Probate Fees

Dealing with the financial affairs of a loved one after his or her death, when you are grieving and at your most vulnerable, is a heavy burden. We can guide you through the administration of your loved one’s estate by providing clear, sensitive, expert help and advice.

Our charges are clear and transparent. We only charge for the work that you wish us to undertake, based on the time we actually spend on your behalf, rather than charging a percentage of the value of the estate. Our sincere aim is to adhere to the typical price information given below. We will of course provide a more accurate costs estimate following our initial meeting, during the course of which we will take information from you about the estate and the distribution work that will be necessary. In the unlikely event that costs are likely to exceed our original estimate due to any unforeseen complications arising during the process, we will inform you as early as possible and provide a revised estimate.

Details of the different services that we offer and what is included as part of those packages is given below.

Grant Only Service

• Estates where no tax is payable – £650 - £900 + vat (currently charged at 20%) and disbursements details of which are given below.^*
• Estates where no tax is payable but an application made for transfer of the nil rate band is made – £750 - £1100 + vat and disbursements details of which are given below.^*

As part of our Grant Only service we will fully prepare and submit the application to obtain the Grant of Probate on your behalf. Once the Grant has been issued you will need to deal with the ongoing administration and distribution of the estate yourself.

The Grant Only service is only suitable for straightforward estates where there are:

• No complex tax issues,
• No Gifts out of income, lifetime gifts within the last 7 years, Trust assets, business or foreign assets, or
• The possibility of the Will being contested.

On average, it can take 3-4 months to obtain the Grant of Probate for estate where there is no Inheritance Tax payable. For estates where there is Inheritance Tax to pay it can take 4-6 months for the Grant to be issued but the timescale depends on HM Revenue and Customs agreeing tax liabilities and payment methods

Please note that Probate fees charged by the Government are subject to change and vary according to the size of the Estate.

For estates where an IHT400 is required (tax payable) please contact us for a quote which will depend on the complexity and value of the estate

Full Estate Administration Service

• Estates where no tax is payable – £1500 - £2500 + vat and disbursements details of which are given below.^*

Our full estate administration services means that we undertake the following work

For estates where a tax is payable, please contact us for a quote which will depend on the complexity and value of the estate.
Our fees are subject to VAT (currently 20%)

^*Disbursements that you are likely to incur:

• Probate application fee of £273
• Bankruptcy-only Land Charges Department searches (£2 per beneficiary)
• Post in The London Gazette – Protects against unexpected claims from unknown creditors. £60 to £85
• Post in a Local Newspaper – This also helps to protect against unexpected claims. Approximately £70 to £120 (prices vary between newspapers)

^*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 £1.50p (1 per asset usually).
• Dealing with the sale or transfer of any property in the estate is not included.
• Conveyancing costs where a transfer of property is required.