How Much Does Probate Cost?
Below you will find a breakdown of our fees and what our charges include. For further information please do not hesitate to contact us for a confidential conversation with one of our lawyers.
“The agile team at Osbornes acts for a wide range of high-net-worth individuals and families in complex estate and trust litigation, advising on a wide array of contentious trust and estate matters.”
“Jan is an expert in international probate work and is praised for a sensible and pragmatic approach to cases.”
This range of probate fees apply where the estate administration is relatively straightforward and non- contentious, the deceased was domiciled in the UK and all estate assets are in England and Wales. If we are the executors and there is no immediate family to deal with practical matters, there may be additional charges due to the additional work involved.
Our probate solicitor charges are based entirely on time spent working on the matter which is charged at the hourly rate of the fee earner/s working on the file. We do not charge a percentage of the value of the estate in addition to our standard charges.
An initial fee estimate is given as early as possible and this is confirmed when full information about the estate assets, beneficiaries and relevant documents have been considered.
If it appears at any point that additional work which was not originally anticipated is likely to be necessary, we will confirm this in writing and provide an updated fee estimate before starting any work. Additional costs could be payable on a fixed fee (e.g. if a one off document is required), or at our hourly rates if more extensive work is needed.
Our Fees
Estate not subject to Inheritance Tax | Our approximate fee |
Estate Value up to £5,000 | £1,250 plus VAT |
Estate value over £5,000 up to £1million | £5,000-£10,000 plus VAT |
Estate value over £1million but no IHT due to spouse or charity exemption | £8,000-£12,000 plus VAT |
Estate Subject to Inheritance Tax | Our approximate fee |
If the estate administration is straight forward (for example there is a property and a bank account) then the charges will be towards the lower end of the scale. However, if the estate administration is more complicated (for example there are several share holdings, several bank accounts and a property) then the charges will be towards the higher end of the scale. | £10,000 - £15,000 plus VAT |
To find out whether the estate is subject to inheritance tax please visit www.gov.uk/inheritance-tax
What do our charges include?
- Obtaining your detailed instructions.
- Obtaining from you all deeds and documentation relating to the affairs of the deceased and reviewing.
- Registering the death with the asset holders and obtaining confirmation of date of death valuations.
- Checking that we have correct addresses for the beneficiaries.
- Obtaining any formal valuations which may be required by HMRC.
- Completing the Inheritance Tax account, and obtaining your approval.
- Preparing the personal representative’s application for probate and arrange for it to be signed by you.
- Obtaining from you the Probate fee and obtaining any necessary cheque for Inheritance Tax before submitting any Inheritance Tax to HMRC with the Inheritance Tax account. Alternatively, making a request for any Inheritance Tax to be paid direct to HMRC through the Direct Payment Scheme.
- When the Inheritance Tax receipt account is returned from the Capital Taxes Office, submitting the application for the Grant of Representation.
- When the Grant of Representation has been issued, registering it with all asset holders together with completed withdrawal forms to secure the release of estate monies.
- Placing Trustee Act Notices in the appropriate publications, where required.
- Ensuring all the deceased’s accounts are closed or transferred, as appropriate.
- Arranging for the sale or transfer of any of the deceased’s shares.
- Discharging all liabilities of the estate for which you have not taken responsibility.
- Paying all pecuniary legacies and making interim distributions.
- Finalising the deceased’s tax affairs.
- If appropriate register the estate with HMRC as a complex estate.
- Preparing draft estate accounts and obtaining your approval to these.
- Obtaining clearance from the Capital Taxes Office that all tax has been paid and from HMRC to confirm that all Income Tax and Capital Gains Tax for the deceased and the administration period has been paid.
- Making final payments to the beneficiaries from the estate.
Potential Additional Costs
Our charges do not include payment of disbursements. Disbursements are costs relating to your matter that are payable to third parties. The likely disbursements are as follows:
- £273 probate application fee plus an additional £1.50 per sealed copy of the Grant of Representation required.
- Approximately £250 fee for posting ‘Section 27 Trustee Act 1925’ notices which protect the personal representatives from unknown creditors. This is not compulsory.
- £2 per beneficiary bankruptcy search where necessary.
- Surveyors fees to value property, where necessary.
- Genealogists to trace missing beneficiaries, where necessary.
Our charges also do not include dealing with the sale of any property on behalf of the estate as this will be dealt with by our conveyancing department.
How long does the process take?
We estimate that it will usually take approximately 12 weeks to obtain a Grant of Representation and thereafter approximately a further 3-6 months to deal with the estate and to finalise all other matters, save perhaps for finalisation of tax returns. This may take rather longer as we are of course bound to an extent by tax years. This is an estimate based upon the assumption that third parties respond swiftly to requests for information and that there are no unexpected complications. If any such problems do arise, we will keep you fully informed. If they are likely to increase the amount of time we spend dealing with your file, we will notify you in writing and let you have a new costs estimate.
Read our article What is Probate.
Contact us today
For a free initial conversation call 020 7485 8811
Email us Send us an email and we’ll get back to you
“We have been on a journey and without Maria’s support I couldn’t have made it. Lifelong she will be remembered.”
