Probate (Uncontested) Work Fees

Our Pricing

At Vas Solicitors we have always prided ourselves on our jargon-free and transparent approach to our work and its costs.

We feel it is really important, in addition to providing you with an excellent service, that you know what you will pay for the service you expect to receive.

We will always confirm our cost estimate or agreed fixed fee with you at the outset in any matter prior to beginning our work for you, for the avoidance of any doubt.

Vat

Where VAT is payable in the pricing shown below it is calculated at the current applicable rate (which is 20%).

The figures shown sequentially represent (1) the amount without VAT, (2) the amount of VAT due and (3) the total inclusive of VAT.

Where no VAT rate or amount is shown below, no VAT is payable.

1. Fixed fee for applying for the Grant of Representation

 If you would like to deal with the majority of the estate administration yourself but would like us to just apply for the Grant, then we can prepare and submit the HMRC forms and Online Probate application for you.

Please see below for our fees for obtaining the Grant. This will depend upon the following –

1. The size of the estate
2. Whether or not there is any Inheritance Tax Payable
3. Whether or not the Executors or Personal Representatives need to submit a full amount to HM Revenue and Customs
4. In some instances, the qualifications and experience of the lawyer dealing with the matter

Fixed fees

Estate value up to £5,000.00

Fee of £950.00 plus £190.00 VAT = £1140.00.

Estate value over £5,000 up to £1,000,000.00

Fee Range:  £2000.00 to £3,500.00 plus £400.00 to £700.00 VAT = £2400.00 to £4200.00 total.

Estate value over £1 million but no IHT due to spousal charity exemption

Fee Range: £3,500.00 to £5,500.00 plus £700.00 to £1100.00 VAT = £4200.00 to £6600.00 total.

Estate subject to inheritance tax

Fee Range:  £5,500.00 to £7,500.00 plus £1100.00 to £2500.00 VAT = £6600.00 to £10,000.00 total.

In addition to our fees, you will need to pay the following disbursements.  These are costs related to your matter that are payable to third parties, such as court fees.

Disbursements

Probate court fee £155 plus £1.50 for each copy Grant.

Swearing of the oath £7 per executor (this can vary depending on whether there is a Will).

These Disbursements do not attract VAT.

Work We Will Do

As part of our fixed fee we will:

• Identify the legally appointed executors or administrators
• Accurately identify the type of Probate application you will require
• Obtain the relevant documents required to make the application
• Complete the Probate Application and the relevant HMRC forms
• Draft a legal oath for you to swear
• Make the application to the Probate Court
• Obtain the Probate and requested number of copies.

Timescales

Typically, obtaining the grant of probate takes between 4 to 16 weeks, but it can be considerably longer if Inheritance tax is payable.

2. Probate and Administration of Estates

The total fees will be the total of our time costs, the value element, and additional costs, any disbursements and any applicable VAT.

Our Fees

Our fees are split into two parts; time costs and the value element.

Time Costs

Time costs are charged at an hourly rate.

Our hourly rates (see the list under the heading ‘Probate Team and Experience’ below) range from £121.00 per hour plus Vat to £250.00 per hour plus vat.

The number of hours work that needs to be done on these cases can vary significantly from case to case, but typically these cases might necessitate between 20 hours and 40 hours of work.  Depending on the hourly rate of the lawyer doing the work, this gives a likely range for our time costs of between (£2420.00 plus £484.00 vat) £2904.00 and (£10,000 plus £2000.00 vat)  £12,000.00

Value element

This is a small percentage of the value of the estate as declared for Probate purposes and equates to 0.5% of any real estate and 1% of everything else (plus VAT).

Therefore, if an estate has a house worth £250,000 and there is £50,000 of other liquid assets, then the value element of our fees will be –

Real estate – £250,000 x 0.05% = £1250.00

Other assets £50,000 x 1% = £500.00

Disbursements

Disbursements are costs related to your matter that are payable to third parties, such as court fees. We handle the payment of the disbursements on your behalf to ensure a smoother process.

Likely disbursements in addition to our fees are:

• Probate application fee of £157 (including 4 copies of the Grant)
•  £7 Swearing of the oath (per executor) – this can vary slightly
• £3 HM Land Registry office copy entry fee in relation to the property
• Between £200 and £300 – Advertise the death in The London Gazette and a local newspaper – this protects against unexpected claims from unknown creditors.

These disbursements are not normally subject to VAT.

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 quote once we have more information.

• If any additional copies of the grant are required, they will cost 50p each (1 per asset usually).

• Dealing with the sale or transfer of any property in the estate is not included

• Any income tax returns that need to be prepared are not included.

• If the estate is larger than first thought, there are foreign assets or if any lifetime gifts in the seven years prior to death have been made, then this will mean a full Inheritance Tax account will need to be prepared for HM Revenue & Customs and the costs could increase significantly.

Any additional work will be charged at the hourly rate of the fee earner doing the work.  Those hourly rates are detailed in the table below.  We will give our best estimate of likely additional/revised costs at the earliest possible opportunity.

Work We Will Do

 This service will involve us applying for the grant, collecting and distributing the assets. We will handle the full process for you. This guide is for estates 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 intangible assets
• There are no more than 4 legatees (people or institutions that receive a cash sum)
• There are between 1 and 4 residuary beneficiaries (people who share what is left after all legacies, costs and debts have been discharged)
• There are no disputes between beneficiaries on the 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

Timescales

To hear back from all asset holders with the valuations that are required to complete the probate papers for HMRC and the Probate Court usually takes between 2 to 3 months.

Once all this information is obtained then an application to extract the Grant will be made to the Probate Court. At present it is taking around 8 – 10 weeks for a Grant to be issued where there is no tax payable and it will approximately a further 6 weeks if tax is payable.

We will then collect in the assets and distribute the estate to the beneficiaries.  Most estates when properly administered can take between 9 months to 1 year to finalise but the time frames will vary depending upon the number of assets in the estate, the location in the world of the assets, the tax position of the estate and the number of beneficiaries.  Very complex estates can take much longer.

Probate Team and Experience