Wills for individuals

• Our prices start at £600 inc VAT for a reasonably straightforward Will
• A more complex Will may be in the region of £780 – £1,050 inc VAT

Wills for couples who are married

• Our prices start at £900 inc VAT for mirror Wills for a married couple
• More complex Wills may be in the region of £1,080 – £1,500 inc VAT

Urgent Wills

• If completion is urgently required within 2 weeks of you instructing us we may charge an additional 25% on top of our normal fees

• The cost of making both (a) property and financial affairs and (b) health and welfare Lasting Powers of Attorney and registering them is £900 including VAT for an individual and £1,290 including VAT for a couple
• The cost of making just one type of Lasting Power of Attorney and registering is £660 including VAT for an individual and £900 including VAT for a couple
• Registration fees are payable to the Office of the Public Guardian in addition (£82 per Lasting Power of Attorney)

Urgent Lasting Powers of Attorney

• If completion is urgently required within 2 weeks of you instructing us we may charge an additional 25% on top of our normal fees

• £354 including VAT per hour
• We will charge based on the time we spend on your matter
• We will provide you with an estimate before undertaking the work

Urgent work

• If completion is urgently required within 2 weeks of you instructing us we may charge an additional 25% on top of our normal fees

1) Application for Grant of Probate Only

If you wish us to obtain a Grant of Probate only, leaving you to deal with the administration once Probate has been obtained, we are happy to deal with this for a fixed fee.

• Likely cost to range from £1,800 to £4,800 inc VAT depending on the nature and size of the estate. In particularly complex cases the fee could be higher.

Price examples:

• An estate comprises a house with no mortgage, its contents, two bank accounts and some premium bonds. The whole estate does not exceed £500,000 and no inheritance tax is payable. The fee is likely to be about £1,800 inc VAT.
• An estate includes a property and contents, bank accounts, a share portfolio, and an investment bond. Gifts of more than £3,000 inc VAT per tax year were made in the 7 year period before death and must be declared. The fee is likely to be about £3,300 inc VAT.
• Inheritance Tax is payable. In addition, a claim for a pre-deceased spouse’s nil rate amount and residence nil rate amount will be made. In this case the fee is likely to be £4,800 inc VAT.

2) Administration of Estate including obtaining a Grant of Probate

If you wish us to deal with the entire administration, including obtaining a Grant and administering the estate we will charge for this on a time basis at our usual hourly rates.

• How long it takes to deal with an estate will depend on numerous factors including the size and complexity of the estate, whether tax reliefs need to be claimed, whether Inheritance Tax is payable, what the assets in the estate comprise, how many beneficiaries there are and what approach HMRC takes to the estate.  We will provide you with an estimate once we have established details of the estate from you.
• As a guide, our charges for dealing with the complete administration of an estate are likely to be in the region of £6,000 to £20,000 inc VAT. In complex cases the fee could be higher.

Price examples:

• An estate comprises a house with no mortgage, its contents, two bank accounts and some premium bonds. No inheritance tax is payable and no claim for the residence nil-rate amount is required. The estate passes to one adult beneficiary. After a Grant is obtained the bank accounts and premium bonds will need encashing and the house transferring to a beneficiary (the cost of the transfer would be additional). Estate accounts will be produced for the executors to approve before final distributions are made. The fee is likely to be in the region of £6,000 inc VAT.
• An estate includes a property and contents, bank accounts, a share portfolio held with a discretionary fund manager, and an investment bond. Gifts of more than £3,000 inc VAT per tax year were made in the 7 year period before death and must be declared. Inheritance Tax is payable. In addition, a claim for the residence nil-rate amount and for a pre-deceased spouse’s nil rate amount are required. There are several cash legacies and the remainder of the estate passes to two adult beneficiaries. After a Grant is obtained the bank accounts will need encashing, the shares selling or transferring, the investment bond cashing in or assigning and the house selling (the conveyancing cost would be additional). The estate’s income tax liability will need to be dealt with. Interim distributions will be made to the beneficiaries. Estate accounts will be produced for the executors to approve before final distributions are made and tax certificates provided to the beneficiaries. The fee is likely to be in the region of £15,600 inc VAT.
• The information above is based on dealing with the estate of a person who was UK domiciled when they died and owned no overseas property
• The cost for dealing with each estate depends on its own individual circumstances. The price examples given above are indicative only.

Other Costs

The following additional costs may be payable;

• Application fee for a Grant of Probate – £300
• Bankruptcy search fees against beneficiaries to protect executors – £3 per search
• Statutory notice fee to protect executors from claims – in the region of £200 inc VAT

Supplementary charge on urgent work

Where completion of a matter is urgently required (within 2 weeks of you instructing us) we will charge an additional 25% on top of our normal fees to reflect this.