Our Fees

Pricing

We offer both fixed fee and an hourly charging rate, whereby you will be charged for each hour of work undertaken. Our fee for dealing with a Grant of Probate starts at £995 + VAT, plus a court fee of £273. This is purely for making the application on your behalf and does not include dealing with any of the estate assets.

To deal with the administration of the estate, costs will vary and the exact 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. If there are multiple beneficiaries, a property and multiple bank accounts, costs will be at the higher end. Probate fees will also typically increase, depending on the number of bank accounts, shares and based on the number and value of any property.

Below is an example scenario:

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

If there is additional work, we would agree any additional fees with you.

Disbursements

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 smooth process.

Typical example of charges in a simple case

An 80-year-old woman died and her husband asked Martin Kaye Solicitors to sort out the probate for her estate. This was a simple matter which we are able to deal with in six to nine months.

• The reason the bill was relatively small was:
• The house was in joint names with the husband and no conveyancing work was required
• No inheritance tax was payable
• The assets we had to collect and distribute were made of one savings and one investment account with a total value of £120,000
• There were only two beneficiaries. In addition to the husband, their two children were both adults. No trusts or other complexities were involved
• We had prepared the woman’s will ourselves a few months before so we had much of the information to hand
• The husband was prompt and well-organised in responding to our requests for papers and information

In addition to our bill, there were disbursements of £632.52, which would be the same at any firm. They were made up of:

• A probate application fee of £273
• Bankruptcy only Land Charges Department searches of £6 + VAT (£2 + VAT per beneficiary)
• £124.32 post in the London Gazette – to protect against unexpected claims from unknown creditors
• £228 for a post in a local newspaper – to help protect against unexpected claims (approximate dependent on the number of characters in the notice – £190 + VAT)

Please note the price ranges for the Newspaper notices can be between £110 to £190 + VAT. In addition, should you wish to have further copies of the Probate, they can be obtained for a cost of £1.50 each.

Typical examples of charges for an easy case

Martin Kaye Solicitors charged £995 + VAT and disbursements.

A client sadly lost their father and was the sole executrix of the estate. They collated all of the information and valuations required for probate purposes and simply required our assistance in obtaining the Grant of Probate. Once the Grant was issued, this was handed over to the executrix and they dealt with the administration themselves. This was completed within two months.

In addition to our bill, there were disbursements of £273, which relates to the Probate Application Fee. As per above, additional copies of the Probate can be obtained at a cost of £1.50 each.

Complicating factors

The following are examples of factors that may lead to the need for additional work on our part and consequently, a higher charge:

• There is no valid will
• One or more of the appointed executors have died or refused to act
• There is more than one property
• There are more than five bank or building society accounts
• There are other intangible assets
• There are more than five beneficiaries
• Any beneficiary lacks capacity under the Mental Health Act, or is a minor
• There are disputes between beneficiaries on the division of assets
• The will creates a trust
• There are missing beneficiaries
• There is inheritance tax payable and the executors need to submit a full account to HMRC
• There are claims made against the estate or disputes as to the validity of the will

Fixed fee – obtaining a Grant of Probate

We can help you through this difficult process by obtaining the Grant of Probate on your behalf. You can then proceed to administer the estate yourself.

Our costs for providing this service are:

Please note that these fees may increase depending on the information provided and the complexity of the circumstances and a bespoke quote will be provided, should this be required.

As per the above, additional copies of the Grant of Probate can be obtained at a cost of £1.50 each.

As part of the fixed fee, we will:

• Provide you with a dedicated and experienced lawyer to work on your matter
• Identify the legally appointed executors, administrators and beneficiaries
• Accurately identify the type of Probate application you will require
• Obtain relevant documents required to make the application
• Complete the Probate application and relevant HMRC forms
• Make payment of the Inheritance Tax due to HMRC, should this be required
• Make the application to the Probate Court on your behalf
• Obtain the Probate and send this to you

Please note that the Probate Registry currently have delays of around eight to twelve weeks from the date that the probate was applied for.

Inheritance Tax

There are various factors that will affect any Inheritance Tax that is due on an estate, including the size of the estate and any measures that were put in place by the deceased to limit the estates tax liability.

At this stage, Martin Kaye Solicitors do not believe that it would be sensible to attempt to provide an estimate of any tax that may be payable. We would advise you to contact us to obtain advice in relation to your specific circumstances or to look on the HMRC website to calculate how much Inheritance Tax which may be due. The calculators can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/hmrc-tools-and-calculators#inheritance-tax-and-bereavement/

Exclusions

Where there is likely to be any additional cost, we will make sure that you are informed of this at the earliest opportunity and a clear estimate of those extra costs will be provided.

Additional services that will require the assistance of a third party at an additional cost include:

• Tax advice
• Valuations for property, savings, investments and other assets

Time scales

On average, probate and the estate administration for a typical estate will take between six to eighteen months. Generally, the time taken to obtain the Grant of Probate will take between four to eight months, depending on how quickly third parties provide the information required and how quickly the Probate Registry issue the Grant. The collection of the estate and distribution of the assets follows, which can take between four to twelve months.

You will be provided with timescales and updates throughout the administration and more complicated estates may take longer than this to finalise.

Key milestones

With every transaction there are key milestones, which may vary according to individual circumstances. They may be as follows:

• Applying for a Grant of Probate
• Obtaining Grant of Probate
• Settling liabilities
• Collecting funds ready for distribution
• Distributing funds
• Producing estate accounts

For more information, please contact Jemma Blake or June Noto on 01952 525927 or jemmablake@martinkaye.co.uk or junenoto@martinkaye.co.uk.