Wills and probate Law

LONDON:+44 (0) 7438 455431

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It is all too easy to put off making a Will. However, it is vital that you have an up-to-date Will to ensure that your wishes are brought into effect when necessary.Charlotte Holfert, Partner

It is all too easy to put off making a Will. However, it is vital that you have an up-to-date Will to ensure that your wishes are brought into effect when necessary. Many people find that the professional advice from soliciors like us provides peace of mind as well as offering solutions to the worry of Inheritance Tax.

Our experienced wills probate solicitors and staff in this department establish and maintain long-standing relationships with clients through the various stages of their lives whilst advising those clients in connection with a number of legal and other issues. With the ever increasing changes in Inheritance Tax and other legislation our clients, both young and old, need to plan their finances and review their wills on a regular basis.

As clients get older, they require and receive a caring and personalised service from our solicitors who have advised them for a number of years and whom they have come to trust. We are able to assist elderly clients with the general management of their finances, estates and affairs and are able to offer home visits and visits to nursing homes, if necessary.

The expertise of the Partners, solicitors and staff in our well established Wills and Probate department enables us to deal with the administration of estates quickly and efficiently at what is a distressing time for the family and relatives. The Partners will act as executors and trustees either alone or jointly with family members or friends to ensure that your wishes are carried out.

A death can be a distressing and emotional time and the duties of Personal Representatives are often burdensome, time-consuming and complicated. We provide a professional service acting on behalf of the Personal Representatives giving peace of mind at a difficult time. We seek to administer the estate in a personal matter working with the Personal Representatives to deal with their duties as quickly and efficiently as possible.

As every estate is different, and the assistance required by each Personal Representatives differs on a case by case basis, it is sometimes difficult for us to provide an accurate quote; we will do as much or as little as the Personal Representatives require and therefore our costs will vary. The costs information below is set out as a guide, and we would encourage you to contact us if you require a more detailed, no obligation quotation.

What do we do?

Preparation of Wills
Preparation of Powers of Attorney
Court of Protection applications and administration
Obtaining Grants of Probate of Wills
Dealing with the administration of estates
Dealing with the estates of those dying intestate
Formation and administration of settlements and Trusts
Inheritance Tax advice and planning
Administration of the affairs of the elderly
Deeds of Variation
Inheritance Act claims
Will disputes

Do you offer fixed free probate?

What happens to my will once it has been written?

The majority of our clients leave their original Wills with us and we will of course provide you with a signed copy for your records.

I have my will held by you, how can I take it out?

If you would like to obtain your original Will from us, you will need to write to one of our offices and we will send the original to you.

Please include your full name and contact details if you write in and provide certified copies of photo ID and proof of address.

Alternatively, you can telephone one of our offices and make an appointment to come in and collect the original. If you arrange to collect it from our offices, simply bring in the original photo ID and proof of address.

The will can only be taken out if it is your will or you an executor of another person’s will.

I need to make changes to my will, do I need to make a new one?

Depending on the changes you wish to make to your existing will, you may not need to create a new will entirely. If you would like to make changes to your existing Will and it was drafted by us we may have the document saved on our system. This means that we can simply amend the relevant clauses you wish to change.

If we did not make your existing Will, then we will need to see the original document and we can then either draft a new Will for you or a Codicil if the changes required are only very minor. Major changes may require a new will to be created.

You do not need to sign a new Will if the only changes is to an address of one of your Executors or beneficiaries. Please write to us with confirmation of their new address and we will place a copy of your letter with your original Will.

I need to make a new will, how can I do this?

If you have used us for your previous will, we can create the new will and revoke the old one.

If you want to make a new will where the original was done by another firm, you will need to get your old will from your previous solicitors and pass it onto us.

If you have made a new Will with another firm of solicitors, it would be advisable for you to request the original Will which we hold for you and pass it to your new solicitor.

What if I or a family member can’t physically make it to your offices?

Costs Information

Fixed Fee Probate:
Non-Taxable Estates

£1,500

plus VAT & Disbursements

On average, matters which fall within this range are dealt with within 12 – 16 weeks.

We can offer fixed fee costs in the following circumstance:-

If the estate is uncontested, non-taxable, all assets are in the UK and a full inheritance tax account is not required, we can obtain the Grant of Representation on behalf of the Personal Representatives for a fixed fee of £1,500 plus VAT and disbursements. We refer to this as “Grant only” applications.

