"Traditional Values - up-to-date knowledge"

Wills and Probate

Have you made a Will?

Do you need help with any of the following?

  • Advising the Elderly
  • Court of Protection
  • Lasting Powers of Attorney
  • Tax Planning
  • Wills and Trust
  • Probate and Administration
  • Personal Injury Trusts

To make plans to protect the interests of yourself and your family both during your lifetime and after your death, you should make a Lasting Power of Attorney. This will give your relative or friend power to manage your affairs or make decisions during your lifetime if you become unable to look after them yourself through mental or physical incapacity. You can then be assured that the person or persons you trust will be in charge if and when that happens. You should also make a Will. This will appoint executors to look after your property after your death and name who will inherit it. We have produced a Questionnaire suggesting things which you need to include in the Will. There will be much for your executor to do in order to wind up your Estate. What this is exactly will depend upon the size of the Estate, the type of property involved and who is to inherit. We can help your Executor in a sympathetic and efficient manner either by advising him how to go about it or by ourselves administrating the Estate on his behalf.

If you would like us to act for you or advise you please ring Celia Earley on 01904 623751.

Celia is a solicitor and has more than 15 years eperience of wills and probate work. Celia is supervised by Philip Chapman who is a solicitor and has more than 40 years experience of probate work.

The landmark Court of Appeal ruling has implications for how people should draw up their wills, legal experts say. Read more by clicking the link Your will can be ignored, say judges.

Probate: Range of costs for Administration of Estate

Applying for the grant, collecting and distributing the assets

In order to obtain the grant we will need to establish the assets and liabilities and place a statutory advertisement to protect the Executors. We can then draft the probate papers and tax returns, pay any inheritance tax due and obtain the grant. Once we have the grant we can collect the assets, payoff the debts and distribute the estate and prepare the estate accounts

We anticipate this will take between 4 and 20 hours of work at £275.00 per hour. Total costs estimated at £1,100 - £5,500 (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.

We will handle the full process for you. This quote is for estates where:

  • There is a valid will
  • There is no more than one property
  • There are no more than 8 bank or building society accounts
  • There are no other intangible assets
  • There are 1-6 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 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

Disbursements

  • Probate application fee of £157.00
  • £7.00 Swearing of the oath (per executor)
  • Bankruptcy-only Land Charges Department searches (£2 per beneficiary)
  • £78.00 (plus VAT) Post in The London Gazette – Protects against unexpected claims from unknown creditors.
  • £126.14 (plus VAT) Post in the York Evening Press – This also helps to protect against unexpected claims.
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.
  • If any additional copies of the grant are required, they will cost £10.00 (1 per asset usually).
  • Dealing with the sale or transfer of any property in the estate is not included.
  • If inheritance tax is payable and it is necessary to submit a full account to HMRC
  • If DWP seeks to recover assets.
  • If there are disputes over the division of assets
  • Any claims are made against the estate
  • If any Deeds of Variations are required

How long will this take?

On average, estates that fall within this range are dealt with within 2-4 months. Typically, obtaining the grant of probate takes an average 6 weeks.

Probate: Fixed fee for obtaining a Grant of Probate/Letters of Administration only

We can help you through this difficult process by obtaining the Grant of Probate on your behalf.

How much does this service cost?

TOTAL: fixed fee of £400.00 (plus VAT). Where the estate value is up to £325,000 and it is not necessary to submit a full account to HMRC. If the estate value is over £325,000, please telephone us on 01904 623751 for a quote.

This includes: obtaining the grant only

Breakdown of costs:

Legal fees £400.00

VAT on legal fees £80.00

Disbursements

  • Probate court fee of £157.00.
  • £7.00 swearing of the oath (per executor).
  • Bankruptcy-only Land Charges Department searches (£2 per beneficiary).
  • £78.00 plus VAT Post in The London Gazette – Protects against unexpected claims from unknown creditors, if required
  • £126.14 plus VAT Post in York Evening Press – This also helps to protect against unexpected claims, if required.

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.

As part of our fixed fee we will:

  • Provide you with a dedicated and experienced probate solicitor to work on your matter
  • Identify the legally appointed executors or administrators and beneficiaries
  • 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 on your behalf
  • Obtain the Probate and securely send two copies to you

How long will this take?

On average, estates that fall within this range are dealt with within 2-4 months. Typically, obtaining the Grant of Probate takes 6 weeks.


Get started by downloading our Initial Probate Instructions document