Email: reception@parkerarrenberg.co.uk                                                                                                                    General Enquiries: 020 8695 2330

    

 PPRIVATE CLIENT & PROBATE 

 Probate is the court-supervised process of gathering a deceased person’s assets, paying debts and taxes and distribution what is left to those who are named as beneficiaries 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.

 Essentially you have two options:

 1.Our full probate administration service

Our full probate administration service includes:

  • Submitting an Estate Notice pursuant to S.27 of the Trustee Act 1925
  • Determining the value of the estate;
  • Preparing the necessary application forms (including Inheritance Tax forms if appropriate) to obtain probate;
  • If relevant completing (or instructing accountants to complete) any tax returns to complete the deceased’s tax affairs and in respect of money received by the estate that is taxable;
  • Upon receipt of the grant of probate/letters of administration to complete the administration by collecting in all money due to the estate and paying any debts due from the estate to the extent that there are funds available;
  • Preparing estate accounts for approval;
  • Distributing the estate to relevant beneficiaries.

 2.Grant only service

This will involve you taking on the task of locating and valuing the estate and collecting in and distributing the assets when probate is obtained. You would begin by providing us with a full list of the assets and liabilities making up the estate, including a valuation for any property owned, and for any shares held.

Our role would be limited to the following:-

  • submitting an Estate Notice pursuant to S.27 of the Trustee Act 1925
  • Preparing the necessary application forms (including Inheritance Tax forms if appropriate) to obtain probate;
  • filing the estate tax return and deal with the payment of IHT, if applicable;
  • applying to the court for a grant of probate/letters of administration;
  • dealing with any queries of the Probate Registry;
  • providing copies of the grant to you.

Legal Fees and Disbursements

Legal Fees are the amount you will be required to pay for all of the work performed by us in acting your instructions, from the commencement of your case to conclusion.

 

·         Our standard legal fee for obtaining a Grant of Probate or Letters of Administration in an uncontested probate matter with a basic tax return ON A GRANT ONLY BASIS

 

£1400 plus VAT 

(a total of £1680 incl. VAT)

·         Our standard legal fee for obtaining a Grant of Probate or Letters of Administration in an uncontested probate matter requiring a full tax return (which is required for payment of inheritance tax or to apply for additional tax allowances ON A GRANT ONLY BASIS

 

£1,700 plus VAT

(a total of £2040 incl. VAT)

Should your instructions require us to take your matter out of the fixed fee rate (see above for what our fixed fee covers) or ACT ON A FULL ADMINISTRATION BASIS, we will charge an hourly rate of £270 plus VAT per hour.

 

When acting on a FULL ADMINISTRATION BASIS we also charge a value element based on the value of the Estate. The value is a reflection of the importance of the matter and, consequently, the responsibility assumed by the firm.

 

·         The value element is calculated as follows:

 

A.      Standard Rate (Estates valued up to £1m)

 

1% of the gross value of the Estate (excluding any jointly owned residence of matrimonial home when the rate will be ½ % of the value of the property)

 

B.      On Estates valued from £1m to £4m

As in ‘A’ with excess of £1m at ½ %

 

C.      On Estates value in excess of £4m

As in ‘B’ with excess of £5m at ¼ %

 

 

D.     Where a director(s) is appointed as Executor under a Will an additional charge

Additional 1% of the gross value of the Estate (excluding any jointly owned residence of matrimonial home when the rate will be ½ % of the value of the property)

 

The exact cost will depend on the individual circumstances of a 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.

 

Once we know all the issues involved, we will let you have a written quote confirming our fees.

 

 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.

 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.

 Our fees assume that:

  • The transaction is concluded in a timely manner and no unforeseen complications arise.
  • All parties to the transaction are cooperative and there is no unreasonable delay from any parties providing documentation.

Typical costs and disbursements will include:

 

  • Probate Court Fee (£273 plus £1.50 for every office copy) We apply for 6 copies as standard (total £282)
  • 27 Deceased Estates Notice – also called a Gazette Notice – protects against unexpected claims from unknown creditors (£113.56 incl. VAT)
  • Post in Local Newspaper – This also helps protect against unexpected claims (£288 Incl. VAT)
  • Bankruptcy only Land Charges Searches for each beneficiary (£2.90)
  • We will charge the sum of £35 plus VAT (£42 incl. VAT) for electronic money transfers
  • Money Laundering/Identification verification check: We charge £30 plus VAT (a total of £36) for each client and/or beneficiary we will be making an estate distribution to. 

Please note the Third Party disbursements above maybe subject to change .  You will be charged the cost of the disbursement at the time we process or order the item/report/transaction. 

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. However, there are currently long delays at the Probate Registry and we will confirm the court’s latest issuing dates at the time of application.

 

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 uncontested probate vary according to the circumstances. We have set out the key stages of a standard transaction: –

  • Providing you with a dedication 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 require.
  • Obtaining the relevant documents required to make the application.
  • Completing the Probate Application and the relevant HMRC forms for your approval.
  • Making the application to the Probate Court on your behalf.
  • Obtaining Probate and securely sending 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 shareholdings (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.
  • Dealing with the sale of transfer of any property in the estate is not included.

FIXED FEE SERVICES

We can also provide the following fixed fee services:

 

  • Simple single will £450 plus VAT (£540 incl. VAT)
  • Couples (mirror) Wills £750 plus VAT (£900 incl. VAT)
  • Standard Trust Wills our fees range from £500-£1000 plus VAT (£600 -£1200 incl. VAT)
  • Financial Decisions Lasting Power of Attorney £500 plus VAT (£600Incl. VAT)
  • Health and Care Lasting Power of Attorney £500 plus VAT (£600Incl. VAT)
    • We charge a discounted rate  in total if both Financial and Health LPA’s if we are prepared at the same time.  The fee for both is  £600 plus VAT (£720 incl. VAT) 
  • Each LPA will incur a court registration fee of £82.

Fee Earners

The following fee earner handles Uncontested Probate matters:

Mark Pendleton is a Partner at Parker Arrenberg and the Head of our Private Client department.  Mark specialises in all Private Client matters including Will drafting, Lasting Powers of Attorney and Probate matters.

Faye Louzado is a Partner at Parker Arrenberg and undertakes  Private Client matters including Will drafting, Lasting Powers of Attorney and Probate matters.

 Both Faye and Mark are assisted by Dawn Brett, our expert Private Client paralegal with 20 years experience in this area.  

Questions

If you have any questions relating to our services and our fees, please contact us on 0208 695 2330 or email us at reception@parkerarrenberg.co.uk.