Wills
| Simple Will | £250 plus VAT* |
| Mirror Will (married couple, civil partners and couples cohabiting) | £400 plus VAT* |
| Wills to include Trusts (Life Interest Trusts and Discretionary Trusts), tax efficient Wills or Wills with assets abroad. | Charged at hourly rate of £350 per hour plus VAT* – minimum £700 plus VAT* |
* VAT is chargeable at the rate applicable at the time the work is done. At present VAT is 20%.
Costs of simple Wills and simple mirror Wills are fixed. The cost for more complex Wills will be confirmed at your initial meeting. Costs include all advice, correspondence, telephone calls, meetings, the preparation and completion of your Will, providing witnesses upon execution of your Will and free lifetime storage.
Lasting Powers of Attorney
| Single Lasting Power of Attorney | £400 plus VAT* |
| Two Lasting Powers of Attorney | £800 plus VAT* |
* VAT is chargeable at the rate applicable at the time the work is done. At present VAT is 20%.
In addition to the above fees, there will also be the Court fee of £82 per Lasting Power of Attorney.
All fees are fixed and include all advice and work in connection with the preparation of the Lasting Power of Attorney, acting as Certificate Provider and arranging for witnesses in accordance with the appropriate order of signing and providing certified copies upon completion.
Probate
Hourly Rate
Probate fees can vary and will depend on the individual circumstances involved.
In some cases, we are able to offer a fixed fee(s) but for more complex and involved Estates (typically those with trusts, assets abroad, significant assets etc) we work on an hourly charging rate.
Our current hourly rate for a Director is £350 per hour + VAT*
* VAT is chargeable at the rate applicable at the time the work is done. At present VAT is 20%.
Costs and Work Covered
The range of fees will depend on issues such as the type and number of assets in the Estate, the number of beneficiaries and whether the Estate includes a business and/or any property.
We can deal with and progress the whole process for you or advise and assist you in certain areas and allow you to do any steps that you wish to.
We have the knowledge and experience to do as much or as little of the process you would like us to.
The Costs detailed below assume the following:-
- There is a valid Will.
- There are no executors who have died or are refusing to act.
- There is only one property.
- There are no more than 3 bank or building society accounts.
- There are no other intangible assets beyond 3 bank/building society accounts and cash.
- There are no more than 2 beneficiaries.
- There are no beneficiaries who do not have capacity under the Mental Health Act nor any minors.
- There are no disputes between beneficiaries on the division of assets. If disputes arise this will lead to an increase of costs.
- There are no trusts in the Will.
- There are no missing beneficiaries.
- There are no claims made against the estate.
| Preliminary stage – initial meeting and follow up letter | £700 to £1,000 + VAT* |
| Limited Grant with no IHT400 or no Grant but full administration | starting £2,000 + VAT* average £2,500 + VAT* |
| Grant Only with no IHT400 | starting £4,000 + VAT* average £6,000 + VAT* |
| Full Administration with no IHT400 | starting £6,500 + VAT* average £8,500 + VAT* |
| Full Administration with IHT400 – | starting £8,500 + VAT* average £12,500 + VAT* Can be up to £50,000+ VAT* if large and complex Estate with multiple assets. |
* VAT is chargeable at the rate applicable at the time the work is done. At present VAT is 20%.
Covered Under Administration of the Estate
Realising all assets: this includes closing bank accounts, selling or transferring shares, arranging with you (subject to the scope of our instructions) for the selling or transferring of property, realising life policies, investments and all other assets.
Corresponding with third parties.
Completion of Estate Administration accounts.
Paying Legacies and arranging interim distributions.
Obtaining HMRC clearance.
Distributing the Estate to beneficiaries
Disbursements
Disbursements are costs related to your matter that are payable to third parties, such as Land Registry fees or court fees. We handle the payment of the disbursements on your behalf to ensure a smoother process and they can then be reimbursed from Estate funds.
