Wills, probate and lasting powers of attorney
Will Writing
The only way to be certain that your property goes to those you intend to benefit, it to write a Will. A solicitor can ensure that the various legal formailities are properly followed to make sure your Will is valid, and you may also benefit from legal advice including how inheritance tax affects you.
Estate administration and Probate
We understand that the death of a loved one and the subsequent need to deal with their estate can be stressful. We offer professional, sensitive help and advice with all aspects of probate and administering and estate. We can help if you are acting as an executor or administrator by taking on as much of the estate administration as you require.
Home visits
If preferred, we will visit you in the comfort and privacy of your own home home to take your instructions for a Will or LPA. Just contact us and we will arrange this for you.
Probate Pricing – Price Transparency
Every estate administration is individual and at Fletcher & Co we work on a fixed fee basis to reflect this.
We break our estate administration work into two stages:
- Applying for the Grant of Probate or Letters of Administration; and
- Administering and Finalising the Estate.
In assessing the fixed fee, we take into account the following:
- Whether there is a Will and the terms and requirements of the Will;
- The number, type and value of the assets involved;
- The number, type and value of any liabilities of the deceased;
- Whether there has been any lifetime gifts;
- Whether a short form (IHT205) or long form (IHT400) Inheritance Tax Account is required and whether Inheritance Tax is payable; and
- The number of beneficiaries or potential beneficiaries of the estate.
The work involved in an estate administration typically consists of the following:
- Asset and Liability fact find;
- Preparation of an Inheritance Tax Account and associated forms;
- Preparation of the Probate application;
- Preparation of a Legal Statement;
- Submission of forms to HM Revenue & Customs and HM Courts and Tribunals Service;
- Closure or transfer of assets following obtaining of the Grant;
- Payment of Liabilities;
- Finalisation of the deceased’s tax affairs;
- Distribution of the deceased’s estate to the Will beneficiaries or those entitled on intestate;
- Production of a set of Final Estate Account.
Aspects commonly excluded from our service include:
- Organising the funeral;
- Dealing with a contested estate
- Dealing with trusts created within the Will or by way of an intestacy
- Disposing of household contents
- Dealing with the pre-death tax affairs of the deceased
At Fletcher & Co our bespoke service allows us to tailor to your personal requirements. We can, for example, purely apply for the Grant of Probate or Letters of Administration using the information which you provide us with or alternatively we can obtain all the information ourselves in order to prepare the Probate Application and then finally proceed to finalise the estate if that is required.
Examples of Stage One costs – obtaining the Grant of Probate or Letters of Administration
For uncontested estates where the deceased left a valid Will and you provide the information required to obtain the Grant of Probate, our fees are likely to be in the region of £1,000 to £1,800 plus VAT and disbursements for an IHT205. These fees increase to £1,800 to £2,500 plus VAT and disbursements for an IHT400.
For intestate estates where the deceased did not leave a Will and you provide the information required to obtain the Letters of Administration, our fees are likely to be in the region of £1,200 to £2,000 VAT and disbursements for a short form Inheritance Tax Account. These fees increase to £2,000 to £2,700 and disbursements for an IHT400.
In the above situation if we are to obtain the information ourselves direct from the asset holders and creditors, then typically an additional £1,000 to £2,000 plus VAT will be incurred depending upon the deceased’s assets including whether the deceased had a residence, and we are required to liaise with the utility providers also.
Examples of Stage Two costs – administration of the estate
For a simple estate with a handful of assets and beneficiaries, our fees are likely to be in the region of £1,500 plus VAT.
For larger estates, our likely fees will be in the region of £2,500 plus VAT.
In addition to the legal fees mentioned above there are several disbursements which are also payable during the course of the administration of the estate and these are as follows:
- Probate Court fee payable to HM Courts & Tribunals Service £155.00
- Sealed copies of the Grant (per copy) £1.50
- HM Land Registry Bankruptcy Search per person (UK) £2.00
Other potential disbursements can include foreign bankruptcy searches for non-domiciled beneficiaries (c£100.00) and Statutory Notice fees (c£200.00) where the deceased’s liabilities may be in question.
The above estimates do not include the transfer or sale costs of any property involved within the estate. A separate quotation can be provided upon request.
The above fees also do not include costs which may be incurred where there may be complicating factors such as:
- The need to expedite matters;
- Multiple properties;
- Foreign assets;
- Missing or damaged Wills or documents;
- Several income producing assets which require a formal return to HM Revenue & Customs;
- Disputes arising between executors or beneficiaries; and
- Investigations by HM Revenue & Customs.
Please contact the office on 01565 755411 for more information.
