At Stantons we appreciate that dealing with an estate can be a daunting task at a difficult time. We offer a free initial 30-minute consultation to assess whether you might need a grant. We offer a range of services from dealing with the whole estate administration to just obtaining the grant to allow the executors to deal with the assets themselves. We can tailor our services to suit your circumstances and needs.
Our charges for a basic estate applying for the grant, collecting and distributing the assets.
We anticipate this will take between 12 to 18 hours work at our hourly rates of £190 plus VAT for our experienced Probate Manager (supervised by a Partner of the firm) and £310 plus VAT for a Partner.
The exact cost will depend on the individual circumstances. 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 higher.
We will handle the full process for you. This estimate is for estates where:
- There is a valid will.
- There is one property.
- There are no more than 3 bank or building society accounts.
- There are no other significant assets.
- There are 2-4 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:
- Probate application fee of £273 plus £1.50 per copy
- Official Copy of Register Entries for the property £3
- Bankruptcy-only Land Charges Department searches (£2 per beneficiary)
- £101.52 Post in The London Gazette – Protects against unexpected claims from unknown creditors (if required).
Disbursements are costs 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) there are likely to be additional costs which can alter 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.
- If any additional copies of the grant are required, they will cost £1.50 (1 per asset usually).
- Dealing with the sale or transfer of any property in the estate is not included.
More Complex Estates or where any tax is payable.
Our charges are based on the time actually spent on your matter at our hourly rates which range from £190 to £310 plus VAT. We do not make any charge based on the value of your estate; you will only pay for the work done.
If you contact us, we initially offer a free interview when we can give you an estimate of the likely costs once we have details of the estate.
How long will it take?
Each case is individual and can differ in the time it takes to settle. Generally, we would expect estate administration to take between six months to a year though this may be longer if there are any elements which are administered or managed by an external third party over which we have no control. Grants of representations are currently taking approximately three to six months.
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