Anticipated Disbursements
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Probate Fee – for all Estates over £5,000 | £273.00 |
| Sealed Copy for the Grant of Probate (each) | £1.50 |
| Land Registry Search fee (in England and Wales) – for Estates including a property(s) (fee payable for each property) | £3.00 |
| Adverts in the relevant publications (Notice of Death) to protect the Estate from future claims | £150-£250 + VAT* |
| Bankruptcy Search fee (per beneficiary) | £2.00 |
| Property valuation fee (charged by Estate Agent and there may be no charge if property marketed with them for sale) | £500 (average) + VAT* |
| Valuation of valuable items(s) by specialist | £350 per hour (average) + VAT* |
* VAT is chargeable at the rate applicable at the time the work is done. At present VAT is 20%.
Inheritance Tax (IHT)
There are various factors that will affect any Inheritance Tax due on an Estate, including the size of the Estate and any measures that were put in place by the deceased to limit the Estate’s tax liability. It also depends on what IHT reliefs are available to the Estate; and we can advise you on these. Many of the reliefs have time limits beyond which they cannot be claimed, and penalties can be issued by HMRC where reliefs that the Estate is not entitled to are claimed.
It would not be sensible to advise on the likely tax or any reliefs that maybe available until we have details of the Estate and the can consider the reliefs that maybe able to be claimed. If you wish to know more about IHT in general terms, including an idea of the tax that maybe payable, we would advise you to look on the HMRC Website https://www.gov.uk/guidance/hmrc-tools-and-calculators#inheritance-tax-and-bereavement
Additional Work and/or Costs
There are occasions when work will be required over and above the services included which are set out above.
Where this is likely we will make sure you are informed of this at the earliest opportunity and a clear estimate of those extra costs due to that additional work will be provided.
This will include where there is no Will, there are Executors who have died or are refusing to act, there are beneficiaries who do not have capacity under the Mental Health Act, there are trusts set up by the Will, there are disputes between the beneficiaries or the Executors, there are claims being made against the Estate or there are missing beneficiaries.
Where there is likely to be any additional cost, we will make sure you are informed of this at the earliest opportunity and a clear estimate of those extra costs will be provided.
Some of the likely additional costs are set out above in the section: Anticipated Disbursements.
The total costs may vary significantly depending on the size and complexity of the Estate.
We cannot provide you with tax advice or deal with the sale of any property but we would make arrangements (depending on the scope of our instructions) for the net proceeds of any property sale to be paid to us, detailed in the Estate Accounts and distributed to beneficiaries.
Time Scales
As an average, obtaining a Grant of Probate for a typical non-taxable estate will take between 3-6 months, for a taxable estate 6 – 12 months and for Estate administration between 9-12 months. At the current time courts are very delayed and it can take much longer to obtain the Grant of Probate. We will always make enquiries before applying for the Grant – to ascertain the Probate Registry with the quickest turnaround time, regardless of where they are in the country. If IHT is payable or clearance is required from HMRC for income and/or capital gains tax that is payable, then the timescales will be largely dictated by HMRC and can mean the Estate cannot be finalised until up to two years after death. If there are any disputes between Executors or beneficiaries, it can take much longer.
Key Milestones
With every transaction there are key milestones, which may vary according to individual circumstances. This may be as follows:
- Ascertaining the size of the Estate for IHT purposes.
- Accounting to HMRC and making payment of any IHT due.
- Applying for the Grant of Probate.
- Obtaining the Grant of Probate.
- Collecting funds ready for distribution.
- Settling liabilities.
- Obtaining clearance from HMRC for IHT, income tax and/or capital gains tax, where applicable.
- Producing Estate Accounts.
- Distributing funds.
For more information please do not hesitate to contact our office on 01245 492494 at [email protected] or using the ‘Contact Us’ facility on our website, so we can take more information and provide initial guidance on the best way forward in your personal circumstances.