Probate Services and Price Information

Probate Services and Prices

Introduction

Suffering the loss of a loved one is a traumatic experience and our team understand that it is incredibly stressful.  They are empathetic and well used to assisting executors and administrators with the legal processes which are necessary to deal with the administration of an estate whether the person who has passed away died with or without leaving a will.  They also understand that everyone’s situation is different and therefore they are able to tailor their service to fit the need.

Our partner led team of private client lawyers have many years of experience amongst them.  The team is accredited by the Law Society under the Wills and Inheritance Quality Scheme (WIQS).  We also have two lawyers who are accredited by Solicitors for the Elderly (SFE), one of who is also qualified by the Society of Trusts and Estate Practitioners (STEP).

For more information about the services that we offer and our prices, please contact one of our team who will be happy to provide you with more information.

However, please see some guidance about our prices below.

Legal Fees

Legal Fees are the amount you will be required to pay for all the work performed by us in actioning your instructions from commencement of your case to conclusion.

VAT will be payable on our fees and some disbursements, currently 20%, and we will clearly confirm which disbursements carry VAT in our formal quotation or as we advise you to incur them.

If your matter becomes complex (see below) our fees may increase further and we will notify you in advance of any increased costs.

Application for a Grant of Probate or Letters of Administration only

Generally, we are able to offer this on a fixed fee basis for estates which are worth less than £325,000 or where most or all of the estate (if it exceeds £325,000) is passing to a surviving spouse.  In these cases, only a short form application for a Grant of Probate is required.

As part of our fixed fee we will:

• Provide you with a dedicated and experienced probate lawyer to work on your matter,
• Review the documentation that you provide to us,
• Identify the legally appointed executors or administrators and beneficiaries,
• Accurately identify the type of Probate application you will require,
• Complete the Probate Application and the relevant HMRC forms on your behalf and send them to you for signing or sworn,
• Make the application to the Probate Registry on your behalf,
• Obtain the Probate and securely send the sealed copies to you.

We will not: –

Contact any organisations to whom money is owed or which owes money to the estate and/or collect in or handle any monies on behalf of the estate except where we need to pay or be paid fees.

Breakdown of basic costs (non taxable, no full Inheritance Tax Account required):

Breakdown of basic costs (taxable estate, full Inheritance Tax Account (IHT400) required):

Disbursements

In addition, there are disbursements which must be paid to third parties.

Based on two executors or administrators applying for the Grant, those will be a fee to the Probate Registry of £526 and £2 per sealed copy of the Grant (anticipate four being required).

Therefore, the total costs are likely to be £1,958 including VAT based on the anticipated disbursements above.

We also advise executors to carry out other processes to protect themselves against claims from creditors once they commence the collecting in and distributing of assets.  Such processes include: –

• Placing Notices in the London Gazette and local newspaper to protect against unexpected claims from unknown creditors and claims – approximately £200 including VAT
• Bankruptcy only searches – £6.00 per beneficiary
• Search of Certainty the National Will Register to ensure that there are no other wills – £126 plus VAT (£151.20 inc. VAT)

If you ask us to undertake these things on your behalf, they will increase the basic costs quoted above.

How Long Will It Take

On average, where we are instructed to obtain a Grant of Probate only and assuming that the executors are able to provide us with information that enables us to complete the application on your behalf, it will take us about 3 – 4 weeks to prepare the application.

Typically, once we have made the application to the Probate Registry on your behalf, we expect to obtain the grant of probate takes 4-6 weeks.

Application for the grant, collecting and distributing the assets

We charge for this on an hourly basis and the total cost will depend on which member of our team is undertaking the work for you and how long the matter takes. Their hourly charges are set out below.

However, we estimate that our fees will typically be in the region of £2,000 to £6,000 plus VAT charged at the current rate of 20% (£2,400.00 – £7,200.00 Inc. VAT).

This will be for estates where there is no dispute and no inheritance tax is payable, where the spouse or children are the only beneficiaries, there is not property to be sold and there is only a small number of other assets.

If at any stage our fees change, we will notify you and discuss the reason for any changes. This would typically occur if you change your instructions or your case involves an unforeseen complexity.

Our average fees assume that:

1. The transaction is concluded in a timely manner and no unforeseen complication arise.
2. All parties to the transaction are co-operative and there is no unreasonable delay from any parties providing documentation.

Disbursements

The anticipated disbursements are:

•  Probate application fee of £526 plus £2 per sealed copy of the Grant (where copies are requested concurrently with the probate application).
• Bankruptcy only Land Charges Department searches (£6 per beneficiary).
• Certainty Search to ensure that there are no other wills £126 plus VAT (£151.20 inc. VAT).
• Notices in The London Gazette and a Local Newspaper to protect against unexpected claims from unknown creditors – approximately £200.00 including VAT.

Other Costs

• To comply with anti-money laundering legislation and satisfy our regulatory commitments, we carry out online identity checks on all clients and, in probate matters, on each beneficiary. Our fee for this is £12.50 plus VAT per check (£15.00 Inc. VAT). This fee is payable on all cases and is in addition to the fees quoted above.
• We will charge the sum of £40.00 plus VAT (a total of £48.00 Inc. VAT) for electronic money transfers.

