Our London Fees

Probate is the legal right granted to a person (or more than one person) to deal with someone else’s property, money and possessions after they die. This is also sometimes referred to as dealing with someone’s estate.

It can be a particularly difficult time following someone’s death. Our Private Client team are on hand to represent you in obtaining the grant of Probate. Our Private Client team can also collect and distribute assets that form part of someone’s estate on your behalf.

We charge for the time taken to provide you with advice, and associated work. We will tell you in our letter of engagement who shall be responsible for handling your file and their hourly rate. This may be a combination of a partners, solicitors, paralegals and non-qualified staff.

Where work is charged by reference to time, the amount we charge is calculated by multiplying the number of hours worked on your matter by the hourly rate of the members of our team carrying out that work. If you instruct a more senior person to complete the work with a higher rate then the cost for the work instructed will increase.

The cost range for this type of work is quite wide. The exact cost will depend on the individual circumstances of the matter, and the time applied. For example, if there is one beneficiary and no property, costs will be at the lower end of the ranges noted below. If there are multiple beneficiaries, a property and multiple bank accounts, or many meetings, correspondence items or paperwork to review, costs will be at the higher end.

We would estimate the following cost ranges for typical estates as follows:

• Simple non-taxable estate, £5,000 – £8,000 plus VAT at 20%.
• Complex non-taxable estate, £8,000 – £20,000 plus VAT at 20%.
• Taxable estate, £15,000+ plus VAT at 20%.

In a typical Probate we shall:

• Meet you to provide you with legal advice.
• Complete client identification and anti-money laundering procedures.
• Identify the assets and liabilities at the date of death.
• Review the will or other testamentary writings and the estate papers.
• Issue initial investigation letters.
• Arrange valuations with third parties where appropriate.
• Pay any tax or estate liabilities that may be due from funds held on behalf of the estate.
• Prepare an inventory of the estate.
• Prepare the forms required to apply for Probate.
• Complete the appropriate HMRC return for inheritance tax purposes. The inheritance tax return IHT400 must be submitted within 12 months of the date of death to avoid penalties. However, interest on any unpaid inheritance tax begins to accrue 6 months after the date of death.
• Exhibit Probate to any relevant companies or businesses.
• Complete any withdrawal forms, closure forms or stock transfer forms that are appropriate.
• Ingather the estate following the grant of Probate.
• Liaise with tax accountant to report to HM Revenue and Customs the income and capital gains tax liabilities for an estate.
• Prepare the executry account.
• Distribute the estate in accordance with the will or testamentary writings.
• Make final distributions to the beneficiaries.

The above scope of work assumes communication with you and third parties by letter, email, in person or by telephone call.

Any work or legal advice not described above is not typically included.

For example, a typical Probate would not include detailed tax advice, financial advice, estate agency services, letting or conveyancing services. These services are normally charged separately, and sometimes by independent third parties. For example, you may instruct separate companies such as estate accents, conveyancing firms and stock brokers or investment managers to liquidate or transfer certain assets. The costs associated with instructing a third party will be in addition to our legal costs, tax liabilities (such as inheritance tax, income tax, stamp duty land tax, and capital gains tax), outlays and related disbursements.

Disbursements are billed separately at cost to the estate (where applicable VAT is included at 20%). For a typical Probate, you can expect the following disbursements:

• Probate application fee (£300.00 and £16.00 each for an extra copy of the probate document).
• Section 27 of the Trustee Act 1925 Notice fees are estimated at £300.00 plus VAT).

Disbursements are costs related to your matter that are payable to third parties, such as court fees. We can handle the payment of the disbursements on your behalf to ensure a smoother process. Please note that the disbursement costs can change from time to time, and this is outwith our control.

Typically, simple estates are dealt with within 9-12 months.

Typically, obtaining the grant of probate takes 12-16 weeks once the forms have been approved, signed and lodged. Collecting assets then follows, which can take between 10-12 weeks. Once this has been done, we can distribute the assets, which normally takes 2 weeks once the estate accounts are approved.

We can only provide an estimate of timescales for a typical simple estate, and we cannot influence the timescales of independent third parties such as the probate registry, financial institutions and HMRC. Complex estates can take longer than 12 months to complete.

Gilson Gray (England) Limited is regulated and authorised by the Solicitors Regulatory Authority (“SRA”). Its SRA number is 620418.