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Transparency Rules – Probate (uncontested cases with all assets in the UK)

Administering an Estate

When someone dies, the decisions to be made and the action to be taken can be confusing. Dealing with the loss of a relative or a friend can be a difficult time and most people are unsure what action to take. At Williamsons we are here to help and can handle the full process for you. This information is for straightforward Estates where:

  • There is a valid will
  • There is no more than one property
  • There are no more than 2-3 bank or building society accounts
  • There are no other intangible assets
  • There are 2-3 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

Costs are estimated between £4,200 and £9,000 inclusive VAT @20%, based on an hourly charging rate of £160.80 – £326.40 inclusive VAT @20%, (dependent on the experience and qualification of the fee earner). The exact time and 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 and the time it takes to complete the administration will be quicker. If there are multiple beneficiaries, a property and multiple bank accounts, costs will be at the higher end and the administration will take longer.

Disbursements not included in this fee (where applicable VAT is included at 20%):

  • Probate application fee of £300 (with additional copies at £1.50)
  • Anti-Money Laundering and Bankruptcy/Insolvency checks on the deceased, personal representatives, all legatees and beneficiaries at a cost of approximately £13.20 inclusive of VAT @20% per person
  • Office Copies £3.60 inclusive of VAT @20% per property

Optional Searches:

  • Section 27 Notices: Approximately £300 inclusive of VAT @20% for a Notice in The London Gazette and local newspaper which protects the Personal Representatives against unexpected claims from unknown creditors.  This fee is dependent on the local newspaper’s fees and/or the number of local newspapers the advert needs to be placed.
  • Assets and Liabilities Search: £234 inclusive of VAT @20%
  • National Will register Search: £60.00 or £118.80 inclusive of VAT @20% depending on the extent of the search

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 no Will or the Estate consists of any share holdings (stocks and bonds), which will require a formal probate valuation, there are 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 and there will be a separate charge if you wish for Williamsons to deal with the conveyancing transaction.

If an Estate requires a full inheritance tax return or where it is necessary to claim the transferable nil rate band or claim the main residence nil rate band for example or where there are significant number of assets or beneficiaries, this will mean that legal fees will be more than those quoted above and the time scale to complete the process make take longer.  However, you will be given a quote once we have all the information.

Timescale

We anticipate a straightforward Estate will take between three to six months to obtain a Grant and a further six to twelve months to complete administration of the Estate.

If Williamsons Solicitors are appointed as Executors in a Will, an Estate will not be distributed until 10 months after the issue of the Grant.  If you are acting as an Executor personally, you may also choose to wait this time to distribute the Estate.

What’s Involved in Administering an Estate

Age UK have provided a very good fact sheet about what is involved in administrating an Estate. This is an independent fact sheet, it will give you a good idea if the process, what is involved and why it is often a very good idea to instruct professionals, such as Williamsons Solicitors to assist in navigating this process.

https://www.ageuk.org.uk/globalassets/age-uk/documents/factsheets/fs14_dealing_with_an_Estate_fcs.pdf

Why Instruct a Professional to Deal with the Administration of an Estate?

There is very good, independent advice about when it is a good idea to consult a specialist, such as Williamsons Solicitors to assist you with dealing with and application for a Grant of Probate or to deal with the administration of a friend or relative’s Estate from start to finish, this can be found on the Money Advice Service website: https://www.moneyadviceservice.org.uk/en/articles/when-to-use-a-probate-specialist

Williamsons Solicitors are happy to assist on those Estates and the simpler ones, if you simply don’t feel comfortable dealing with them, don’t have the inclination or just don’t have the time.

Will the Estate be Taxable?

To find if an Estate is taxable and to give you an idea whether your friend or loved one’s Estate would be a simple administration or not, why not look at the https://www.gov.uk/inheritance-tax.  Williamsons Solicitors are probate specialists who would be able to assist and advise you throughout this often complex process.