Disbursements are costs related to your matter that are payable to third parties. We handle the payment of the disbursements on your behalf to ensure a smoother process.

Stages of the Process

The precise stages involved in an uncontested probate vary according to the circumstances. We have set out the key stages of a standard transaction: – 

• Providing you with a dedicated and experienced probate solicitor to work on your matter.
• Undertaking regulatory checks.
• Identifying the legally appointed executors or administrators and beneficiaries.
• Accurately identifying the type of Probate application, you will require.
• Obtaining the relevant documents required to make the application.
• Completing the Probate Application and the relevant HMRC forms.
• Drafting a legal oath for you to swear.
• Making the application to the Probate Court on your behalf.
• Obtaining the Probate and securely send two copies to you.
• Collecting and distributing all assets in the estate.

We Will Not

• Deal with the sale or transfer of any property in the estate – please see below*.

Potential additional costs

Unfortunately, it isn’t always possible for us to identify any issues that may increase your costs when you first instruct us to act for you.  However, our many years of experience means that we know that if the following issues arise, they are likely to increase the legal fees payable and the time the matter will take: –

• 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,
• Where there is property abroad,
• Where there are existing trusts
• Where there is Inheritance Tax (IHT) to pay**
• Where the beneficiaries require incidental advice such as varying the terms of the Will for IHT purposes,
• An investigation by the Department of Work and Pensions,
• Where there is a business interest,
• Where we are required to carry out regular inspections of a property,
• Where there are numerous beneficiaries or beneficiaries that cannot easily be traced,
• Where there are many bank and/or building society accounts,
• Where a claim is intimated or brought against the estate,
• Where the executors cannot work together and agree their instructions to us.

*Additional charges will be incurred if there is a property to transfer or dispose of. We will be happy to offer a fixed fee for any conveyancing transaction.

Estates over £325,000 may be subject to Inheritance Tax at the prevailing rates. **To help you decide whether any Inheritance Tax is likely to be due or not, you can visit:

https://www.gov.uk/valuing-estate-of-someone-who-died/estimate-estate-value

How long will this take?

On average, estates that fall within this range are dealt with within 6 – 12 months. Typically, obtaining the grant of probate takes 9- 12 weeks. Collecting assets then follows, which can take between 12 – 26 weeks. Once this has been done, we can prepare Estate Accounts and distribute the assets, which normally takes 26 – 52 weeks.

Our bespoke Trust drafting service commences at £1,000 plus VAT the current rate of 20%  per document (£1,200.00 inc. VAT) and disbursements. 

Our Team

Regardless of who works on your case they will be supervised by Susan Owens

Susan Owens – Solicitor, Partner and Head of Department (Qualified in 1998)

Susan is based at our Kettering Office.

She advises clients on all aspects of planning for their future; wills, trusts and powers of attorney.  She also assists with the Administration of Estates and Court of Protection matters.

She is a member of the Solicitors for the Elderly and holds an SFE Older Client Care in Practice Award.  This award recognises that in her work with older and vulnerable clients, Sue complies with the SFE Code of Practice.

Susan charges £325 per hour plus £65 VAT (charged at the current rate of 20%).  The total hourly rate including VAT is £390.00.

Anna Fowler-Guest – Associate Solicitor (Qualified in 2004)

Anna is based at our Northampton Office.

She provides specialist advise on will drafting, estate planning, declarations of trusts, discretionary trusts, lasting power of attorney and administration services.

Anna charges £285 per hour plus £57 VAT (charged at the current rate of 20%). The total hourly rate including VAT is £342.00.

Caroline Redshaw – Solicitor (Qualified 2005)

Caroline is based at our Northampton Office.

She provides specialist advise on will drafting, estate planning, declarations of trusts, discretionary trusts, lasting power of attorney and administration services

Caroline charges £285 per hour plus £57 VAT (charged at the current rate of 20%). The total hourly rate including VAT is £342.00

Shannon Carpenter – Solicitor (Qualified in 2023)

Shannon is based at the Northampton Office.

Shannon is a Solicitor and is supervised by Susan Owens.  Although Shannon qualified in 2023, she has had several years working in private client and is able to advise on will drafting, estate planning, probate and lasting power of attorney.

Shannon charges £240 per hour plus £48 VAT (charged at the current rate of 20%). The total hourly rate including VAT is £288.00.

Annouschka Solem Smali – Paralegal

Annouschka joined the firm’s private client department as a paralegal in February 2025 and is based at the Northampton office.  She has over 9 years’ experience in this area of the law and enjoys meeting and assisting clients, as well as working alongside solicitors on complex matters. 

Annouschka charges £150 per hour plus £30 VAT (charged at the current rate of 20%). The total hourly rate is £180.00. 

Megan Owens – Trainee Solicitor

Megan is a trainee solicitor in the Northampton office.  She assists the solicitors in the private client department. 

Megan charges £150 per hour plus £30 VAT (charged at the current rate of 20%). The total hourly rate is £180.00