Estate Administration & Probate

Further to the information found on our ‘Administration of Estates and Probate’ page please find below information on the various services and likely expenses involved in obtaining grant of Probate and in the administration of an Estate. Of course, you will be very aware that circumstances will vary and therefore these fees are for guidance only and a detailed estimate will be provided once the circumstances have been confirmed.

We offer two separate services, Grant of Representation only and full administration of the Estate.

Grant of Probate/ Representation only:

We will obtain, or require you to provide us with, all the information in connection with the deceased’s estate.  We will prepare the relevant paperwork and the Statement for the Personal Representatives to sign.  We will submit the Statement to the Probate Registry.  When we receive the Grant of Representation and copies we will forward this to you to administer the Estate.

Our charges range as follows:

	Fee	VAT (20%)	Total
Where there is a Will and no IHT payable and no IHT form needed (depending upon the level of work involved) from:	£2,000.00	£400.00	£2,400.00
–
Where there is a Will and no IHT payable with completion of a full IHT400 form and supporting schedules (including work as above plus completion and submission of the IHT papers) from:	£3,000.00	£600.00	£3,600.00
–
Where there is a Will and IHT is payable with the completion of an IHT400 together with supplementary pages for submission to HM Revenue & Customs (including work as above, completion and submission of the IHT papers, payment of IHT and correspondence with HMRC prior to Grant) from:	£4,000.00	£800.00	£4,800.00
–
For an Intestacy (no valid Will) an additional fee is to be added to each of the above	£500.00	£100.00	£600.00

Full Administration of Estate:

Full administration of the Estate where a Grant of Probate is required (and dependent upon the individual circumstances of the matter).

	Fee	VAT (20%)	Total
Fees begin at	£3,000.00	£600.00	£3,600.00
and thereafter are based on the time spent on the matter by the solicitor assisting you and calculated on the hourly rates set out within the Terms of Business. This includes time spent in meetings, research and drafting, plus the number of letters, emails and telephone calls required. Our charges will also contain an element based on the value of the Estate where we will also charge between 1% and 1.5% of the gross value of the estate (excluding any residence in which the deceased resided where the rate will be up to 0.5% – 0.75%) in addition to the total time spent.

We will provide a full estimate of our costs with our Terms of Business after our initial meeting.

Work undertaken in completing the full Administration process includes but is not limited to the following:

• Advise you in your capacity as the Personal Representatives of your duties. 
• Establish if there is any Inheritance Tax payable.
• Obtain all details for the preparation of the necessary forms and for the administration.
• Write to the relevant asset holders to obtain details of amounts held by them.
• Write to any creditors indicating whether there are any debts outstanding to them.
• Write to the legatees telling them of the legacies.
• Organise professional valuations as the case may be in respect of a house or shares – if there is antique furniture and jewellery in the Estate we will instruct an expert to prepare a valuation for Probate purposes.
• Organise adverts under Section 27 Trustee Act 1925 – these adverts are to protect the Personal Representatives against personal liability if an unknown claimant comes forward later.  The Notice is given by an advert in the London Gazette and an advert is placed in the local paper.
• We will prepare the Probate papers for your signature if Inheritance Tax is payable and ask the Personal Representatives to sign the relevant IHT form.  If IHT is payable, obtain the funds to pay it.
• Send papers to the Probate Registry.
• We will provide you with an anticipated, realistic timetable for completion of the administration.
• When a Grant is received we will advise the Personal Representatives.
• Arrange where necessary for the sale or transfer of any property through our Conveyancing Department (if instructed) who will charge their usual fees.
• Prepare for payment of any debts.
• Send office copies of the Grant to the asset holders to collect in the assets.
• Prepare any Corrective Account or IHT which has become necessary.
• Make interim distributions to the residuary beneficiaries.
• Prepare the Estate Accounts for the Personal Representatives’ approval.
• Finalise any outstanding Income Tax liability in respect of the deceased’s affairs.
• Distribute the residue.

In some cases the Principals of Pengillys are themselves appointed as the Executors of the Estate.  No separate fees are billed in such cases, but charges are made for the time spent on the matter by the individual Principal appointed at their own hourly charging rate. This will be identified to you at the outset.

Third Party Expenses (Disbursements):
Probate Registry Court Fee (if the estate is over £5,000)	£300.00
Official Copy of Probate document (each)	£1.50
Bankruptcy Search Fee (each)	£2.00 plus VAT (£0.40) Total £2.40
Statutory Notices (to advertise for creditors of the Estate) vary	Between £300.00 plus VAT (£60.00)   and £500.00 plus VAT (£100.00)
Electronic Verification of ID	£15.00 plus VAT (£3.00) Total £18.00

How long might Probate or the administration of the Estate take?

Although the steps to be taken in the course of proving a Will and administering an Estate, the unique nature of each estate means that there can be quite significant variation in the time it takes to complete each stage.  Please visit the Administration section {here} for more information on timescales.

Depending on a number of factors, not least the complexity of an estate and whether inheritance tax is payable, the administration of an estate can take between 12 to 24 months.  It is important to remember that circumstances vary considerably.  Further, if a third party is likely to make a claim against the estate, the process can take longer.  We confirm bespoke time estimates applicable to individual circumstances at the outset and review this periodically as matters are progressing.

It will take several weeks to obtain all the information on the size of the estate.  If Inheritance Tax forms have to be submitted this will be the next step.  It is possible to submit the application to Probate fifteen working days after sending the IHT forms, or if later paying Inheritance Tax.  It is not possible to check on a Probate application until after another sixteen weeks.  Additionally, Probate applications cannot proceed if IHT forms have been submitted until the Probate Registry has heard direct from HMRC. Please note this timescale does not factor in delays beyond our control which may be inevitable from third-party agencies.  This would include delays with Local Authority searches, the Land Registry, HMRC, the Probate Registry and all Courts.  We will keep you fully appraised of how these delays will impact on your transaction.

There is of course more information available in our Guides available here.