Introduction
Probate is the court-supervised process of gathering a deceased person’s assets, paying debts and taxes and distributing what is left to those who are named as inheritors, in the Will.
Uncontested probate is where there is no dispute over the Will and distribution of assets.
Below we provide you with information on our Legal Fees, disbursements and the length of time it will take to complete your matter.
Legal Fees and Disbursements
Legal Fees is the amount you will be required to pay for all of the work performed by us in actioning your instructions, from commencement of your case to conclusion.
- Our average standard legal fee for an uncontested probate matter is between £4500 – £6250 + VAT (a total of £5400 – £7500 Inc. VAT). Below we detail what services are covered in our standard fee.
- Should your instructions require us to take your matter out of the fixed fee rate (see below for what our fixed fee covers) we will charge an hourly rate of £250 – £265 + VAT (£300 – £318 inc VAT) which will depend on the experience and qualification of the case handler as follows: –
- Partner – £265 + VAT (£318 inc VAT)
- Solicitor £250 + VAT (£300 inc VAT)
- Paralegal £125 + VAT (£150 inc VAT)
- We will charge the sum of £40 + VAT (a total of £48.00 Inc. VAT) for Electronic money transfers.
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.
Our Standard Fee estimate above is for estates where: –
- There is a valid will.
- There is no more than one property.
- There are no other intangible assets.
- There are 1 – 2 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.
- There are no claims made against the estate.
- There is no tax clearance awaited for either inheritance or income tax.
If at any stage our fees change, we will notify you and discuss the reason for any changes. This would typically occur if you change your instructions or your case involves an unforeseen complexity.
Disbursements and Other Costs
Disbursements are costs related to your matter that are payable to third parties. We handle the payment of the disbursements on your behalf, to ensure a smoother process.
You will be provided with a full list of disbursements in our formal quotation. If you need to incur any further disbursements during your case, you will be notified in advance of the reason and the amount.
Typical disbursements will include: –
- Probate application fee £160.00 including 10 copies
- Swearing of the oath £7.00 per executor
- Bankruptcy Land Charges Department searches £2.00 per beneficiary
- Post in The London Gazette £70.00 Approx.
- Post in a Local Newspaper £70.00 Approx.
- Anti-Money Laundering check £6.00 per person
How long will this take?
On average, estates that fall within this range are dealt with within 6 – 12 months.
Typically, obtaining the grant of probate takes 6 – 8 weeks.
Collecting assets then follows, which can take between 16 – 32 weeks. Once this has been done, we can distribute the assets, which normally takes 32 – 48 weeks.
Stages of the Process
The precise stages involved in an uncontested probate vary according to the circumstances. We have set out the key stages of a standard transaction: –
- Providing you with a dedicated and experienced probate solicitor to work on your matter.
- Undertaking regulatory checks.
- Identifying the legally appointed executors or administrators and beneficiaries.
- Accurately identifying the type of Probate application you will require.
- Obtaining the relevant documents required to make the application.
- Completing the Probate Application and the relevant HMRC forms.
- Drafting a legal oath for you to swear.
- Making the application to the Probate Court on your behalf.
- Obtaining the Probate and securely send two copies to you.
- Collecting and distributing all assets in the estate.
Potential additional costs
Further potential costs may arise where: –
- 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 £1.50 + VAT (£1.80 inc VAT) (1 per asset usually).
- Dealing with the sale or transfer of any property in the estate is not included.
Fee Earners
The following fee earners handle Uncontested Probate matters:
- Vikesh Bharakhda is the Managing Partner and a Qualified Solicitor. Vikesh qualified in 2007 and specialises in all areas of Probate and Contested Probate matters, in addition to Will Drafting, Lasting Powers of Attorney, Estate Planning and Litigation.
- Rachel Giddings is a Qualified Solicitor who is supervised by Vikesh Bharakhda. Rachel qualified in 2017 and specialises in all areas of Probate and Contested Probate.
Questions
If you have any questions relating to our services and our fees, please contact us on 0208 175 6733 or email us at enquiries@crownlawsolicitors.com
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