Probate

Wills & probate

Probate & Estate Administration

Helping you to administer, execute and manage someone’s will

If you are named as the executor of a Will you will be responsible for administering the deceased’s estate. This can involve identifying and liquidating the assets, paying off debts and taxes and distributing the estate to the beneficiaries.

This can be quite time-consuming and there may be unfamiliar statutory requirements that must be observed. It does, however, allow you to exercise control over the administration of the estate so you can be sure the deceased’s wishes are respected.

You will require a grant of probate to gain the authority to manage the assets, and the legal responsibility that this bestows also means you may be liable for any misadministration, whether intentional or not. Our experienced lawyers are able to explain the processes, work with you to ease the burden of administration and guide you through any complexities that may arise. Administering an estate may take many months to finalise, particularly where the estate is large or complicated. Our team can help steer you through this, offer advice where there is dispute and provide guidance where there is uncertainty.

Costs and Service Information

Uncontested Probate (with all assets in the UK)

Prices

Please note that there will be two elements to the prices as set out below:

Fees charged by HT Legal Solicitors; and
Fees payable to third parties.

Please ensure that you consider both parts to our price information.

Fees charged by HT Legal Solicitors

Fee	Range	VAT	Total
Legal fee *	£500.00 - £3,000.00	£100.00 - £600.00	£600.00 - £3,000.00
		SUBTOTAL	£600.00 - £3,000.00

* Basis of charging = hourly rate of £250.00. On average, we usually need to spend 6 -12 hours to complete the work.

This estimated range is based on an estate where:

There is a valid Will.
There is no more than one property.
There are no more than 4 bank or building society accounts.
There are no other tangible assets.
There are no more than 4 beneficiaries.
There are no disputes between beneficiaries on division of assets.
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.

Fees payable to third parties (‘Disbursements’)

Fee	Actual	Average	VAT	Total
Probate Fee	£273.00		£0.00	£273.00
Sealed Copies		£1.50	£0.00	£1.50 (per copy of Grant required)
Identity Check		£4.50	£0.90	£5.40 (per Executor)
HMLR Office Copies		£6.00	£1.20	£7.20
Will Search	£95.00		£19.00	£114.00
			SUBTOTAL	£401.10

ESTIMATED TOTAL FEES £878.90 - £3,878.90

Work included and key stages

Our fees include obtaining the grant of probate, collecting assets and distributing them. The precise work and stages involved in a probate matter vary according to the circumstances. However, we have set out the key stages involved in a typical probate matter:

Take your instructions and give you initial advice.
Identify the legally appointed executors or administrators and beneficiaries.
Establish the extent of the estate by identifying the various assets and liabilities.
Identify the type of probate application required.
The application for Grant of Probate is prepared and then sworn by the executor and submitted to the appropriate Probate Registry together with the Will, if there is one.
Once the Grant is received, it is submitted to the various organisations with whom assets are held in order to start the process of transferring the assets into the beneficiaries’ names.
All estate liabilities have to be paid before the estate can be distributed among the beneficiaries;
Confirmation is required that tax is paid up to date and there are no outstanding HMRC claims;
Estate accounts should be prepared thereafter, and the estate distributed in accordance with the terms of the Will.

Services excluded from this fee estimate

Our service will not include any of the following:

Any contested probate matters or advice on the same.
Advice on tax or other accounting matters.
Advice on assets held outside of the UK.
Dealing with the sale or transfer of any property in the estate.

Approximate/ average timescales

On average, estates that fall within this quote range are dealt with within 12 months.

Typically, obtaining the grant of probate takes 4 months.

Collecting assets then follows, which can take 6 months.

Once this has been done, we can distribute the assets, which normally takes 12 months (from the date of initial instruction).

Factors that could increase costs

In some circumstances we may increase our fees to account for additional time, work or skill required to meet your instructions. Examples include:

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.
If any additional copies of the grant are required.
If a Deed of Variation of Estate is required.