Wills, Trusts & Administration of Estates

We are able to assist with a wide range of matters, including:

the preparation of Wills and Codicils;
the preparation of Lasting Powers of Attorney;
obtaining probate and the administration of estates;
the creation and administration of trusts;
Will and estate disputes;
inheritance tax planning;
advice in regard to issues affecting elderly clients; and
the transferring of assets via gifts.

If you would like to discuss any of our services and their likely costs, please contact us.

All solicitors are required by the Solicitors Regulatory Authority to set out on their website an explanation of how we charge for dealing with the estate of a person who has died. This is set out below.

Fees for Probate and Administration of Estates

If you are the executor of the estate of a person who has died, we are happy to provide you with just as much assistance as you require, allowing you to save money for the estate by carrying out yourself, those aspects of the administration with which you are comfortable.

In some cases clients wish to carry out most of the administration themselves but ask us to complete the forms required in order to obtain the grant of probate. We consider this to be our ‘probate only’ service. In other cases, we are asked to deal with the full administration of the estate, which we refer to as ‘full administration’. Occasionally, we are asked to obtain probate and assist with some other limited aspects of the estate, and we are happy to provide this hybrid service as well.

Obtaining ‘probate only’

In a typical case of this type, we would meet with the executors to discuss the Will, the applicability of inheritance tax (if any) and the steps which need to be taken in order to obtain probate and conduct the first stage of the estate administration. The executors would then deal with the initial administration themselves and provide us with the details of the estate and the values of the assets owned by the person who has died. We would complete the forms required to obtain the grant of probate and arrange for the grant to be obtained and passed to the executors. The executors would then deal with the rest of the administration themselves.

The timescale for this can vary but typically it would take approximately six weeks for the executors to gather information and for us to then liaise with the executors and prepare and submit the application for probate. At present it is taking the probate registry three months to issue the grant of probate. Therefore the time taken to obtain probate would typically take 4 – 5 months. This timescale very much depends upon the time taken by the probate registry to issue the grant and, at the time of writing, there is a significant backlog at the probate registry.

We charge on a time-spent basis at our hourly rates (see below) but, in the average case, where no inheritance tax return is required, we would expect our fees to be in the region of £975 plus VAT of £195.00 plus disbursements as set out below.

In a case where an inheritance tax return is required and where we would help to arrange the payment of inheritance tax from the monies of the person who has died, we would expect our fees to range from £1,500 + VAT of £300.00 to £2,500 + VAT of £500.00. However, our fees could be higher in cases where it is necessary to claim business and agricultural reliefs and/or to liaise with valuers in regard to more complicated holdings of agricultural and business property.

There are certain costs payable to third parties which are often incurred in these matters, which include:

the fee payable to H M Courts to obtain the grant of probate - £273; and
the fee payable to H M Courts to obtain official copies of the grant - £1.50 per copy plus Vat of £0.30p.

There may also be additional costs such as the cost of a valuation report in regard to property.

Please note that our services in a ‘probate only’ matter do not include: assisting with any aspects of the estate administration; dealing with disputes; tax advice, other than completing any tax return required to lead to the grant of probate; deeds of variation; or the transfer/sale of any properties. If a property is required to be transferred or sold, our property department can provide you with a separate fee estimate for that work. We can also assist with some of the other matters listed above which are not included as standard and can provide fee estimates for that work upon request.

The people at our firm who may work on these matters for you include: Trevor Robinson (Director), Robert Hudson (Assistant Solicitor), James Clark (Assistant Solicitor), Lucia Miley (Assistant Solicitor) and Jeanette Williams (paralegal). [Information regarding the experience and qualifications of these members of staff is set out in the ‘Our People’ section of this website.]

Full administration of an estate

In a case of this type, the executors will generally look after any properties or physical assets which belonged to the person who has died but they will ask us to deal with all of the paperwork. We would meet with the executors to advise on the Will, the applicability of inheritance tax (if any) and gather information about the estate. We would then contact all of the relevant companies and other organisations to establish the assets and liabilities of the estate and their values.

After this we would complete the papers to obtain the grant of probate and arrange the payment of any inheritance tax from monies held by the banks of the person who has died.

Upon receipt of the grant, we would gather in the assets of the estate, settle any liabilities and prepare estate accounts. Once the estate accounts are approved we would distribute the estate.

