Prices

Applying for the grant only

£750 PLUS VAT (£150.00) if there is no IHT liability

Applying for the grant and administering the estate

We anticipate this will take between 7 and 15 hours work at £195.00 per hour.
Total costs are therefore estimated at between £1,365.00 plus VAT (£273.00) and £2,850.00 plus VAT (£570.00).

The exact costs 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 £300,000 in the bank or building society accounts
• There are no other intangible assets
• There are between 2 and 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 is no inheritance tax payable and the Executors do not need to submit a full account to HMRC (IHT 400)
• There are no claims made against the estate

Disbursements not included in this fee:

• Probate application fee: £300.00
• Additional copies of the grant of probate: £16.00
• Bankruptcy-only Land Charges Department searches: £6.00 per Executor
• The cost of putting a post in The London Gazette: Variable – Protects against unexpected claims from unknown creditors.
• The cost of putting a post in a Local Newspaper: Variable – 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 but will charge for the cost of the above disbursements over and above our legal costs to ensure a smoother process.

Potential additional costs

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. Some common circumstances are:

• If the estate is taxable
• If there is no will
• If the estate consists of any share holdings (stocks and bonds)
• If there are a number of beneficiaries or beneficiaries live oversees
  
• If any additional copies of the grant are required, they will cost £16.00 (1 per asset usually)
• Dealing with the sale or transfer of any property in the estate is not included

How long will this take?

For estates of this size, the process usually takes around 6 to 9 months from start to finish. Obtaining the grant of probate (if IHT is not payable) typically takes about 12 weeks, after which we can begin gathering the assets. This stage normally takes a further 6 to 8 weeks. Once everything has been collected and the estate accounts are prepared, we can move on to distributing the estate, which is generally completed within approximately 4 weeks.

If IHT is payable, a separate application is needed to HMRC which can add a further 4-8 weeks to the timescale.