Legal Fee Information for Uncontested Probate
The death of a loved one is a difficult time and here at Rogers & Norton we can assist with all aspects of the administration of estates, from advice following the death to finalising the estate and ensuring all beneficiaries receive their inheritance.
Our team are experts in advising upon estate administration, whether solvent or insolvent, straightforward or complex. Of course, each and every estate is different, and we will endeavour to give each our own personal empathetic touch to suit your specific circumstances.
The amount of work we do on an estate can be determined by those instructing and can vary from an appointment to obtain initial advice to assistance in getting a Grant of Administration to the full estate administration depending on your needs.
We offer an initial 30 minute interview at £200 inclusive of VAT which will be included in the fees below, should you instruct us to deal with the probate.
Legal Fees
Legal Fees are the amount you will be required to pay for all the work performed by us in actioning your instructions from commencement of your case to conclusion.
VAT will be payable on our fees and some disbursements, currently 20%, and we will clearly confirm which disbursements carry VAT in our formal quotation or as we advise you to incur them.
If your matter becomes complex (see below) our fees may increase further and we will notify you in advance of any increased costs.
Our legal fees set out below are for the collection and distribution of money, property and other assets belonging to a person following their death, where these are within the UK and the matters are not contested:
Grant of Probate only:
- Grant of Probate or Letters of Administration only – no Inheritance Tax payable: £900 + VAT (£1,080.00 Inc. VAT) and disbursements (see below)
Our fees for obtaining a Grant of Probate will be fixed at £900 + VAT (£1,800.00 Inc. VAT) and disbursements (see below). The application for the Grant of Probate will be made based on the information relating to the assets and liabilities of the estate that you provide us with. This estimate is based on current information as presented to us which concludes that this estate does not require a full IHT400 estate account to be supplied to HMRC. If, during the course of our instructions this changes, then we will discuss with you an increased estimate.
- Grant of Probate or Letters of Administration only – Inheritance Tax payable: £1500 + VAT (£1,800.00 Inc. VAT) and disbursements (see below)
Our fees for obtaining a Grant of Probate will be fixed at £1,500 + VAT (£1,800.00 inc. VAT) and disbursements (see below). The application for the Grant of Probate will be made based on the information relating to the assets and liabilities of the estate that you provide us with.
Key Stages: As Part of our fixed fee, we will:
- Provide you with a dedicated and experienced probate lawyer to work on your matter,
- Review the documentation that you provide to us,
- Identify the legally appointed executors or administrators and beneficiaries,
- Accurately identify the type of Probate application you will require,
- Complete the Probate Application and the relevant HMRC forms on your behalf and send them to you for signing or sworn,
- Make the application to the Probate Registry on your behalf,
- Obtain the Probate and securely send the sealed copies to you,
Please note, our instructions are limited to obtaining the Grant of probate and not dealing with any further work, such as collecting in the assets, paying liabilities and making distributions.
If after the Grant of Probate is received you instruct us to complete any further work, we will advise you of the costs separately.
Uncontested Estate Administration:
- Standard Estate Administration: £3,300 – £4,400 + VAT (£3,960.00 – £5,280.00 inc. VAT) and disbursements (see below)
Assuming information is not delayed in being sent to us, a simple probate of a non-taxable estate would on average take us between 12-16 hours at £275 + VAT (£330.00 inc. VAT) per hour: £3,300 – £4,400 plus VAT (£3,960.00 – £5,280.00 inc. VAT) and disbursements (see below).
If during the administration of the estate it appears more work is required than originally estimated, we will provide you with an updated estimate.
- More Complex Estate Administration: £4,400 – £6,875 + VAT (£5,280.00 – £8,250.00 inc. VAT) and disbursements (see below)
In a more complex estate either taxable or with other further complicating factors an average estate may take between 16-25 hours at £275 + VAT (£330.00 inc. VAT) per hour: £4,400 – £6,875 plus VAT (£5,280.00 – £8,250.00 inc. VAT) and disbursements (see below)
If during the administration of the estate it appears more work is required than originally estimated, we will provide you with an updated estimate.
