Probate & Estate Administration Pricing

The below estimate is based on an average estate worth £360,000.00 without complications.

The way that the fees are charged are based upon the time spent upon the matter by the legal team. The hourly rates for the team are chargeable based upon level of experience and qualification. The current rates as of January 2019 are:-

Legal Fees

Disbursements

These are costs payable to third-parties that relate to your matter, for example stamp duty when buying a house or court fees when dealing with probate)

Likely disbursements could be

• Swearing fees £7.00 per personal representative
• Court Fee (current) £160.00 (including additional copies of the Grant).
• Trustee Act Notices £309.00 (approximately)
• E-Probate Fee (£90.00) this provides the Client Portal for 24 hour access to your case and updates.

Note: In the unlikely event that your matter will exceed this cost you will be informed of this as early as possible. Matters typically exceed the quoted fee when they are particularly complicated.

Executorship Fee

Where the Testator has chosen to have a professional Executor to deal with the administration of the Estate there is a set fee charged against the Estate which is currently 1.95% of the Gross value of the Estate declared to the Probate Court.

In exchange for this fee the Professional Executors will take on the legal responsibility and risk during the administration of the estate. They will be responsible for the following:-

Legal

• Identify the person who has the legal responsibility to administer the estate.
• If there is a Will, establish that it is valid and has not been revoked and whether or not there are any codicils.
• Establish whether or not there is a need for a Deed of Variation.
• If there is not a Will, establish who the beneficiaries are and the likely Administrators of the estate having regard to the intestacy laws of England and Wales.
• Draft and prepare the probate papers and submit to the Probate Registry.
• Complete the relevant Inland Revenue forms and calculate any inheritance tax payable.
• Arrange for the payment of any inheritance tax by liaising with beneficiaries/banks.
• Place the relevant Trustee Act Notices to require any claimants to come forward.
• Identify any life or minority interests.
• Set up and manage any Trusts created by the Will.
• Ensure that all legal procedures and adhered to enable the estate to be administered correctly.

Administration

• Carry out and initial assessment of the estate and establish details, names and addresses of all relevant parties both beneficiaries, creditors and claimants.
• Contact all financial institutions, government bodies and other interested parties and obtain details of all assets and liabilities of the estate.
• Arrange any necessary formal valuations of any assets, e.g. House, jewellery, company.
• Establish whether there are any joint assets and liaise with the joint holder about the transfer.
• Arrange the sale of the assets, cashing in and closing of accounts and collection of assets.

Financial

• Complete and submit any necessary income tax returns both for the period to death and during the administration period.
• Establish whether or not there is any unused inheritance tax relief available or exemptions reliefs available to reduce the inheritance tax liability.
• Obtain clearance from H M Revenue and Customs.
• Prepare a final income tax return prior to distribution of the estate.
• Calculate whether there is any income tax or capital gains tax payable and arrange payment with HM Revenue and Customs.
• Collect in all of the assets of the estate.
• Pay all liabilities of the estate having regard to the correct statutory provisions.
• Prepare estate accounts and obtain approval.
• Distribute the proceeds of the Estate.

VAT is chargeable on top of the fee and therefore on an average Estate of £360,000.00 you would expect an Executorship fee of £7,020.00 plus VAT of £1,404.00 making a total Executor fee payable of £8,424.00.

Overall Executorship and Administration on an average estate of £360,000.00 where Professional Executors are used would therefore be :-

This equates to 3.73% of gross estate overall including VAT.