Wills & probate fees

Full Estate Administration Service

Our Charges:

We anticipate a full estate administration service will take between 5 and 25 hours work at £270.00 per hour. Our total costs estimated at £1,100.00 – £5,500.00 (+VAT).  

The exact cost will depend on 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.

We will handle the full process for you. This quote is for estates where:
• There is a valid will
• There is no more than one property
• There are no more than five bank or building society accounts
• There are no other intangible assets
• There are no more than five 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 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. These will include (inclusive of VAT, where applicable):
• Probate application fee of £273.00
• Bankruptcy-only Land Charges Department searches (£2.00 per beneficiary)
• £90.00 (estimate) post in the London Gazette – Protects against unexpected claims from unknown creditors
• £85.00 (estimate) post in a Local newspaper – This also helps to protect against unexpected claims

Potential additional costs:
• If there is no will or the estate consists of any shareholdings (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.
• Additional copies of the grant will cost £0.50 (1 per asset usually).
• 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 within 3 - 9 months. Typically, obtaining the grant of probate takes 1 – 3 months. Collecting assets then follows, which can take between 1 – 3 months. Once this has been done, we can distribute the assets, which normally takes between 1 – 3 months. 

Who will undertake the work?
Paul Paterson is a solicitor with over 14 years’ experience in private client work, including wills and estate administration. Paul has worked mainly in this area since qualification in 2008 after gaining a First in Law from the University of Southampton and completing his training contract. Paul joined our firm in 2018 having helped hundreds of individuals and families with wills and estates at different firms over the last decade, and is supervised by one of our firm’s directors, Ian Parker.       

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