Call Trudy Rogers on 01635 569670 | Email: info@rogers-legal.co.uk

Our Guide to Estate Administration Costs

A Guide to Probate fees at Rogers Legal

Each estate is individual, so it is difficult to give an absolute ‘cost’ without a review of your specific circumstances.  We find working on an hourly rate with an agreed cap/fee structure suits our clients. We are always happy to discuss fees and understand that this can be very important. 

 

OPTION ONE Grant Only

Our charges are between £1,500 plus VAT to £2,500 plus VAT plus Court fee of at least £274.50 and £6 for each property.

We offer an 'up to grant' service, obtaining the Grant of Representation then you can deal with distributing/transferring the assets and paying the liabilities. 

OPTION TWO Grant and Full Estate Administration

Our full estate service identifies the assets and liabilities, communicates with third parties on behalf of the estate/executors, completes relevant inheritance tax accounts and liaises with beneficiaries. We then transfer assets and follow the Will or rules of intestacy accordingly. 

A)    Simple estates:

We estimate our costs at approximately £2,750 plus VAT and £6,500 plus VAT plus Court fee of at least £274.50 and £46 for a property.

We obtain asset and liability values, review inheritance tax liabilities or exemptions, if applicable, apply for the Grant of Representation, pay liabilities and deal with creditors.  We can transfer assets after the Grant of Representation and liaise with beneficiaries. 

B)    Complex estates up to £1.5M  

We estimate our charges to be between £6,500 plus VAT and £9,250 plus VAT plus Court fee of at least £274.50 and at least £6 per property and then individual Land Registry Fees dependent upon values of property. 

Complex estates over £1.5M

We estimate our charges to start at £6,500 plus VAT and are unlikely to exceed £20,000 plus VAT, with Court fee of at least £274.50 and at least £6 per property and then individual Land Registry Fees dependent upon values of property. 

Any changes in price due to complexity will be notified immediately.

If the estate has one or more of the following elements, we would classify the estate as ‘complex’ and expect that our costs would increase compared to those of a simple estate:

  • · · completion of a full inheritance tax account (estates above £325K or large lifetime gifts)
  • · · dealing with trusts (in a Will or upon intestacy)
  • · · business or farming assets
  • · · more than one property
  • · · foreign assets
  • · · reporting pension allowances/calculations to HM Revenue & Customs
  • · · lots of lifetime gifting
  •     other family complexities

There is an additional disbursement charge of £3 per beneficiary called a ‘bankruptcy search’.  This is required before we distribute funds to the beneficiary.

Please note:

Property transfers incur Land Registry fees which are assessed according to the value of a property being transferred and/or the value of any charge or debt associated with the property.

If we need to transfer stocks/shares this may also incur additional fees or costs payable from the estate.

If there are uncooperative beneficiaries/third parties regarding the estate or assets in more than one jurisdiction we will give you an updated and specific guide to our charges because they will be unique to your circumstances. 

If the Will or intestacy involves Trusts or the deceased was a beneficiary of trusts during his or her lifetime this could also increase the costs of our fees purely on the basis of the additional work that will be required to deal with such matters.

If disputes arise between beneficiaries, this is likely to lead to an increase in our costs.

Additional Costs & Disbursements:

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.  We recommend that you may want to consider extra issues depending upon the circumstances of each estate

£98.00 plus VAT Certainty Search for Missing Will – in the case of intestacy or concerns about the last Will.

£62.15 plus VAT Post in The London Gazette – Protects against unexpected claims from unknown creditors.

£185.00 plus VAT Post in a Local Newspaper – This also helps to protect against unexpected claims.