Guide on Costs - Uncontested Probate
Guide on Costs
At Lever & Co. we have over 30 years of expertise in administering estates. Whether it be a simple estate or an large and highly complex matter the team prides ourselves in providing quality personal services geared to your individual needs.
Costs for dealing with Estates are dependent on individual circumstances. For instance if the deceased dies leaving a Will which passes all of their estate to their spouse, the estate will be relatively straightforward thus reflecting in the costs being at the lower end of the scale.
However, if a deceased dies with no surviving spouse, there is more than one property and multiple bank accounts this will result in additional time required to administer the estate and therefore the costs would be higher.
At the outset of your matter, you will be provided with an indication of the fees. The estimate will be based on the number of hours we expect to spend on each stage of the administration.
Aspects that can reflect on the time (both increasing and decreasing) taken to administer the estates and therefore taken into account when providing you with your individual fee estimate can include:
- Is there a Will and was the Will professionally drafted?;
- Was the deceased known to us and therefore we have prior knowledge of their estate?;
- Are we the named executors on the estate?;
- Did the deceased keep their affairs in an orderly manner or are there lots of papers to be investigated?;
- Are there multiple properties, trusts (in which the deceased had an interest) or disputes/ relationship issues that may cause additional work?.
- Is there foreign property?
Whilst, as stated above, there can be many aspects that are taken into account when providing you with your individual fee estimate, in accordance with the SRA Transparency Rules, we do provide the following estimate as a guide (the fees estimated below are for illustrative purposes only and you should not rely on them):
Dealing with an estate where:
There is a valid will
- There is no more than one property
- There are no more than 3 bank or building society accounts
- There are no other intangible assets
- There are 1-5 beneficiaries
- There are no disputes between beneficiaries on division of assets. If disputes arise this is likely to lead to an increase in costs
- There are no foreign property or assets
- There are no claims made against the estate
| Fees Range Between | |
|---|---|
| Grant only with IHT205 | £1,500 - £3,500 plus VAT |
| Grant only with IHT400 | £2,500 - £8,500 plus VAT |
| Complete Service with IHT205 | £3,000 - £6,500 plus VAT |
| Complete Service with IHT400 | £6,000 – £25,000 plus VAT |
The exact cost will depend on the individual circumstances of the matter. For example, if there is one beneficiary and no property, costs will be at the lower end of the range. If there are multiple beneficiaries, a property and multiple bank accounts, costs will be at the higher end.
Disbursements:
There will also be additional third party expenses incurred during the administration ('disbursements') which may include the following:-
- Probate application fee: currently £273. Additional copies of the Grant cost £1.50p each. As a general rule, one copy per asset will be required.
- Land Registry fees: £3 per copy document; £20 for the entry of a restriction against a property's title.
- Fees to transfer the title of the property will vary considerably depending on the value of the property
- Unclaimed Assets register search (if required): £25.
- Bankruptcy search: £2 per name for each beneficiary.
- Statutory Advertisement in The London Gazette (to protect against unexpected claims from unknown creditors): £170 - £270 plus VAT.
Please note that these fees are subject to regular reviews by the provider and therefore may vary at the time of your matter. We will however, always update you as to any changes to costs at the time.
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.
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.
- Dealing with the sale or transfer of any property in the estate is not included.
How long will it take?
Matters within our control
The average period to administer estate where there is no liability to Inheritance Tax is between 3 to 6 months. However, as mentioned above, there are various factors that affect the amount of work required for each estate and these can also affect the amount of time to bring matters to a conclusion.
Matters outside of our control
There will be other bodies, such as HM Revenue and Customs and the Probate Registry, that will also be involved in the process and will have their own timescales for dealing with matters.
Completing the administration of an estate can also involve the sale of assets (e.g. a property) in order to satisfy obligations to pay debts of an estate or to pay beneficiaries their inheritance. As such, timing can also depend on the property market and the time it takes to complete the conveyancing procedure.
We will, as a matter of course, keep you updated throughout the administration and let you know of any delays that we might foresee, or any that arise along the way.
Who will be dealing with your matter?
As previously mentioned our team at Lever & Co has over 30 years of expertise in administering estates. We specialise in Wills, Probate and Estate planning. At Lever & Co we pride ourselves in providing a personal service and the whole team works to provide this unified service. Our aim is that when you need us there is always someone available that has knowledge of your matter and thus it is not uncommon for both our partners to be working on your matter.
Angela Lever, Partner: - Angela was admitted as a solicitor in 1991. She is a Notary Public, and a full TEP member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP). She is also a member the Private Client Section of the Law Society. Her reputation is based on her extensive knowledge and expertise in all areas of Private Client law. She specialises in wealth management through Will preparation and the creation of trusts and settlements.
Gerard Feeley, Partner: - Gerard was admitted as a solicitor in 2009, he has extensive knowledge in all areas of Private Client law together with Charity Law and Residential Conveyancing.
Tasks of more administrative nature may be carried out by our administrative staff of which we have a Trust Assistant who has over 20 years of experience and a Qualified Specialist Paralegal who has worked in the legal sector for over 19 years. The team is supported by our office secretary/admin assistant who joined the firm in 2019.
Assisting in Tax matters will be our Tax adviser, who has over 35 years of experience.
If you require any further information on any of the above, or would like to know more about the other services which we offer to people and businesses, please contact Lever & Co.