Disbursements are costs related to the matter which are payable to third parties, such as:-

Probate Court fee – £155 plus £1.50 for each sealed copy required

Subject to full disclosure by you of the assets of the estate, draft the HMRC return of estate information form (IHT205);

If applicable, from information supplied by you, draft the HMRC claim to transfer unused nil rate band for excepted estate form (IHT217);

Draft the Oath for Executors/Administrators;

Submit the application for the Grant to the Probate Registry;

Receive the Grant on your behalf;

Provide you with the Grant and any sealed copies

Hourly Rate:
Non-Taxable Estates

Hourly rates will vary depending on the qualifications and experience of the individual fee earner. Please see below for a list of fee earners in our Probate teams and their hourly rates

On average, estates which fall within this range are dealt with within 6 to 8 months.

Some Personal Representatives prefer us to deal with the complete administration of the estate, and on those occasions we will not be able to provide a fixed fee quotation.

If the estate is uncontested, non-taxable, all assets are in the UK and a full inheritance tax account is not required, then we anticipate that the administration of the estate will take between 15 and 25 hours’ worth of work at our hourly rate which vary depending on the qualifications and experience of the individual fee earner.

Please see below for a list of fee earners in our Probate teams and their hourly rates.

The exact costs will depend on the individual circumstances of the matter, and the amount of assistance required by the Personal Representatives. The range of hours set out above is for estate where:-

There is no more than one property

There are no more than 5 bank accounts

There are no more than 5 beneficiaries

All assets are held in the UK

There is no inheritance tax payable and the Personal Representatives do not need to submit a full inheritance tax account to HMRC

There are no disputes between beneficiaries

There are no claims against the estate

There will also be a number of disbursements payable to third parties, such as:

Probate Court fee of £155 plus £1.50 for each sealed copy of the Grant required

Bankruptcy search £2 per beneficiary

Trustee Act notices in London Gazette and local newspaper which protect against unexpected claims from unknown creditors – cost varies

Advise you of your duties and responsibilities as Personal Representative;

Subject to full disclosure by you ascertain all the assets and liabilities of the estate;

Deal with the application for Probate/Letters of Administration and the preparation of all relevant papers;

Deal with the preparation of the HMRC return of estate information form and (if applicable) HMRC claim to transfer unused nil rate band for excepted estate (IHT217);

Deal with the registering of the Grant and encashing or transferring all assets as required;

Deal with the payment of any legacies and the interim distributions to the residuary beneficiaries;

Arrange for all Income Tax matters in connection with the deceased’s tax affairs to the date of death to be dealt with and the tax affairs relating to the administration of the estate (but excluding any advice relating to Capital Gains Tax which may need to be sought from others who are suitably qualified in this specialism);

Deal with the preparation of the estate accounts;

Deal with the final distributions to the residuary beneficiaries.

Hourly Rate:
Taxable Estates

Hourly rates will vary depending on the qualifications and experience of the individual fee earner. Please see below for a list of fee earners in our Probate teams and their hourly rates

If the estate is uncontested, all the assets are in the UK and a full inheritance tax account must be submitted to HMRC then our charges will be based on an hourly rate depending on the experience and qualification of the individual fee earner, plus a value element of 1% of the gross value of the estate (excluding the value of the deceased’s property) and 0.5% of the value of the deceased’s property to reflect the importance of the matter and the responsibility of the firm.

We anticipate that the administration of the estate will take between 20 to 40 hours’ worth of work at our hourly rate which vary depending on the qualifications and experience of the individual fee earner.

Please see below for a list of fee earners in our Probate teams and their hourly rates.

The exact costs will depend on the individual circumstances of the matter, and the amount of assistance required by the Personal Representatives.

There will also be a number of disbursements payable to third parties, such as:

Probate Court fee of £155 plus £1.50 for each sealed copy of the Grant required

Bankruptcy search £2 per beneficiary

Trustee Act notices in London Gazette and local newspaper which protect against unexpected claims from unknown creditors – cost varies

Advising you of your duties and responsibilities as Personal Representative;

Subject to full disclosure by you ascertain all the assets and liabilities of the estate including ascertaining details of any gifts made in the deceased’s lifetime and interests in any trusts.

Deal with the application for Probate/Letters of Administration and the preparation of all relevant papers.

Deal with the preparation of the HM Revenue & Customs Account and, if applicable, all matters relating to the Inheritance Tax liability of the estate. To include an application for a transferrable nil-rate band, residence nil-rate band and transferrable residence nil-rate band.

Deal with the registering of the Grant and encashing or transferring all assets as required.

Deal with the payment of any legacies and the interim distributions to the residuary beneficiaries.

Deal with the preparation of the estate accounts.

Deal with the final distributions to the residuary beneficiaries.

On average, estates which fall within this range are dealt with within 12 to 14 months.