Obtaining a Grant of Probate takes approximately 12 weeks from the date of submission. Where an IHT400 application is required, a further 4-5 weeks are required for the paperwork to be processed by HMRC.
Please note, these timescales assume that the application can be made online. For applications which are required to be submitted in paper format, the timescales can increase drastically.
Meet Our Probate Team
The department is supervised by Michael Wadsworth (Director).
Victoria Wadsworth
Probate Case Manager
Rachel Ison
Solicitor
Rachel Alidieres
Solicitor
Sarah Mahoney
Probate Caseworker
Lily Franklin
Private Client Paralegal
Emma Brown
Probate Assistant
Sharon Lowndes
Probate Assistant
Lisa Cunningham
Probate Assistant
Jade Brown
Probate Assistant
Please enter your details below and one of our team will be in touch with how Wadsworths can help
PLEASE NOTE: We do not share any of your data with third parties.
Please see our privacy policy for more info.
Any infomation provided is for our records only and not to be used on our website.