Your Will lets you decide what happens to your money, property and possessions after your death. If you make a Will you can also ensure you don't pay more Inheritance Tax than you need to.
Our Wills, Powers of Attorney and Probate Department offer a sensitive and cost-effective service and can meet you at your home if you require.
It is important to us that we help you with planning ahead - whether by Wills or a Lasting Power of Attorney, and that we also assist our clients to deal with affairs in the event of a death. We have an experienced and highly qualified team, who can help you to ensure your decisions are met about what happens to your assets once you have died.
By making a Will you can decide who looks after your estate and what happens to your belongings. If you have children you can indicate who will look after them and how they will be financially provided for in the future. We also have a wealth of experience in helping people through what can be a difficult time, dealing with estate and trust property and dealing with complex estates. Whether there is a Will or not we will help you to sort out the financial affairs and will help you through the process of dividing the estate between the people who are entitled to it.
We are happy to assist with grants of representation and we can act as Executor to the Estate, if you wish.
Wills & Powers of Attorney
The drafting of Wills depends a number of other factors, for example whether a home visit is necessary and so on. However, as a guideline our fees for Wills and Power of Attorney are:
| Single Wills from £240 + 20% VAT |
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| Mirror Wills from £320 + 20% VAT |
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| Powers Of Attorney: |
For a single person - Property & Finance or Health & Welfare - £325 + 20% VAT + £82 registration fee
Both together - £475 + 20% VAT + £164 registration fee
For a couple - Property & Finance or Health & Welfare - £475 + 20% VAT + £164 registration fee
Both together - £625 + 20% VAT + £328 registration fee
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Estate Administration Charges
We offer a bespoke service and therefore it is difficult, without having the full details, to provide an accurate figure for our services. However, the following is a guide.
Once we have further details and information about what is involved, we can provide an initial estimate tailored to the specific facts and circumstances and relevant documents have been considered.
We do not offer fixed fees for our work on estate administration nor do we charge our fees on a percentage of the value of the estate. We feel this can be unfair on you and us. We charge an hourly rate for the work undertaken which currently is £300 per hour plus VAT at 20%. We find this is the fairest way for all involved.
As a guide, a straightforward probate matter could take approximately 10 -18 hours and our fees would be likely to be in the region of £3,000-£5,000 + 20% VAT.
The following examples are likely to make a probate matter 'straightforward':
- There is a valid Will;
- There is no more than one property;
- There are no legal issues with the title to the property;
- There are a small number of bank or building society accounts;
- There are a small number of shareholdings or one share portfolio with a single investment manager;
- There are share certificates for all shareholdings;
- There are no other intangible assets;
- There are a small number of beneficiaries;
- There are no disputes between beneficiaries;
- There are no claims made against the Estate;
- There is no inheritance tax to pay and the executors do not need to submit a full account to HMRC.
Where the estate is subject to inheritance tax and we need to prepare a full account to HMRC, this will take longer and accordingly our costs will be higher. In this situation, if the probate is otherwise regarded as straightforward, our fees are likely to be in the region of £5,000-£10,000 + 20% VAT.
Where the estate is subject to inheritance tax and there are other factors meaning it is not a 'straightforward' estate, our fees are likely to be in excess of £10,000 + 20% VAT.
We will provide a more accurate estimate once we are clear about the extent of the work required.
Disbursements
Disbursements may also by payable. These are costs that are payable to third parties, such as the Probate Registry fee (£300 plus £1.50 per copy of the sealed Grant). We handle the payment of disbursements on your behalf to ensure a smoother process. The disbursements are likely to include the following:
Probate application fee of £300 (plus sealed copies of the
Grant of Representation @ £1.50 per copy) |
£300 plus copies |
| Bankruptcy Search |
£2 |
Advertisement in the London Gazette and local newspaper
to protect the Estate against claims from unknown creditors |
Approximately £300 + 20% VAT |
For a quotation or more information, please contact our Wills, Powers of Attorney & Probate Team on ku.oc.sdrahcir-rrac@ofni or telephone 01442 241466. Our phone lines are open 9:00am – 17:00pm Monday to Friday.
