Non-Contentious Probate Work – Pricing Structure and Costs

Paul Nurton is a CILEx Practitioner (ACCA-Probate) authorised to undertake non-contentious probate work by CILEx Regulation. All probate or letters of administration work will be carried-out by PDN Probate & Estate Administration Limited which is authorised and regulated as a CILEX-ACCA Probate Entity authorisation number 3001263.

Paul Nurton is the sole shareholder and director of the company. The only services provided will be the obtaining of the grant of probate or a grant of letters of administration where the will is not contested. Payment for these services will not be requested until the work has been completed.

The cost of our services will be agreed with you in advance and will only be invoiced once the work has been completed. We would hope to complete the administration of a straightforward estate within 6 months, but this will vary according to the complexity and amount of work required. As a guide, our fees will include:

• applying for the grant of probate,
• collecting and distributing the assets

Our fees are £75 per hour plus Vat at 20% of £15 giving a total Vat inclusive hourly rate of £90.

The fee is dependent upon the gross value of the Estate – this is the value of all assets before taking off any deductions eg an outstanding mortgage, car loan, funeral costs and other debts.

For Estates with:

a gross value of below the IHT threshold of £325,000 and
with a valid Will,
up to five bank / building society accounts,
no more than three beneficiaries,
no limited company shareholdings or directorships and
no Trust funds then we anticipate this work would take between 15 and 25 hours.

We would therefore estimate that total costs would be between £1,350 and £2,250 including Vat.

For Estates with:

a gross value in excess of £325,000 but less than £1,000,000
and with a valid Will,
with up to five bank / building society accounts,
no more than three beneficiaries,
with the deceased having had limited company shareholdings or directorships and / or
the existence of a Trust fund

we would anticipate the work taking between 25 and 62.5 hours with total costs being in the range of £2,250 to £5,625 including Vat.

For more complex Estates with:

a gross value in excess of £325,000 up to £2,000,000
and with a valid Will,
multiple bank / building society accounts and / or
multiple beneficiaries
with the deceased having had limited company shareholdings and / or sole trader self-employments, Plc shareholdings and or
Trust funds,
owning properties in addition to their principal private residence

we would anticipate this work would take between 50 and 100 hours with total costs estimated to be in the region of £4,500 and £9,000 including Vat.

Additional costs
There are also costs that have to be paid to other organisations, known as disbursements. Where applicable Vat is included at 20%.

Placing a notice in a local newspaper – £75

Potential additional costs

The following list gives an indication of work which might need to be carried out at an additional cost. We can give you a more accurate quote once we have more information about your specific situation.

• there is no will or it has been altered after signature
• executors have died or refuse to act
• the estate consists of shareholdings (stocks and bonds)
• additional copies of the grant are required
• dealing with the sale or transfer of any property in the estate is not included.
• work required if inheritance tax is payable, including preparing full inheritance tax account, submission to and dealing with HMRC
• there are missing beneficiaries

Our office is open between 9am and 5-30pm during weekdays. We aim to respond to contact made outside these times within 3 working days.

We require you to respond to our requests for information in a timely manner and in full.

Probate Process and Timeframes

The key stages of non-contentious probate are normally as follows:

The Five Steps of Probate

Step One – The Immediate Post-Death Requirements
Step Two – Valuing the estate
Step Three – Preparing the IHT Return
Step Four – Applying for the Grant
Step Five – Post-Grant Estate Administration

Timeframes for probate

Every estate is different and can take a different length of time to administer depending on its complexity. There is a general expectation that an executor or administrator should try to complete the estate administration within a year of the death, and this is referred to as the executor’s year. There are numerous reasons why an estate may take longer than a year to administer though, including complex Inheritance Tax situations, lengthy property sales or missing beneficiaries.

As every estate is different, your case manager will keep you updated and inform you of the likely timescales to carry out the administration of the estate. Below is an outline of the typical timeframes for administering an estate without complex affairs:

Month 1

Starting your case

On receipt of your case, your case manager will carry out a detailed legal review of the estate to clarify the issues that will need addressing in order to apply for the grant of representation. They’ll let you know if they need anything else from you before we start valuing assets and liabilities in the estate to get a grant of representation.

Months 3 to 6

Applying for the grant of representation

To apply for the grant of representation it is necessary to have:

contacted all identifiable financial institutions in order to accurately verify and value the estate
completed the relevant Inheritance Tax forms and finalised the Inheritance Tax position with HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) (whether there is Inheritance Tax to pay or not)
completed all documentation necessary for the court application, including checking the validity of the will or accurately applying the rules of intestacy where no valid will exists
Typically, it takes three to six months to complete all the necessary legal, tax and administration work, submit the application and receive the grant of representation from the court.

Months 6 to 9

Interim distributions to the beneficiaries

Once the grant of representation has been received it can be sent to the bank. After the bank has received all the necessary documents, the money in the accounts will usually be released within 10 to 15 working days.

