PROBATE FEES INFORMATION

PROVIDING A HIGHLY COST-EFFECTIVE PERSONAL LEGAL SERVICE

Introduction
Dealing with the administration of an estate and obtaining a Grant of Representation* can be onerous. It can take on average 9-12 months to make sure everything is done properly. At Ackland and Co, we offer a complete estate administration service to deal with the whole process for you.

This typically involves the following steps:

• Obtaining full details of the estate
• Advising on the entitlement to administer the estate by identifying the legally appointed Personal Representatives** and advising on their duties and responsibilities
• Identifying the beneficiaries
• Preparing a simplified application or a full Inheritance Tax Account (Form IHT400) of the estate, as appropriate to the circumstances, for HM Revenue and Customs
• If inheritance tax is due, calculating and arranging payment to HM Revenue and Customs from the estate
• Submitting an application to the Probate Registry for the Grant of Representation
• On receipt of the Grant of Representation, collecting in assets, arranging payment of the debts, liabilities and legacies
• Reviewing and settling all Income Tax and Capital Gains Tax matters
• For inheritance tax purposes, obtaining final clearance from HM Revenue and Customs
• Preparing the estate accounts for the Personal Representatives and beneficiaries
• Distributing the estate

* ‘Grant of Representation’ is the collective description for a ‘Grant of Probate’ when an individual leaves a Will or ‘Grant of Letters of Administration’ when an individual dies intestate (i.e. without leaving a Will) ** ‘Personal Representative’ is the collective description for an ‘Executor’ named in a Will or ‘Administrator’ if there is no Will

Our Estate Administration Solicitors
Our estate administration solicitors include the firm’s Principal who was admitted as a solicitor in 1992 and works on estate administration matters alongside his other work, together with a Consultant Solicitor who has specialised in Private Client work since admission as a solicitor in 2002 and who concentrates solely on estate administration work at Ackland and Co. and a further Consultant Solicitor, admitted in 1984, who works on estate administration matters alongside his other work.They support each other in the supervision of their work.

How Do We Charge For Our Work?
Our costs for estate administration are based purely on the amount of time we spend working on a matter at the hourly rate of £200 plus VAT to £250 plus VAT.

There is no additional or hidden legal fee: we do not charge an additional fixed percentage fee by reference to the nature and value of the estate assets nor do we charge an uplift in cases where an Ackland and Co professional executor is appointed.

This means that we can tailor our services specifically to your requirements and you will only pay for the work we carry out on your behalf by virtue of the time spent.

As every estate is different, it is difficult to give an accurate estimate of the costs involved without taking detailed estate information from you. We therefore encourage you to contact us so we can meet with you to talk through the work required in your circumstances and make sure that you get the right amount of support to meet your individual needs. We offer the first meeting on a no obligation basis and if you then decide to instruct us, the cost of that meeting is factored into the overall costs estimate.

We are able to provide you with general costs guidance based on our experience, as set out below. This illustrative range of costs assumes that the deceased’s assets are entirely located within the UK and that no disagreement has arisen, or will arise, between any potential beneficiaries of the estate. Disbursements are payable in addition to our costs, as to which see further below.

We provide regular updates throughout the estate administration on progress and costs, so that you are fully informed.

Additional factors which will affect costs and timescale
It is important to bear in mind that there are a number of factors which can, at the outset and during the course of the administration, affect both overall cost and timescale in any category of the services we provide as set out above. If we identify any such factors after we have commenced work for you, we will discuss these with you so that we can agree a revised costs estimate and likely timescale.

The list below is not exhaustive but provides examples of such factors:

• The nature and number of assets comprised in the estate
• Personal Representatives not being able to provide all of the paperwork requested/required, or having missing/incorrect information which needs investigation/correction
• Missing assets
• Claims brought by the estate to recover assets
• Whether or not inheritance tax is payable
• Protracted negotiations with HMRC in relation to inheritance tax or routine HMRC compliance checks
• Complex tax issues, including tax considerations for beneficiaries, within our expertise (we do not provide advice in relation to complex estate income tax and/or capital gains tax computations beyond our expertise but we can co-ordinate advice with accountancy firms)
• Difficulty tracing beneficiaries
• Disagreements between executors/administrators and/or beneficiaries
• Claims brought against the estate
• If there is a property in the estate, sale or transfer fees will be charged separately to the estate administration costs (a quote can be provided by our conveyancing team) and the length of time it takes to sell any property will affect the overall timescale
• Third parties not responding to our communications promptly
• Investigation into the estate by the Department of Work and Pensions (e.g. where a deceased person has wrongly been in receipt of Pension or State Benefit prior to death)
• Dealing with overseas assets (we do not provide advice in relation to foreign assets but we can co-ordinate advice with overseas professional advisers)
• Dealing with unusual or complex assets, for example shares in private companies, publishing or intellectual property rights, fine art, trusts
• Variations to the way in which the estate devolves
• Establishing and administering an ongoing Will trust

Disbursements and costs
In addition to our costs above, disbursements are costs related to your matter that are payable to third parties. Once we are instructed we can be more specific but, by way of illustration, the costs and expenses which can arise are as follows:

• Financial Asset & Liability search: From £25 VAT
• Probate Court fees: £300 (no VAT payable)
• Additional copies of the Grant of Representation: £16.00 each
• Unknown Creditor Statutory Advertising: £300 plus VAT (estimated)
• Missing Will search: From £38 plus VAT
• Missing Will and beneficiary insurance: From £400 plus VAT (costs vary depending on the value of the estate)
• Bankruptcy-only Land Charges Department searches: £6 per beneficiary
• Other disbursements or costs may arise such as accountancy fees for complex Income Tax/Capital Gains tax returns, lost share certificate indemnity fees, share registrar or stockbroker fees
• Any taxes due are payable from the estate

How we collect our fees
When we are instructed in the administration of the estate, we send a detailed client engagement letter and our terms of business to the personal representatives of the estate for agreement (or to the residuary beneficiaries if Ackland and Co are appointed as executors).

We generally submit our first invoice when we are in a position to make the application for the Grant of Representation or shortly afterwards, when the estate is in funds. After that, we tend to invoice monthly or bi-monthly, with invoices being settled from estate funds as we collect them in.

If it appears that we cannot follow our usual procedure as above, we will discuss this with you and provide written confirmation of our discussions either in our letter of engagement or in writing during the course of the estate administration, as appropriate.

Timescale for the administration of an estate
The average timescales involved in the work we undertake to administer an estate are as follows:

• From initial instruction to receipt of the Grant of Representation: 3-6 months
• Collecting and distributing the assets: 3-6 months

The total timescale is therefore is normally 6-12 months for the whole process, but it can take longer for estates which involve complex or onerous factors, such as those set out above in ‘Additional factors which will affect costs and timescale’.

Please feel free to contact us so that we can provide you with an individual estimate based on your specific circumstances. If you would like further information in connection with estate administration, you may wish to visit the following websites:

Government Wills, Probate and Inheritance guidance:
www.gov.uk/wills-probate-inheritance/applying-for-a-grant-of-representation

Certainty the National Will Register: www.nationalwillregister.co.uk