Key Stages:
The precise stages involved in an uncontested probate vary according to the circumstances. We have set out the key stages of a standard transaction and what we will provide:
- Providing you with a dedicated and experienced probate solicitor to work on your matter.
- Undertaking regulatory checks.
- Identifying the legally appointed executors or administrators and beneficiaries.
- Accurately identifying the type of Probate application you will require.
- Obtaining the relevant documents required to make the application.
- Completing the Probate Application and the relevant HMRC forms.
- Making the application to the Probate Court on your behalf.
- Obtaining the Probate and securely send two copies to you.
- Collecting and distributing all assets in the estate.
Dealing with the sale or transfer of any property in the estate is not included and will be charged for separately.
If at any stage our fees change, we will notify you and discuss the reason for any changes. This would typically occur if you change your instructions or your case involves an unforeseen complexity.
Our average fees assume that:
- The transaction is concluded in a timely manner and no unforeseen complication arise.
- All parties to the transaction are co-operative and there is no unreasonable delay from any parties providing documentation.
- That there are no claims against the estate or disagreements between beneficiaries or executors, we are able to easily contact and/or trace all assets and beneficiaries, and we receive timely responses from executors, beneficiaries, HMRC and other third parties.
Disbursements
Disbursements are costs payable to another organisation which are incurred by us as your agent. We handle the payment of the disbursements on your behalf to ensure a smoother process. The following disbursements are likely to be incurred at the current cost:
- Certainty Will Search £105 + VAT (£126.00 inc. VAT)
- Probate Registry fee on Application £300 plus £1.50 per copy
- Estate search Investigation of assets and liabilities £195 + VAT (£234.00 inc. VAT)
- Trustee Act Notices – London Gazette and Local Press £180 – £300
- UK Bankruptcy Search fees up to £10 per legatee/beneficiary
The above is the current estimated level of disbursements. The amount of any disbursement can increase from time to time if the cost to us increases.
Other Costs
- To comply with anti-money laundering legislation and satisfy our regulatory commitments, we carry out online identity checks on all clients and, in probate matters, on each beneficiary. Our fee for this is £2.50 + VAT per check (£3.00 Inc. VAT). This fee is payable on all cases and is in addition to the fees quoted above.
- Bankruptcy search – £2.90 + VAT (£3.48 inc. VAT)
- Anti Money Laundering Checks, from £6.00 + VAT – £16.00 + VAT (£7.20 – £19.20 inc. VAT)
- We will charge the sum of £32.00 + VAT (a total of £38.40 Inc. VAT) for electronic money transfers. CHAPS (Clearing House Automated Payment System) AND BACS (Bankers Automated Clearing Services) payments are free.
Potential additional costs
Further potential costs may arise or make the transaction more complex where:
- 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.
- Where there is Inheritance Tax (IHT) to pay*
- Whether the grant of probate is likely to be contested
- Number and value of properties and whether they are outside England and Wales
- Whether there are any trusts in the Will
- Whether there are any missing beneficiaries
Estates over £325,000 may be subject to Inheritance Tax at the prevailing rates. *To help you decide whether any Inheritance Tax is likely to be due or not, you can visit:
How long will this take?
On average, estates that fall within this range are dealt with within 6 – 12 months. Typically, obtaining the grant of probate takes 3 – 6 months. Collecting assets then follows, which can take between 6 – 12 months. . Once this has been done, we can distribute the assets, which normally takes 8 – 12 months.
Fee Earners
Our team of probate specialists can advise on all areas of estate administration, whether solvent or insolvent, straightforward or complex. Regardless of who works on your case, they will be supervised by Laura Rumsey at Rogers & Norton Solicitors, a qualified Solicitor, Director and Head of Wills, Trusts and Probate Department. For more information on our team members, please click here.
Questions
If you have any questions relating to our services and our fees, please contact us on:
- Norwich 01603 666001
- Attleborough 01953 453774