Our service is completely bespoke to you.
If you instruct us to deal with the whole of the estate for you, we will:
- ascertain the assets and liabilities of the estate and obtain valuations for you
- prepare the papers to apply for a grant of letters of administration
- obtain the grant for you
- collect and distribute the assets
- pay any liabilities
We may also discuss with you making checks to ascertain the beneficiaries of the estate and their entitlement to the estate.
Where appropriate we will also arrange for the inheritance tax to be paid (usually from assets in the estate or by way of an administrator’s loan).
When we act for you, we charge on the basis of the time spent multiplied by the hourly rate of the person dealing with the matter. Our hourly rates range from £175 plus VAT to £290 plus VAT (£210 inclusive of VAT to £348 inclusive of VAT) .
We handle the full process for you and any costs payable are not usually met by the administrators personally, instead the costs are deducted from the funds in the estate.
Example 1 – no valid will and no inheritance tax
What you ask us to do:
Ascertain the assets and obtain valuations, apply for the grant, collect & distribute the assets where there is no valid will and no inheritance tax to pay.
Our cost estimate:
We anticipate that, depending on the size and complexity of the estate, this type of matter will take between 23 and 42 hours of work. Therefore our costs estimate would be:
from £4025 plus VAT of £805 (= £4830 in total)
to £12,018 plus VAT of £2463 (= £14,616 in total)
plus disbursements (see disbursements section below).
Our cost estimates are for estates where:
- There are no more than two properties
- There are no more than 10 bank or building society accounts
- There are no other intangible assets
- There are no more than 5 beneficiaries
- There are no missing 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 are no disputes between the administrators. If disputes arise this is likely to lead to an increase in costs.
- The estate is solvent
- There are no claims against the estate
Example 2 – inheritance tax and no valid will
What you ask us to do:
Ascertain the assets and obtain valuations, apply for the grant, collect & distribute the assets where there is inheritance tax to pay and no valid will.
Our cost estimate:
Where inheritance tax is likely to be payable in an estate, we anticipate that this will take between 50 and 92 hours of work, depending on the complexity of the estate. Therefore our costs estimate would be:
from £11000 plus VAT of £2200 (= £13,200 in total)
to £20,240 plus VAT of £4048 (= £24,288 in total)
plus disbursements (see disbursements section below).
Our cost estimates are for estates where:
- There are no disputes between beneficiaries on division of assets. If disputes arise this is likely to lead to an increase in costs
- There are no disputes between the administrators. If disputes arise this is likely to lead to an increase in costs.
- There are no claims against the estate
The exact cost depends on the individual circumstances of the matter as every estate is different.
For example, if there is one beneficiary and no property, our 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 discuss the likely fee with you when we have more information on the value of the estate, the beneficiaries and the number of assets.
Disbursements are charges related to your matter that are payable to third parties, such as court fees and inheritance tax.
We handle the payment of disbursements on your behalf to ensure a smoother process. The disbursements that are likely to be payable are: –
| £273 | Probate Application fee |
| £2 | Per beneficiary name for Bankruptcy Only Land Charges Department Searches |
| £156 – £360 (inclusive of VAT) | Notices in the London Gazette and local newspaper – Protects against unexpected claims for unknown creditors. Please note this is an estimate and the cost of adverts in local papers vary depending on location and newspaper. |
| £162 | Search of the Unclaimed Assets Register – this is a check for unknown assets |
| £45.60 – £238.80 (inclusive of VAT) | Certainty Will Search – this safeguards the executors by giving comfort that they have the latest Will. The cost varies due to the different types of search and protection available. |
| Inheritance Tax if applicable | This will vary from estate to estate and we cannot give an estimate of the amount payable before ascertaining the exact value of the estate and any gifts to be taken into account in calculating the tax. For more information on Inheritance Tax, please see https://www.gov.uk/inheritance-tax |
- If the estate consists of any shareholdings (stocks and bonds) there are likely to be additional costs that could vary 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
- If any additional copies of the grant are required, they will cost 50p per copy (1 per asset usually)
- Dealing with the sale or transfer of any property in the estate is not included
- We do not prepare tax returns to the date of death or during the administration period and we may need to instruct an accountant to deal with these on your behalf
- If there have been gifts made and substantial investigations need to be made in ascertaining gifts, this is likely to increase costs
- If there are any foreign assets, this may increase costs and may result in having to instruct solicitors expert in other legal jurisdictions
- If we are required to negotiate on your behalf with the District Valuer in relation to Inheritance Tax
- If there are any beneficiaries that cannot be found, this is likely to increase costs
All of the cost information provided above is general and we will be very happy to give you more precise and personalised information once we understand the specific circumstances so please do get in touch with us.
Where there is no inheritance tax to pay: On average, estates that fall within this range are dealt with within 7 to 12 months. Typically obtaining a grant of letters of administration takes 3 to 5 months. Collecting assets and paying liabilities then follows, which can take between 2 and 4 months. Once this has been done, we can prepare the estate accounts for the administrators’ approval and distribute the assets, which normally takes 2 and 4 months.
Where there is inheritance tax to pay: On average, estates that fall within this range are dealt with within 12 to 18 months. Typically obtaining a grant of letters of administration takes 5 to 6 months. Collecting assets and paying liabilities then follows, which can take between 2 and 4 months. Once this has been done and HMRC have confirmed there is no further inheritance tax to pay (or any income or capital gains tax for the pre-death and administration period) we can prepare estate accounts for approval by the administrators and then distribute the assets, which normally takes 5 to 8 months.
Our legal fees, as stated above, are normally charged at an hourly rate and this rate depends on the seniority and experience of the lawyer in charge of your matter:
Helen Strong
Helen is our Lead Solicitor in our Private Client team at BTTJ. She qualified as a solicitor in 1996 and has specialised in Private Client work since 1998. She is a member of the Private Client Section of the Law Society. She has a wealth of experience of dealing with a variety of different estates including extremely complex, taxable and high value matters. Click here for more details on Helen’s experience.
Emma Wallbank
Emma has specialised in Private Client matters since 2002 and was admitted as a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Legal Executives in 2009. She has extensive knowledge of estates from dealing with simple to the more complex and is also a fully qualified member of the Society of Trust & Estate Practitioners (STEP). Click here to find out more about Emma’s experience.
Katie Nightingale
Katie qualified as a solicitor in 2016 and specialises in Private Client work dealing with a wide range of matters. She is a Dementia Friend as well as a fully qualified member of the Society of Trust & Estate Practitioners (STEP). Click here to read more about Katie.
Jaz Virk
Jaz qualified as a solicitor in 2003. Jaz is our Head of Department overseeing our Private Client Depertment. Jaz assists clients with Wills, Probate, and Lasting Powers of Attorney. Click here to read more about Jaz.
We are very happy to discuss your individual situation with you and provide you with an exact price based on your specific circumstances, so please do get in touch with us.