The timescale for the full administration of an estate can vary widely.

In the case of a simple estate, assuming that the probate registry’s timescale for issuing a grant of probate is 3 months from the date of application (as it is at present), the administration would typically be complete within 6 to 9 months.

Where more assets are involved , including properties, the administration could last for a period of 12 months.

In more complex cases it is not uncommon for the administration to take in the region of two years, for example in cases where;

the executors think it prudent to wait 6 months after the grant before distributing the estate to ensure that no claim is made under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependents) Act 1975;
where it takes a long time to sell a property;
where there is a transfer of business or agricultural property which requires interaction with a bank which holds the property as security;
where substantial engagement is required with H M Revenue & Customs in regard to tax affairs.

We charge on a time-spent basis at our hourly rates (see below) and the ultimate cost can vary widely. The amount of time and cost involved in completing an estate administration depends upon certain factors:

whether there is a property which needs to be transferred or sold;
whether the executors require our assistance in looking after the property;
the number of bank accounts and investments involved, particularly individual shareholdings which need to be closed or transferred;
whether inheritance tax is payable;
whether business and agricultural properties are involved;
the number of beneficiaries of the estate;
whether there are matters which do not run smoothly such as a property sale falling through or the occurrence of disputes between parties involved.

As a result of this our fees in dealing with the full administration of an estate can vary.

For the vast majority of estates our fees are between £3,000 plus VAT of £600.00 to £12,000 plus VAT of £2400.00. However in some cases our fees could be as high as £25,000.00 plus VAT of £5,000.00.

Some broad examples:

an estate with two executors, two beneficiaries, no house or land, holding only a few bank accounts and where no inheritance tax is payable could be administered for around £3,000 plus VAT of £600.00 plus disbursements as set out below (disbursements are additional fees payable to third parties such as the court fee for probate);
The administration of an estate which has three executors, five beneficiaries, a house to sell, more than five bank accounts and investments, individual shareholdings to sell and inheritance tax to pay could be administered for between £6,000 plus VAT of £1200.00 to £10,000 plus VAT of £2000.00 plus disbursements as below;
The administration of an estate which has three executors, five beneficiaries, a number of business assets and/or agricultural properties, a house, more than five bank accounts and investments, individual shares and inheritance tax to pay - our fees could typically range from £7,000 plus VAT of £1,400.00 to £13,000.00 plus VAT of £2,600.00 plus disbursements as below. In some cases our fees could be as high as £20,000.00 plus Vat of £4,000.00 plus disbursements as below.

Disbursements There are certain costs payable to third parties which are often incurred in these matters, which include:

• the fee payable to H M Courts to obtain the grant of probate - £273; and

• the fee payable to H M Courts to obtain official copies of the grant - £1.50 plus VAT of £0.30p per copy.

There may also be additional costs such as:

a valuation report in regard to property - which can typically range from £150+VAT of £30.00 to £2,000+VAT of £400.00 depending upon whether the agent is asked to value a simple residential property or a portfolio of business and agricultural property;
placing notices in newspapers to advertise for creditors and give an element of protection to the executors if they then distribute the estate without the creditors having come forward – typically costs around £350.00 to advertise in two publications;
tracing beneficiaries – the cost varies widely depending upon the complexity of the family tree requiring to be researched;
missing beneficiary insurance – varies widely depending upon the nature and extent of the risk; and
bankruptcy searches against beneficiaries - £2 plus VAT of £0.40 per beneficiary.

Please note that our service in a ‘full administration’ of the estate does not include:

dealing with disputes;
tax advice other than completing any tax return required to lead to the grant of probate;
deeds of variation or, the transfer/sale of any properties.

If a property is required to be transferred or sold our property department can provide you with a separate fee estimate for that work. We can assist with some of the other matters listed above which are not included as standard and can provide fee estimates for that work upon request.

Hourly Rates

The hourly rates charged by the firm are as follows:

Director – £250 per hour + VAT of £50.00

Assistant Solicitor - £215 plus VAT of £43.00 to £250 per hour plus VAT of £50.00.

Paralegal - £200 per hour + VAT of £40.00

How do I get in touch ?

Please contact either or Carlisle Office on 01228 525221 or Our Wigton office on 016973 43241 or complete our enquiry form.