This service involves us obtaining the Grant of Administration (commonly known as Grant of Probate), as well as dealing with the administration of the estate thereafter.

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We would complete the following steps for you:

• Identify the legally appointed executors or administrators and beneficiaries and establish the extent of the estate by identifying the various assets and liabilities and obtaining the date of death valuations and balances;

• Prepare the Probate Application, have it sworn by the executor(s) and submitted to the appropriate Probate Registry together with the Will, if there is one;

• Once the Grant is received from the Probate Registry we will submit it to the various organisations with whom assets are held in order to start the process of collecting monies and/or transferring assets into the beneficiaries’ names;

• Paying any estate liabilities;

• Confirming that tax is paid up to date and there are no outstanding HMRC claims;

• Confirming that there are no outstanding DWP claims;

• Preparing the Estate accounts and distributing the estate in accordance with the terms of the Will.

 

The costs of this type of work will vary significantly and would be quoted based on the value and complexity of the estate, and the work required.

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On a matter where there is:-

• a valid will

• no more than one property and the value of the estate doesn’t exceed £325,000

• no more than 5 bank or building society accounts

• no other intangible assets

• no more than 4 beneficiaries

• no disputes between beneficiaries on division of assets. (If disputes arise this is likely to lead to an increase in costs)

• no claims made against the estate 

• the estate does not include:
  A business, farms, farmhouses or farmland, an interest in another estate, loans or mortgages payable to the deceased, foreign assets, assets held in trust, national Heritage assets or unlisted stocks and shares and control holdings.

then we would charge £2,000 plus disbursements. 

 

On average, estates that fall within the above range are dealt with within 6-12 months. Typically, obtaining the grant of probate can take up to 12 weeks from submission of the application. Collecting assets then follows, which can vary depending on the institution, but we aim to do this as quickly as possible. Once this has been done, and once we have waited for HMRC/DWP clearance where necessary, we can prepare the Estate Accounts, and then distribute the assets.

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Our costs will be quoted as a fixed fee once we have gathered some initial information about the estate. We will also give an indication of the likely disbursements. If during the administration of the estate, other assets or complexities come to light requiring us to alter our fees, we will notify you in writing of a revised quote. 

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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.

Possible Disbursements include:

• Probate application fee of £526 plus £2 per copy

• Bankruptcy searches £6 per beneficiary

• Land Registry Title Register Copy £7

• Ad in The London Gazette – protects against unexpected claims from unknown creditors - £69.50 plus VAT

• Ads in a Local Newspaper – This also helps to protect against unexpected claims - £300 - £350 plus VAT

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