Grant of Probate Only

We can help you get started with administering an Estate by obtaining the Grant of Probate on your behalf. This includes completing the relevant Inheritance Tax forms for HMRC and preparing the probate papers, including the Legal Statement. You would be responsible for providing us with the relevant figures for the valuation of the Estate. Please see: https://www.gov.uk/valuing-Estate-of-someone-who-died for more information on this.  Once the Grant is extracted, you will be able to administer the Estate.

Our legal fees start at £960 inclusive VAT @20% for straightforward Grants.

Disbursements not included in this fee (where applicable VAT is included at 20%):

  • Anti-Money Laundering and Bankruptcy/Insolvency checks on the deceased, personal representatives, all legatees and beneficiaries at a cost of approximately £13.20 inclusive of VAT @20% per person
  • Office Copies £3.60 inclusive of VAT @20% per property

Optional Searches:

  • Section 27 Notices: Approximately £300 inclusive of VAT @20% for a Notice in The London Gazette and local newspaper which protects the Personal Representatives against unexpected claims from unknown creditors.  This fee is dependant of the local newspaper’s fees and/or the number of local newspapers the advert needs to be placed.
  • Assets and Liabilities Search: £234 inclusive of VAT @20%
  • National Will register Search: £60.00 or £118.80 inclusive of VAT @20% depending on the extent of the search
  • If Williamsons are requested to undertake the any of above optional searches or place the above notices, this incurs an additional charge of £300 inclusive of VAT @20%

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.

If the Grant is likely to be complex, such as in Estates where inheritance tax is payable or a transferable nil rate band is being claimed, the costs will be higher, and we will be able to give you a more accurate quote once we have more information.

Timescale

A Grant of Probate can usually be obtained within 12-16 weeks.

You may find some of the links above useful in determining whether you wish to instruct to obtain a Grant only or whether you decide it may perhaps be worthwhile instructing a professional to carry out the full administration of your friend or relative’s Estate.

Wills

For a straightforward Will, our fees are £354 inclusive VAT @20% for a single Will or £594 inclusive VAT @20% for Mirror Wills. If you require a more complex Will, such as those including a trust or inheritance tax planning, we will give you a more accurate quote once we have more information about your needs.

Disbursements not included in this fee:

  • Anti-Money Laundering and Bankruptcy/Insolvency checks at a cost of approximately £13.20 inclusive of VAT @20% per person
  • Office Copies £3.60 inclusive of VAT @20% per property

Disbursements are costs related to your matter that are payable to third parties.  We handle the payment of the disbursements on your behalf to ensure a smoother process.

Timescale

We aim to send a draft Will out to you within two weeks of receiving your written confirmation of instructions.

Why make a Will?

We suggest reading our article “Making a Will” and “The Role of an Executor” for more information as to what is involved and what should be considered when making your Will.

For information about the difference having a Will makes and who inherits where this is no Will, https://www.gov.uk/inherits-someone-dies-without-will .

Lasting Powers of Attorney

While you have capacity and you are able to do so, you manage your own financial affairs and make your own health and care decisions.  However, there may become a time, for example, with old age, following an injury or illness such as dementia or Alzheimer’s, where this may become increasingly difficult or impossible.  As such, it is a good idea to put Lasting Powers of Attorney in place now, while you have mental capacity to do so, allowing you to decide who can act on your behalf in relation to your property and financial affairs and your health and welfare matters when you are unable to do so.

We suggest reading our article “A Guide to Lasting Powers of Attorney” for more information as to what is involved. In certain circumstances Williamsons are also happy to take on this role.

We charge a fixed fee as follows:

  • One Lasting Power of Attorney is £480 inclusive VAT @20%, e.g. a single Property and Financial Affairs Lasting Power of Attorney or a single Health and Welfare Lasting Power of Attorney
  • Two Lasting Powers of Attorney are £720 inclusive VAT @20%, e.g. one person wanting Lasting Powers of Attorney for both Property and Financial Affairs and Health and Welfare
  • Four Lasting Powers of Attorney are £1,200 inclusive VAT @20%, e.g. a couple each wanting Lasting Powers of Attorney for both Property and Financial Affairs and Health and Welfare

Disbursements not included in this fee (where applicable VAT is included at 20%):

  • The Application fee to the Office of Public Guardian is £82.00 per document registered.  You may qualify for a 50% Fee Remission per document to be registered or a complete exemption, depending on your financial circumstances, but we can discuss this at your appointment.
  • Anti-Money Laundering and bankruptcy/Insolvency checks will be required in respect of Lasting Powers of Attorney for Property and Financial Affairs at a cost of approximately £13.20 inclusive of VAT @20% per donor and per attorney.

