The below sets out our range of costs involved in the administration of an estate
Please note that all prices listed below will be subject to VAT, and these estimates do not include additional disbursements (the majority of which we have listed below)
No two cases are the same, and once we have established the facts of your individual situation, we can give an indication of your cost, plus any additional costs which may be incurred so that you are aware of the cost up front.
Our Prices
For an average estate we would anticipate between 10 and 20 hours work at £215 per hour will need to be carried out in dealing with the administration of the estate. In total therefore our costs would fall within the range of £2,150.00 – £4,300.00 (+ VAT @20%) and disbursements.
The exact cost will depend on the seniority of the solicitor or legal executive who is to carry out the required work and 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.
What does it include?
Our expert team will handle the full process for you. This example is based on estates where:
- There is a valid will
- There is no more than one property
- There are no more than 5 bank or building society accounts
- There are no other intangible assets
- There are a maximum of 6 beneficiaries of the estate
- 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
Potential additional costs
Disbursements which we would also add to the bill include:
- The Probate application fee which is currently £273.00. If any additional copies of the grant are required, they will cost £1.50 each (1 per asset usually)
- Bankruptcy-only search fee (£2.00 +VAT per beneficiary – additional fees will apply if any beneficiary is resident abroad)
- £75.90 +VAT (£103.60) – Advertisement in The London Gazette – Protects against unexpected claims from unknown creditors
- Approximately £120.00 – Advertisement in a Local Newspaper – This also helps to protect against unexpected claims
Disbursements are costs related to your matter that are payable to third parties, such as court fees. Farleys will handle the payment of the disbursements on your behalf to ensure a smoother process.
- If there is no will or the estate consists of any shareholdings (stocks and bonds) there are likely to be additional costs that could range 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.
- Dealing with the sale or transfer of any property in the estate is not included
How long will this take?
On average, estates that fall within this range are dealt with within 3 – 6 months although of course much will depend upon how long it takes to complete the sale of any property. Typically, obtaining the grant of probate takes 8 – 12 weeks. Collecting assets then follows, which can take between 2 – 4 weeks. Once this has been done (and the sale of any property has been completed) we can distribute the assets to the beneficiaries of the estate.
What experience do the team have?
All probate estate administration work is supervised by our Head of Private Client Phil Taylor, alongside our dedicated team of highly-experienced solicitors and legal executives.
Specific experience can be seen in the individual staff profiles.
