Estate Administration

The death of a loved one is traumatic enough without having to sort out their financial affairs. Many people start to sort out such affairs feeling that they can cope with all the various problems such as assets, liabilities, pensions, tax, trusts, etc. However, after a short while, they may find that the financial and legal paperwork is complex and causes more worries. Professional assistance with sorting out the financial affairs following a death goes a long way to help reduce any stress and worry.

Grant of Probate

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. However our legal experts are on hand to represent you in obtaining the grant of probate. Our experts can also collect and distribute assets that form part of someone’s estate on your behalf.

What does it cost for you to help me obtain a grant of probate?

We can represent you in obtaining a grant of probate for a fixed price. That price will be dependant on specific circumstances but here are examples of our fixed prices.

Probate grant for a simple estate that is not taxable:

Fee type Cost
Our fixed fee          £750
Court fee                £300
Other (eg Identification fee, Official copy of Land Registry if required) £18
Total cost payable  £1,068

Probate grant for a complex estate that is not taxable:
Fee type Cost
Our fixed fee          £1,500
Court fee                £300
Other (eg Identification fee, Official copy of Land Registry if required) £18
Total cost payable  £1,818

Probate grant for a taxable estate:
Fee type Cost
Our fixed fee          £2,000-£2,500
Court fee                £300
Other (eg Identification fee, Official copy of Land Registry if required) £18
Total cost payable   £2,318-£2,818

In some circumstances a fixed price is not always possible to provide, and particularly where there are complex stages or considerations. This might include where an original copy of a will has been lost. In those circumstances we will be happy to talk to you about the specific work we will need to undertake if we represent you, and the charges for that work.
We can advise you if an estate will be subject to tax. There is also information on the UK Government guide to inheritance tax.

How long does it take?

It depends on a number of factors. Obtaining the Grant of Probate can take up to 16 weeks from the point at which your application is submitted to the Probate Court.

What work would you be doing for me?

Our expert team will represent you during every step. This includes:

• meeting with you – either through a video call or in person – to discuss your matter and in detail
• advising you about the identify the type of application you need
• preparing and submitting the documents you need, including the application to the Probate Court and any HM Revenue & Customs inheritance tax forms
• monitoring those applications, chasing where required, and handling enquires that may be received back
• supplying the grant of probate to you

Can you fully administer the estate on my behalf?

Yes. Once you have a grant of probate our expert team can also administer the estate on your behalf.
Our services are provided on an hourly rate, details of which can be found in our Terms of Business. Our Wills, Trusts and Probate team is made up of qualified Solicitors, Chartered Legal Executives and Legal Clerks. The team is supervised by Grace Steele.
The exact cost of providing a Full Estate Administration service will very much depend on the individual circumstances of the case. For example, if there is one beneficiary and no property, costs will probably be at the lower end of our range. If there are multiple beneficiaries, more than one property, assets located outside the UK and multiple bank accounts or investments then costs will probably be at the higher end of our price range.
Our “Full Estate Administration” service would provide you with expertise throughout the entire estate administration process. This could include:

• Providing initial advice
• Gathering the necessary evidence needed to apply for Grant of Representation, including information required to complete the appropriate returns to HMRC for Inheritance Tax purposes.
• Applying for Grant of Representation
• Collecting in estate assets
• Submitting income tax returns in respect of pre-death income
• Paying any other taxes, liabilities and legacies
• Dealing with requisitions raised by HMRC
• Preparing full Estate Accounts and income tax returns for income received after death
• Distributing legacies and the residue of the estate to entitled beneficiaries

We will handle the full process for you and what follows will give you an idea of our costs in a situation where:

• there is a valid Will
• there are no more than 4 bank or building society accounts
• there are no other tangible assets, stocks and shares or assets located outside the UK
• there are up to 4 beneficiaries
• there are no disputes between beneficiaries on the division of assets (if disputes arise this is almost certain to lead to a significant increase in costs)
• there is no Inheritance Tax payable and the executors do not need to submit a full Inheritance Tax Account (providing a detailed breakdown of assets in the estate) to HMRC
• there are no claims being made against the estate
• there is no requirement to submit pre-death income tax returns

We anticipate that in such a situation the work involved will take between 6 and 10 hours to complete. Where a solicitor with more than 4 years post qualification experience carries out the work our total costs are estimated at £1,476 to £2,460 (plus VAT: £295.20 to £492.00).

Disbursements

Disbursements are costs related to your matter that are payable to third parties, such as court fees. We handle the payment of disbursements on your behalf to ensure a smoother process. Typical disbursements payable in addition to our costs would be (inc VAT where applicable):

*Exact costs depend on the fees charged by the local newspaper involved

How long will this take?

On average, estates that fall within the range set out above are dealt with within 3 to 5 months. Typically, obtaining the grant of probate can take up to 16 weeks and in some cases, longer. Collecting assets then follows which can take a between 2 and 8 weeks. Once this is done, and all the bills paid, we can distribute the assets, which normally takes a further 2 to 3 weeks.

Potential additional costs

If there is no will or the estate consists of any shareholdings (stocks/bonds) there are likely to be additional costs that could range significantly depending on the estate and how it is to be dealt with. Similarly, if there are multiple properties, assets located overseas or there is inheritance tax payable, this will increase the cost and the time it takes to complete the estate administration. For obvious reasons it is impossible to give an accurate idea of what they would be here but we would discuss these with you at the relevant time. Once we have all the relevant information we will be able to provide you with a much more accurate estimate of our costs.

Sale of Property

The costs in dealing with the sale of any property in the estate are NOT included in our Full Estate Administration service

Inheritance Tax

Unfortunately, the space available here does not allow us to give you an estimate of any Inheritance Tax that may be payable in connection with any estate with which you may be involved. However, if you follow https://www.gov.uk/inheritance-tax you may find information there that will help you.

Where we are appointed as Executor

If Ellis-Fermor & Negus is appointed to act a professional Executor, either solely or alongside a family member or friend of the deceased, then the costs of administering the estate will inevitably be greater because of our increased involvement. In such circumstances, it could fall to us to physically clear property, register the death, arrange the funeral etc. However, we would only charge for the time involved in members of the firm dealing with the estate in exactly the same way as we would charge executors who are family or friends of the deceased. There would not be any form of surcharge for added responsibility and we would only charge for the time taken. However, the greater our involvement then invariably the higher our charges will be.