Grant only £950 plus VAT; full administration 1.5% of the estate
Probate and estates
After a death: whether probate is needed at all, the grant of probate at a fixed fee if you will do the rest yourself, or the whole estate administered by us from the first bank letter to the final accounts. Inheritance tax forms, the house sold, the beneficiaries paid, at a percentage you know in advance.
The first thing we do is tell you whether you need probate at all, which for a surviving spouse with everything in joint names is often no. The second is to give you a choice: we get the grant and you do the rest, or we do all of it for a percentage fixed at the start.
Grant only: you give us the figures (what was in each account, what the house is worth, what was owed), we prepare the inheritance tax return and the probate application, and the grant comes back in eight to sixteen weeks depending on the Probate Registry. You then collect in the money, pay the debts and distribute. It suits an executor who is organised and an estate that is simple, and it is £950 plus VAT and the court fee.
Full administration: we write to every bank, pension and insurer, value the estate, deal with HMRC including any inheritance tax (which is due before the grant, and we explain how it is paid from the estate), obtain the grant, sell or transfer the house with our own conveyancers, pay the debts and the legacies, prepare estate accounts every beneficiary signs off, and distribute. The fee is 1.5% of the gross estate plus VAT, minimum £2,500, and that is the whole fee: no hourly rate, no "value element", no charge for letters. An estate of £300,000 therefore costs £4,500 plus VAT, and we say so on the first call.
What is included
- A first call that says whether probate is needed
- Grant only at a fixed fee, or everything at a fixed percentage
- Inheritance tax return and HMRC dealt with
- The house sold by our own conveyancers
- Estate accounts for every beneficiary
- No hourly rates and no value element
What it costs
Grant of probate only, simple estate with no inheritance tax, £950 plus VAT and the £300 court fee. Full administration 1.5% of the gross estate plus VAT, minimum £2,500, with no hourly charges on top. Fees are plus VAT at 20%; disbursements are passed on at cost. The prices page has the calculator, a typical move line by line, and every extra.
Questions about probate
How long does it take?
Grant only, two to four months. A full administration of a simple estate, six to nine months, mostly waiting on the Probate Registry, HMRC and the house sale. We give you a timeline at the start and a Friday update.
Is there inheritance tax?
Only above £325,000, or £500,000 where a home passes to children, and anything passing to a spouse is exempt. Most estates in the Vale pay none. Where there is some, we show you the calculation and the reliefs before anything is filed.
Work out the fee, then get it in writing.
The calculator on the prices page gives the fixed fee for buying, selling or both, with the disbursements and the Land Transaction Tax. Send the quote form and the same figure comes back in writing within the working day, with the name and direct line of the person who will do the work.