We can offer a fixed price of £750 plus VAT (£900 including VAT) to obtain the Grant of Probate only on your behalf.

Further charges will be calculated on the firm’s hourly rate which is currently £295 per hour plus VAT.  Our charges will be calculated mainly by reference to the time spent by solicitors and staff dealing with this matter.

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.

Potential additional costs

• If disputes arise between beneficiaries on division of assets;
• If Inheritance Tax is payable and full Inheritance Tax is required to be submitted to HM Revenue and Customs;
• If claims are made against the estate;
• If there are assets that require specialist valuation, then this will incur additional cost;
• If there are overseas assets;
• If the estate involves complex tax issues then specialist tax advice will be required and additional costs will be incurred;
• If there are Trusts to administer in the Will; and
• Dealing with the sale or transfer of any property in the estate

Disbursements

In addition to our charges, certain costs will be payable to third parties, which are called ‘disbursements’.  We handle the payment of the disbursements on your behalf to ensure a smoother process. Examples of the common disbursements payable in connection with obtaining a Grant of Probate are:

• Probate application fee of between £273 (plus £1.50 for additional copies of the Grant)
• Bankruptcy searches (£3 per beneficiary)
• Statutory Notices – £180 – £360 Post in The London Gazette and in a local newspaper – This helps to protect against unexpected claims from unknown creditors

How long will this take?

On average, estates that fall within this range are dealt with within 3-5 months. Typically, obtaining the grant of probate takes 8-12 weeks. Collecting assets then follows, which can take between 3-4 weeks, (excluding dealing with the sale of any property). Once this has been done, we can distribute the assets, which normally takes 4-8 weeks. Although in some circumstances we advise (in order to protect the executors against third party claims) that the estate assets are not distributed earlier than 10 months from the date of Grant of Probate.

We will offer an initial consultation at the price of £100 plus VAT as detailed above.