If you decide that you would like some professional help then our team of dedicated and sympathetic probate professionals are ready to assist you.

Our team has over fifty years of collective experience in delivering high quality work in all matters relating to probate.  There are few areas of probate that the team has not dealt with before and you can be assured that the team will make the probate process as easy and stress free as it can be.

Applying for the grant, collecting and distributing the assets

Probate work is generally undertaken on an hourly rate basis.  The following information is provided to assist you in understanding how our fees are calculated.  The prices provided are indicative of the likely cost of a case and should not be taken as an absolute quote.  You must still contact us to obtain a detailed quote that takes into account the individual circumstances of your case.

The prices set out below assume that the case is uncontested and that all of the deceased’s assets are in the UK.  This includes both testate and intestate (with and without a will) and taxable and non-taxable estates.

The actual hourly rate will depend on who undertakes the work on your behalf.  The more complex a matter is the greater the likelihood that it will need to be worked on be a more experienced solicitor.  The applicable hourly rates are:

Partner – £300 (£250 plus £50 VAT)

Associate Solicitor – £234 (£195 plus £39 VAT)

Trainee Solicitor/Paralegal – £120 (£100 plus £20 VAT)

We anticipate that a typical probate case will take between 15 and 30 hours work at an average hourly rate of £218.00 (£181.67 plus £36.33 VAT) per hour.

We estimate that typical costs will therefore be between £3,270 (£2,725.05 plus £544.95 VAT) and £6,540 (£5,450.10 plus £1,089.90 VAT).

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.

In exceptionally complex cases we may be required to depart from the fee structure set out above.  We would always tell you in advance if we considered your matter to be exceptionally difficult and would not undertake any chargeable work on your behalf without first obtaining your authority to do so.

In modest or less complex cases it may be possible to agree a fixed fee.  A typical fixed fee would be £3,000 (£2,500 plus £500 VAT).

Disbursements payable in addition to our fees are:

• Probate application fee of £273.00
• Bankruptcy-only Land Charges Department searches (£2.00 per beneficiary)
• £85.00 – Post in The London Gazette – Protects against unexpected claims from unknown creditors.
• £215.00 – £400.00 – Post in a local newspaper – fee depends on the paper This also helps to protect against unexpected claims.

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, providing you have put us in funds to do so, in order to ensure a smoother process.

Where we make electronic payments of monies to you or to other parties on your behalf including, but not limited to, payments to probate beneficiaries then we will charge an additional professional fee of £36 (£30.00 plus VAT of £6.00) per transfer.  Our professional fees in this regard are in addition to any charges made by our bank which will be payable by you as a disbursement.

If we make an electronic payment of monies to you or on your behalf then this will incur a bank charge.  That bank charge will be payable by you as a disbursement in additional to our professional fees for making the transfer.  The bank charge will vary depending on how a payment is sent but will not exceed £10 per transfer.

The price information that we have provided relates to estates where:

• There is a valid will
• There is no more than one property
• There are no more than 5 bank or building society accounts
• There are no other intangible assets
• There are 1 and 5 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 HM Revenue and Customs
• There are no claims made against the estate
• The value of the estate is greater than £5,000

Potential additional costs

• If there is no will or the estate consists of any share holdings (stocks and bonds) there is likely to be additional costs that could range significantly depending on the estate and how it is to be dealt with. We can give you a more accurate quote once we have more information.
• If any additional copies of the grant are required, they will cost £1.50 (one per asset usually).
• Dealing with the sale or transfer of any property in the estate is not included.
• preparing tax returns*

*If a tax return is required specialist advice will be required from an accountant at an additional cost

What’s included in the price:

• Providing you with a dedicated and experienced probate solicitor to work on your matter.
• Taking your instructions and giving you initial advice.
• Identifying the legally appointed Executors and Beneficiaries.
• Obtaining Probate Valuations.
• Preparing a short form Inheritance Tax return (IHT205) if required.
• Completing the probate application including preparing the Probate Application Form for the Executors to sign.
• Making the application to the Probate Court.
• Obtaining the probate and sending a copy to the Executors.
• Encashing the assets of the estate (not including the costs of selling a property. If you require us to sell a property on your behalf then separate fees will apply.  Our residential property fees can be found here).
• Distributing the estate.

How long with this take?

On average, less complex estates are dealt with within 4-6 months. Typically, obtaining the grant of probate takes 16 weeks. Collecting assets, such as the money held in bank accounts, then follows, which can take between 2-6 weeks. Once this has been done, we can distribute the assets, which normally takes 2-6 weeks.

We have two members of the team who might work on your matter.  These are Dominic Cassidy, Partner and Julie Hodge, Partner.

Dominic Cassidy – Partner

Partner Dominic Cassidy qualified as a solicitor in 1989.  Dominic specialises in litigation and private client probate work.  Dominic is an experienced probate lawyer and is able to assist with both modest and complex estates.

Julie Hodge – Partner

Julie qualified as a solicitor in 2004.  Julie is a partner in the firm and undertakes family and private client estate work.  Julie is an experienced probate lawyer and is able to assist with both modest and complex estates.

Dominic and Julie may occasionally be assisted by other members of the team but Dominic and Julie will always supervise the work that is undertaken on your behalf.