"Mark was, quite frankly, incredible. He combined technical excellence with stellar negotiation skills."
Practice head William Ford takes on public law challenges involving housing rights, community care, welfare benefits and support for migrants, among other areas. His work in the field of housing law often involves challenging local authorities' refusals to honour statutory obligations.
"The department handles complex and high-value litigation on behalf of individuals and trust companies and many of its cases have a cross-border dimension."
"The firm is known for expertly running judicial review challenges against local authorities, and has recently succefully challenged the Secretary of State for the Home Department in a case relating to adverse age assessments for unaccompanied asylum-seeking putative minors."
New and Insights From our LawyersVIEW ALL
- 9.6.2023
Will Dispute Case Law
New Births And New Relationships? Review Your Will To Avoid A Dispute You’d imagine a wealthy businessman with assets...
Read more - 9.6.2023
Proprietary Estoppel Case Law
On A Lick And A Promise? The First Hurdle In Proprietary Estoppel Claims Solicitors are increasingly instructed by clients who...
Read more - 22.5.2023
Case Law: Dementia-Induced Mild Cognitive Impairment
Dementia is a harsh reality for increasing numbers of families. Sadly, it means the disputed wills solicitors at Osbornes Law...
Read more - 26.4.2023
German Court Rules on EU Succession Regulation
Succession laws vary from country to country which historically made the administration of cross-border estates potentially complex. Since 17 August 2015, the...
Read more - 16.3.2023
Are trusts protected from divorce?
Can trusts protect an inheritance from your spouse? A trust is a separate legal entity. Neither spouse owns its assets. ...
Read more - 1.3.2023
How to prevent someone contesting a will
It is fairly rare in my experience for a parent to write a child out of their will but that...
Read more - 8.2.2023
Gifting Property to Children
Can I gift property to my children? Gifting a property to your adult children is a relatively complex transaction but...
Read more - 15.11.2022
Contentious Probate Case Studies
Contentious probate involving business assets Osbornes Law acts for the defendants to a claim issued to pronounce in favour of...
Read more - 27.10.2022
Contesting A Will Case Studies
Will dispute on grounds of lack of capacity Our contesting a will solicitors acted for the claimants, the adult daughters...
Read more - 2.8.2022
Do you need to register your trust?
The Trust Register was introduced in 2017 as part of anti-money laundering regulations. Previously, only trusts with a UK tax liability...
Read more - 19.7.2022
Beware of appointing your children as executors
Where tensions exist between family members, making your children the executors of your will can cause huge problems with probate,...
Read more - 19.1.2022
Does your will deal with cross-border assets?
If you own assets in more than one country, it’s important to make a robust Will that deals effectively...
Read more - 1.1.2022
Married with children from a previous relationship – how...
There are several ways of doing this. If there are sufficient assets apart from the family home, it may be...
Read more - 18.11.2021
Family Tensions and Deputyship
Disputes between a deputy and the family of the individual concerned, can escalate and become increasingly distressing if issues are...
Read more - 18.11.2021
Particularly sensitive issues around mental capacity
Mental capacity, the right to sex and the carer’s risk of prosecution Does everyone have the right to a...
Read more - 25.10.2021
Inheritance Claims CFA Success Fee Judgment
The Court of Appeal upholds the recoverability of CFA success fees in 1975 Act claims. An individual who claims reasonable provision...
Read more - 20.10.2021
Evidence Needed When Contesting A Will
‘Scrap King’ Multi-million Inheritance Dispute Confirms the High Standard of Evidence Needed to Contest a Will Gary Goodwin, son of...
Read more - 20.10.2021
Dispute Surrounding Interpretation of Will
The ‘nil rate band’ offers an incentive to testators to make their will in a tax-efficient manner, maximising the amount...
Read more - 20.10.2021
Handwriting Expert Witness Concludes Will Forgery
It’s not unheard of for an individual to forge someone’s will with the aim of securing an inheritance....
Read more - 20.10.2021
Understanding Testamentary Capacity
What is testamentary capacity? Testamentary capacity refers to a person’s ability, both legally and mentally, to create a valid...
Read more - 20.10.2021
Contested Will Claim Against Estate Fails
The recent reported case of Shearer v Shearer highlights that adult children cannot expect an estate to support their affluent...
Read more - 17.9.2021
Funding of Probate disputes
Contentious Probate can be very expensive and clients often find it difficult to find the money to cover their legal...
Read more - 13.9.2021
Worldwide Probate Dispute
The deceased died in Ireland leaving very considerable wealth and assets all over the world, including England, but without leaving...
Read more - 13.9.2021
Estate administration with a value of £6million
In this international probate case, we are acting for the executors in an estate administration with a value of £6million....
Read more
The Wills, Probate and Disputed Estates Team View the whole team
Jan Atkinson Partner
Wills, Probate and Disputed EstatesElspeth Neilson Partner
Wills, Probate and Disputed EstatesJenny Walsh Partner
Wills, Probate and Disputed EstatesFlorence Arbuthnott Associate Solicitor
Wills, Probate and Disputed EstatesSuzanna Baker Senior Associate
Wills, Probate and Disputed EstatesElla Coles Paralegal
Wills, Probate and Disputed EstatesView the
whole team