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.

Timescale

Lasting Powers of Attorney matters can take six months or more to be completed as they need to be registered with the Office of The Public Guardian.  Please see About our services – Office of the Public Guardian – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)  for current processing times at the Office of Public Guardian registering LPAs.

Enduring Power of Attorney

You may have prepared an Enduring Power of Attorney many years ago for someone to manage your financial affairs when you are no longer able to do so.  An Enduring Power of Attorney can be used by your attorneys without the need to register them, providing you still have mental capacity.

It is worth pointing out these old-style documents, whilst still valid, do not have to be registered to be used, unless you lose capacity and as such, they are therefore more susceptible to financial abuse.  In addition, they only cover financial and property affairs and do not cover health and welfare matters.  You may therefore wish to take this opportunity to consider reviewing your existing Enduring Power of Attorney to ensure it is up to date and relevant for your circumstances now.  If not, you can prepare a Lasting Power of Attorney instead or at the very least prepare a Health and Welfare Lasting Power of Attorney.

Alternatively, should you be appointed as someone’s attorney under an Enduring Power of Attorney and that person has now lost capacity, the Enduring Power of Attorney must be registered with the Office of Public Guardian.  We suggest reading our article “Registering an Enduring Power of Attorney” for more information as to what is involved.

To register an Enduring Power of Attorney, we charge a fixed fee of £420 inclusive VAT @20%

Disbursements not included in this fee (where applicable VAT is included at 20%):

  • The Application fee to the Office of Public Guardian is £82.00 per document registered.  You may qualify for a 50% Fee Remission per document to be registered or a complete exemption, depending on your financial circumstances, but we can discuss this at your appointment.
  • Anti-Money Laundering and bankruptcy/Insolvency checks will be required in respect of Lasting Powers of Attorney for Property and Financial Affairs at a cost of approximately £13.20 inclusive of VAT @20% per donor and per attorney.

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.

Timescale

Registering Enduring Powers of Attorney can take 8 to 10 weeks after the application has been submitted.  It will take longer if one or more family member objects.

Court of Protection

You may have a friend or loved one who no longer has capacity to make financial decision for themselves.  You may be considering making an application to become their Deputy/ies to help them.  In certain circumstances Williamsons are also happy to take on this role.  We suggest reading our article “Guide to Court of Protection and Deputyships” for more information as to what is involved.

For a straightforward Property and Financial Affairs Deputyship Application our fee is set by the Court at £1,444.80 inclusive VAT @20%.  For a straightforward Trustee Application our fee is set by the Court of £759.60 inclusive VAT @20%.  However, if either of these are complex matters, we reserve the right to have our fees assessed by the Court.

Disbursements not included in this fee (where applicable VAT is included at 20%):

  • The Application fee for a Deputyship Application and a Trustees Application is £408.00 each.  The person to whom the application relates (i.e. the person who lacks capacity), is known as “P” and may qualify for a 50% Fee Remission per document to be registered or a complete exemption, depending on their financial circumstances, but we can discuss this at your appointment.
  • Anti-Money Laundering and bankruptcy/Insolvency checks will be required in respect of Deputyship or Trustee Applications at a cost of approximately £13.20  for “P” and per Deputy or Trustee.

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.

