SRA Transparency Probate

Applying for the grant, collecting and distributing the assets.

We anticipate this will take between 6 and 16 hours work at £265.00 per hour VAT at 20% . Total costs estimated at £1,590 – £4,240 VAT at 20% .

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. The figures quoted are not minimum or maximum amounts.

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 2-4 bank or building society accounts.
• There are no other intangible assets.
• There are 1-4 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 fee:

• Probate application fee of £273.00 plus £1.50 per copy (usually 1 per asset).
• Bankruptcy-only Land Charges Department searches (£2.00 per beneficiary).
• £270.00 Post in The London Gazette – Protects against unexpected claims from unknown creditors and 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 tax to pay on the estate, or if additional exemptions need to be applied for to reduce the tax liability we can advise you about this and prepare the relevant forms for HMRC.  We can discuss this with you in our additional meeting and confirm any additional costs of this depending on the complexity of the tax situation.

• If there is a dispute relating to the estate we can advise you on this in conjunction with our dispute resolution team.

• 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.

• 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 6-9 months. Typically, obtaining the grant of probate takes 8 – 16 weeks. Collecting assets then follows, which can take between 6 – 8 weeks. Once this has been done, we can distribute the assets, which normally takes 3 – 4 weeks. If there is a property in the estate that needs to be sold the timings for conclusion will depend on how long it takes to sell the property.