Probate range of costs

Applying for the grant, collecting and distributing the assets

At Fiona Bruce Solicitors we tailor our work to suit your needs. Sometimes clients wish us to deal with the whole estate in its entirety, and other times clients instruct us to deal with specific aspects of the estate.

The time taken to deal with an estate will depend upon the number and extent of the assets and the complexity of an estate. Whilst we therefore endeavour to provide accurate fee estimates below, there are a large number of factors that impact this.

Who will work on my matter?

Our team are all qualified solicitors, the head of the team being a Partner in the firm, supported by trainees and experienced staff. For more details on the qualified staff, please visit the “meet the team” page.

We anticipate that a fairly straight-forward estate (two or three bank accounts/investments and a property) is likely to take between 3.5 and 7 hours of time for the work up to obtaining a Grant of Representation. The hourly rate of Solicitors in the firm varies dependent upon experience from £175 (+ VAT of £35) to £265 (+ VAT of £53). Typically, the costs for the work up to obtaining a Grant of Representation will generally be in the range of £750 (+ VAT of £150) to £1,800 (+ VAT of £360).

If we are instructed to administer a fairly straight-forward estate once the Grant of Representation has been obtained, then our fees for administering the estate will depend upon the amount of time spent at the hourly rates quoted above. The time spent can typically be between 2 hours and 10 hours, including collecting funds from organisations, settling liabilities and preparing Estate Accounts and distributing assets to beneficiaries. Our fees for administering a fairly straight-forward estate can therefore be within a range of £750 (+ VAT of £150) to £2,650 (+ VAT of £530).

Therefore, the range of costs involved in obtaining the Grant of Representation and administering a fairly straight-forward estate are likely to be in the region of £1,500 (+ VAT of £300) to £4,000 (+ VAT of £800).

The exact cost will depend on the individual circumstances of the matter and in some circumstances the fees may be lower or higher than these guidelines. 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. We can provide you with a more tailored quote by contacting us directly.

We will handle the full process for you. The figures provided above are for estates where:

  • There is a valid will

  • There is no more than one property

  • There are no more than 4 bank or building society accounts

  • There are no other intangible assets

  • There are 1 to 3 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 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

Disbursements in addition to this estimate are as follows:

  • Probate application fee of £273 (current fee rate of the Probate Registry)

  • Bankruptcy-only Land Charges Department searches (£2 per beneficiary)

  • £99.80 advertisement in The London Gazette – Protects against unexpected claims from unknown creditors.

  • £130.00 post 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. We handle the payment of the disbursements on your behalf to ensure a smoother process.

Potential additional costs

  • If there is no will or the estate consists of any share holdings (stocks and bonds) there is 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.

  • If any additional copies of the grant are required, they will cost £0.50 (1 per asset usually).

  • Dealing with the sale or transfer of any property in the estate is not included. We will be pleased to provide a separate quote for our work selling or transferring a property.

How long will this take?

On average, estates that fall within this range are dealt with within 3 to 8 months. Typically, obtaining the grant of probate takes 8 to 16 weeks. Collecting assets then follows, which can take between 4 to 8 weeks. Once this has been done, we can distribute the assets, which normally takes 2 to 6 weeks.