  • In addition, you will be required to pay a Bond, the value of which is set by the Court based on the value of the Estate, on average costing between £100 – £300. The Bond is a guarantee to pay any financial losses suffered by ‘P’ arising from the Deputy/ies’ failure to perform their duties as directed by the Court and/or the Office of the Public Guardian. The premium is normally payable annually. The Bond Provider will write to the Deputy/ies before each anniversary to request payment. On small Estates it is possible to arrange a Surety Bond with a single payment for the lifetime of the Bond.
  • A further fee for £100 is payable to the Office of Public Guardian upon the appointment of the Deputy/ies, followed by annual supervision fees of £320.

All these fees can come from “P’s” own money once the Court has issued the Order granting the Deputy authority to manage P’s property and financial affairs.

Timescale

Both Deputyship and Trustee Applications matters can take twelve to eighteen months to be completed as they must be registered with the Court of Protection.

OTHER SERVICES

In addition to the above, we offer the following services listed below:

Please note in each instance Anti-Money Laundering and bankruptcy/Insolvency checks at a cost of approximately £13.20 inclusive of VAT @20% will be required to be carried out on each client/Settlor (the person setting up the trust) and each Trustee/ Executor and are called disbursements (fees payable to a third party).  Disbursements are not included in the fees shown

General Power of Attorney

If you require a temporary Power of Attorney because for example you are selling a house but will not be available to sign documents and wish to appoint someone to deal with the conveyancing matters on your behalf, we charge a fixed fee of £240 inclusive of VAT @20% plus disbursements mentioned above.

Deed of Revocation (of EPA/LPA)

If you need to cancel an Enduring or Lasting Power of Attorney, we charge a fixed fee of £250 inclusive VAT @20% plus disbursements mentioned above.

Deed of Variation

It is possible in certain circumstances for a Deed of Variation to be created to vary the terms of a Will or Intestacy.  Our fee for this is £1,080 inclusive VAT @20% plus disbursements mentioned above.

Personal Injury Trust

A Personal Injury Trust can be set up to ring fence your damages, should you be in receipt of means tested benefits, so they are not affected.  Our fee for a Personal Injury Trust start from £1,800 inclusive VAT @20% plus disbursements mentioned above.  The cost can often be taken from damages awarded.

House into Trust

You may consider giving your home away or putting into a Trust.  We recommend you read our article “Risks Associated with Giving Your Home Away”.

Our fee start from £1,800 inclusive VAT @20% plus disbursements mentioned above and Office Copies for each property at £3.60 inclusive VAT @20%.  This does not include the Conveyancing Fees.

Other Trusts

There may be many other reasons, other than those mention above why you wish to set up a Trust in your lifetime.  Our fees for setting up a Trust start from £1,800 inclusive VAT @20% plus disbursements mentioned above.

Deed of Appointment and Retirement of Trustees

If there is a change of Trustee in respect of a Trust, then the appropriate document can be prepared.  Our fee for this is £360 inclusive VAT @20% plus disbursements mentioned above.

General Statutory Declaration.

Our fee for this is £300 inclusive VAT @20% plus disbursements mentioned above.   Please note there will also be a swear fee from £11.00.

Statutory Declaration – Marriage Abroad

Our fee for this is £420 inclusive VAT @20% plus disbursements mentioned above.   Please note there will also be two swear fees from £11.00.

Living Will

If you do not have a registered Health & Welfare Lasting Power of Attorney but wish people to be aware of your wishes should your health deteriorate significantly and you are not able to communicate your wishes, a Living Will can be prepared. Our fee for this is £360 inclusive VAT @20% plus disbursements mentioned above.

For further information on any of the above, please contact our Probate Department who will be happy to answer any questions you may have.

USEFUL INFORMATION

Choice Legal Providers

It is important that you are aware of the choice of legal providers that are available and looking at the Legal Choices website will assist you in making decisions about the services available to you and importantly which of those, such as Williamsons Solicitors, that are regulated https://www.legalchoices.org.uk/ and the potential lack of protection offered to you in having an unregulated person or company carry out these services for you, for example a Will Writer preparing a Will for you.  In England and Wales, the law lets anyone write Wills, meaning that some of these Will Writers not being regulated they may not even have any legal qualifications!