Wills, Probate, Trusts, Estates
Planning and Advice for the Elderly

Wills

Do you have a Will? If not, it is important to think about this. When a Will is drawn up it must comply with strict rules for it to be a valid Will.
If you do not have a Will, statutory rules established by Parliament effectively decide beneficiaries.

A properly drawn up Will can help to reduce or avoid inheritance tax.

Did you know that divorce affects inheritance under a Will?
Your Will should be up-dated on a regular basis to take into account any change in circumstances.

Estate Planning

We can advise you on the various options available to you to achieve your wishes and potentially reduce inheritance tax liability

Probate

When you lose a loved one, the process of administration of Estates can be daunting. We have a highly experienced team who can help you deal with this as quickly as possible at such a difficult time.

Many people are persuaded, against their better judgment, to use national organisations or companies recommended by Banks and Funeral Directors, whose offices are often many miles away.

Our clients find it much easier to deal with a local expert on a face-to-face basis and we know that our charges are inevitably less than those of larger organisations.

Advice for the elderly

We can assist with bespoke advice for elderly clients – this includes advice with regard to potential care home fees and setting up Powers of Attorney. There are 2 types – Property and Financial Affairs and Health and Welfare decisions.

Lasting powers of attorney – Appointment of deputies

Lasting Powers of Attorney are legal documents which allow the appointment of someone you know and trust to make decisions about your health and welfare or financial affairs, should you lose mental or physical capacity in the future. If you have concerns as to how you will manage with the day-to-date running of your financial affairs, property and health and well-being, then we can advise you of the options available.

Similarly, if you know of someone who no longer has the ability to deal with these matters, then contact us so that we can assist you in putting appropriate arrangements in place. Our dedicated team of highly experienced lawyers are here to make these applications as stress-free as possible. We offer a competitive fixed fee for this type of work, so why not arrange an appointment today to discuss your needs.

Our fees for wills and probate

Wills and Probate

Our charge for a standard single Will is £275 plus VAT at 20% (£330 inclusive of VAT). Our charge for a couple who require “mirror Wills” is £495 plus VAT at 20% (£594 inclusive of VAT). We can store the original will free of charge.

If you require a home visit there will be an additional charge of up to £100 plus VAT at 20%.

Please contact us with your address and postcode and we will confirm whether we are able to accommodate a home visit dependant on your location and staff availability.

Probate Applications

Our prices

Our standard charge for making a probate application in respect of a straightforward estate where information is provided by you, and it will not be necessary to provide an Inheritance tax account to HM Revenue and Customs is £1500 plus VAT (VAT currently charged at 20%) and disbursements. Disbursements are additional costs related to your matter payable to third parties. We deal with the payment of disbursements on your behalf if requested to do so: –

Probate Registry court fee of £300 (No VAT)
Official copy of the issued grant £1.50 per copy (No VAT)
Approximately £250-£400 including VAT for statutory advertisements in the London Gazette and a Local newspaper. This can protect Personal Representative’s against claims from unknown estate creditors.
Estate Agent valuation fee – The fee varies dependant on the Estate Agent valuer instructed to conduct the valuation.

As part of this service we will:

Meet with you to advise on the terms of the deceased’s Will or intestacy provisions (if there is no Will)
Discuss duties of the Executor
Review the list of assets and liabilities provided by you
Submit statutory notices, if required
Prepare the probate application form / Statement of Truth
Submit application to the Probate Registry

Probate and Estate Administration

If requested we can also deal with the administration of the estate, which may include us dealing with the following procedures at additional cost: –

Conveyancing process for the sale of the Estate property (please refer to our property page for details as to costs associated with a conveyancing sale transaction)
Deeds of variation for the beneficiaries
Closure of bank, building society accounts and investments and ISA’s
Liaising with Department for Work and Pensions on your behalf
Dealing with the sale of shares
Communicating with Estate beneficiaries
Arranging valuations of household goods and personal possessions by instructing professional valuers to provide expert opinion
Liaising with an Accountant / qualified Tax adviser for specialist Income and Capital Gains Tax Advice
Preparation of an Estate Account
Payment(s) to beneficiaries
Payment of any Estate debts and/ or arranging the payment of funeral bill from Estate funds
Instructing specialists to trace missing beneficiaries.

Our fees can vary significantly, depending on the amount of work involved and complexity.

We can agree to work on an hourly basis of £250 per hour plus VAT (VAT charged at 20%) or in certain circumstances once in receipt of all relevant information can provide you with a fixed fee, which will depend on the complexity of the case and specific duties you wish to instruct us to deal with. It may be the case you are willing to undertake some routine tasks yourself to reduce legal costs.

The fees in a case can depend on many factors such as: –

Number of beneficiaries
Number and type of assets
The amount of debts and liabilities to settle

Assent / Transfer of property

Where we are instructed to draft an Assent or Transfer of a property to an estate beneficiary we will charge an additional £400 plus vat at a rate of 20% together with the applicable HM Land Registry fee charged at the time of registration which will vary depending on the value of the land and whether the property is registered or unregistered.

Timescales

This varies dependant on the extent of the estate and third-party communications, which can of course vary. Usually, reaching the stage where it is possible to apply for the Grant of Representation takes approximately two to four months from the start of the process i.e. instructing us. However, this can of course fluctuate and can in fact be reached quicker (if the estate is straightforward and information easily obtainable or in fact readily produced to us) or longer if the estate is more substantial.

We will be able to give you a further indication as to timescales after we have observed the Will (if any) together with initial documentation already to hand when the enquiry is made to us about possibly acting for you.

On average most estates are concluded within 12 months. However, this of course can be impacted upon third party communication which may include (but not limited to)

Probate Registry application processing times
Land Registry application processing times
Marketability of the estate property
Accountants
DWP and HM Revenue and Customs communication times

Key Stages

The administration of an estate involves stages which can and may include: –

Notification of Death
Search for a Will
Arranging the funeral
Securing estate property
Arranging insurance for property – unoccupied buildings insurance
Identifying beneficiaries and advising them of their entitlement
Making enquires with bank, building society, pension providers
Valuing property, household goods and possessions.
Preparation the probate application and inheritance tax forms
Issuing statutory notices
Conducting sale or transfer of asset property and assets
Paying debts and liabilities

We can of course advise you further as to the key stages and processes involved in a probate matter specific to your case upon speaking to you and getting an clearer understanding of what is anticipated to be involved.

Private Client Work

Please see our separate schedule for details of fees in respect of private client work.

We have an excellent reputation for our client care and pride ourselves on having staff who go the extra mile to keep clients informed of the current situation in respect of their case.

Please contact us to discuss your requirements so we can establish whether we can assist you and agree the terms of our engagement to act for you.