Estate Administration

When a loved one dies, we can help you with practical advice such as registering a death, arranging a funeral and ensuring that estate assets, including any properties are insured.

We’re also here to:

• Offer advice on whether a grant of probate is necessary and the implications of this, as well as the options for obtaining a grant
• Apply for a grant and deal with any tax issues on your behalf
• Deal with shares and investments in addition to the transfer of bank or building society accounts
• Help you with the sale of the deceased’s property on your behalf or transfer it to those entitled
• Distribute the estate in accordance with the will or intestacy rules (where there is no will)

Please contact us today to arrange an appointment.

Probate & Estate Administration Costs Information

Less Complex Estates

Applying for the grant, collecting and distributing the assets

We anticipate this will take between 10 and 15 hours work at £220.00 per hour. Total costs estimated at £2,200-£3,300. We do not charge VAT.

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. This quote is for estates where:

• There is a valid will
• There is no more than one property
• There are no more than 3 bank or building society accounts
• There are no foreign assets
• There are no other intangible assets
• There are 1-4 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

Disbursements not included in this fee:

• Probate Registry fee of £273.00.

(Any additional court sealed copies of the Grant of Probate will cost £1.50. We usually require one sealed copy per asset).

• Bankruptcy-only Land Charges Department searches (£2.00 per beneficiary)
• Post in The London Gazette (Protects against unexpected claims from unknown creditors): £50.00-£100.00
• Post in a Local Newspaper (This also helps to protect against unexpected claims): £100.00-£400.00

Disbursements are costs related to your matter that are payable to third parties, such as court fees. We handle the payment of the disbursements on your behalf to ensure a smoother process.

How long will the administration take?

On average, estates that fall within this range are dealt with within 6-9 months. Typically, obtaining the Grant of Probate can take up to 12 weeks. Collecting assets then follows, which can take between 4-12 weeks. Once this has been done, we can distribute the assets, which normally takes 4-6 weeks

We will be able to give you a specific estimate once we have more information about the estate.

More Complex Estates

For estates where:

• There is no valid Will 
• There are multiple third parties 
• There are more than 3 bank or building society accounts 
• There are other assets such as bonds/stocks/shares 
• There are foreign assets
• There are more than 4 beneficiaries 
• There are disputes between beneficiaries on the division of assets 
• There is inheritance tax payable and the executors are required to submit a full account to HMRC 
• There is need to make a claim for transferable nil rate band or residence nil rate band
• There are claims made against the estate
• There are business or farm assets
• There is an ongoing trust established by the will
• A formal income and/or capital gains tax return needs to be submitted to HMRC

There are likely to be additional costs that could range significantly depending on the estate and how it is to be dealt with. We will give you a more accurate quote (and where possible confirm a fixed fee) as soon as we have full information about the estate assets.

Dealing with the sale or transfer of any property in the estate is not included.

Tax which may be payable in relation to the estate is not included.

Disbursements not included in this fee:

• Probate Registry fee: £273.00

        (Any additional court sealed copies of the Grant of Probate will cost £1.50 each. We usually require one sealed copy per asset.

• Post in The London Gazette (Protects against unexpected claims from unknown creditors): £50.00-£100.00
• Post in a Local Newspaper (Also protects against unexpected claims): £100.00-£400.00

Disbursements are costs related to your matter that are payable to third parties, such as court fees. We handle the payment of the disbursements on your behalf to ensure a smoother process

How long will the administration take?

On average, estates that fall within this range are dealt with within 9 months. Typically, obtaining the Grant of Probate takes 8-16 weeks. Collecting assets then follows, which can take between 8-24 weeks. Once this has been done, we can prepare the Estate Account, and when that has been approved, we can distribute the assets, which normally takes 6-8 weeks

We will be able to give you a specific estimate once we have more information about the estate.

All Estates

As part of our fee we will:

• Provide you with a dedicated and experienced Probate solicitor to work on your matter
• Identify the legally appointed executors or administrators and beneficiaries
• Accurately identify the type of Probate application you will require
• Obtain the relevant documents required to make the application
• Identify what tax liabilities may arise. You can find information about tax and in particular inheritance tax at: https://www.gov.uk/inheritance-tax
• Complete the Probate Application and the relevant HMRC forms
• Draft a legal statement of truth for you to sign
• Make the application to the Probate Registry on your behalf
• Obtain the Grant of Probate
• Collect in all assets in the estate
• Prepare an Estate Account showing the estate assets or funds received and transferred or paid out, and the balance due for distribution to beneficiaries
• Distribute all estate assets

Our Team

Our team has over 25 years of experience in delivering high quality work in all matters relating to wills and estate administration. The team has particular expertise in high value estates and inheritance tax matters.

We have two members of the team who may work on your matter. Regardless of who works on your matter, they will be supervised by Helen W Downes, Director and Principal Solicitor.

Helen W Downes – Director. Click here for more information.

Sally Lewis – Executive Assistant to Helen W Downes. Click here for more information.