Probate

We are here to support you throughout the process, offering Full Administration Service and Grant Assist Service, working with the Society of Will Writers Trust Corporation.

Full Administration Service

Full Administration – With the full administration service, we will deal with everything on behalf of our clients, from valuing the assets, applying for probate, calling in the assets and preparing estate accounts before eventually distributing them to the named beneficiaries. An individual estate manager will be appointed to each case and will handle the administration throughout. Our standard charges for the full administration service is 2.0% of the gross estate + VAT. We charge a minimum fee of £1,250 + VAT for estates under £100,000 in value. We do not charge on jointly held assets or assets already held in trust, as do we not need to deal with them as part of the estate administration other than including their value in the relevant tax forms. Our charges do not cover any external disbursements required to administer the estate, such as probate registry fees, estate agents or conveyancer’s fees etc. All of these costs will be met by the estate separately. We also deal with setting up any trusts outlined in the Will of the deceased – such as Life Interest / Flexible Life Interest Trust, Nil Rate Band Discretionary Trust etc.

Grant Assist Service

Grant Assist – We also offer an additional Grant Assist Service where clients are able to administer the estate themselves but would just like assistance in obtaining the grant of probate. As part of this service we would value all assets and then prepare the grant application, which would then be sent to the Executor(s) for completion. They would then return the application to us so that we could submit it to the Registry. The Grant of Probate would then be issued in the name of the Executor(s), which we would forward on to them to allow them to call in the assets and administer the estate themselves. Our charge for this service is a fixed fee of £1,000.00 + VAT, or £1,250.00 + VAT for larger estate where we also have to prepare an IHT400 Inheritance Tax account.

What is probate?

Probate is the legal and financial process involved in dealing with the property, money and possessions (called the assets) of a person who has died.

Probate is the process of proving that a will is valid (if there is one) and confirming who has authority to administer the estate of the person who has died.

Before the next of kin or executor named in the will can claim, transfer, sell or distribute any of the deceased’s assets they might have to apply for a grant of probate.

Please contact us for any further information and assistance!