Once the grant of representation has been received, adverts are placed in the London Gazette and a local paper. These adverts have a two month notice period within which creditors of the estate can claim for any debts. This significantly reduces the risk of future claims by creditors against the estate or we can help you with protecting yourself and the beneficiaries through insurance cover.

After this period, provided we have funds available and no outstanding debts, it is usually possible to distribute some of the estate to the beneficiaries.

Months 9 to 12

Final distributions to the beneficiaries

Claims can still be made against the estate in the six months following the receipt of the grant of representation by anyone who believes they are entitled to benefit. It is important to ensure that all potential claims on the estate are resolved before the final distributions are made.

Assuming that there are no claims and everything proceeds smoothly, we can usually finalise all the legal, tax and administration work and distribute the rest of the estate to the beneficiaries within 9-12 months.

When cases may finish sooner

Because every estate is different, the above timescales are just estimates.

If the circumstances of the estate are straightforward, we may be able to accelerate certain aspects of the work (such as the application for the grant of representation) and finish the estate administration sooner than we have said above. This might happen if, for example, there is no property in the estate, or if there is a property and it either gets transferred to a beneficiary or sells very quickly.

How long do people have to make a claim on an estate?

If someone wants to make a claim on a deceased person’s estate, they only have a limited time to do so. The deadline to make a claim is 6 months from the grant of representation being issued, though they may be able to apply to the court for an extension.

If the grant of representation hasn’t yet been issued, it’s possible to lodge a caveat at the Probate Registry. This will prevent the grant from being issued and, in turn, prevent any payments from being made out of the estate while the claim is being investigated. A caveat can remain in place for up to 6 months.

Specific Probate pricing examples including total Probate fees, additional costs and third party disbursements

Beyond these disbursements and potential additional costs there will be other disbursements that vary considerably – these would include:

Third-party valuations of property
Third-party valuations of other high-value assets such as antiques and jewellery.

Before we start work on your matter, we will provide you with an estimate for the work that we propose to provide, based on the information that you are able to give to us at that time. Please try to be as accurate as possible with the information you provide as if there are significant variations from the information provided this may necessitate an increase in the estimate. We would always advise you in advance and in writing if an increase is necessary, providing you with the reason and the revised estimate.

To provide you with an indication of our pricing the following are three examples covering the range of estates we tend to deal with, but please remember every estate is different so they are only a guide:

Example 1 – A simple estate with one residential property, two bank accounts, no shares and two beneficiaries. The estate is valued at below £325,000.

Legal fees for the work of PDN Probate & Estate Administration Ltd

Drafting and submitting the application to the Probate Registry
Valuation of the estate
Calculation of the inheritance tax (verifying that it does not apply)
Administration of the estate £1,000.00 plus Vat of £200.00 = £1,200.00

Applicable disbursements:

Probate Registry fee £300.00
Three official copies of the grant of probate £4.50
Notice in local paper. £80.00
Notice in the London Gazette. £110.00

Total for fees, disbursements, and Vat £1,694.50

Example 2 – A more complex estate with one residential property, three bank accounts, shares and four beneficiaries. The estate is valued at £500,000.

Legal fees for the work of PDN Probate & Estate Administration Ltd

Drafting and submitting the application to the Probate Registry
Valuation of the estate
Calculation of the inheritance tax
Administration of the estate £3,000.00 plus Vat of £600.00 = £3,600.00

Applicable disbursements:

Probate Registry fee £300.00
Four official copies of the grant of probate £6.00
Notice in local paper. £80.00
Notice in the London Gazette. £110.00
Fee for the valuation of the property £360.00
Fee for the sale of the property £2.500.00

Total for fees, disbursements, and Vat £6,956.00

Please note property valuation fees and conveyancing fees, are fees that will be paid to third-party providers so can vary significantly, but a quotation will always be obtained before the services of such third-party providers are engaged.

Please also remember this figure does not include the inheritance tax that had to be paid from the estate.

Example 3 – A complex estate with two residential properties, multiple bank and building society accounts, business interests via a limited company, partnership or sole trader entity, ownership of stocks and shares, ownership of other investments, multiple beneficiaries. The estate is valued at £2,000,000.

Legal fees for the work of PDN Probate & Estate Administration Ltd

Drafting and submitting the application to the Probate Registry
Valuation of the estate
Calculation of the inheritance tax
Administration of the estate £5,500.00 plus Vat of £1,100.00 = £6,600.00

Applicable disbursements:

Probate Registry fee £300.00
Four official copies of the grant of probate £6.00
Notice in local paper. £80.00
Notice in the London Gazette. £110.00
Fee for the valuation of the property £400.00
Fee for the sale of the property £3,000.00

Total for fees, disbursements, and Vat £10,496.00

Please also remember this figure does not include the inheritance tax that had to be paid from the estate.