At Bailey Smailes we have vast experience of helping clients to administer estates and it has been a core part of our practice ever since 1827. We only employ Solicitors to deal with Estates so that you know you will receive gold service legal advice at such a difficult time. At the outset of a matter, you will be dealt with by one dedicated Solicitor who will handle your matter throughout.

To fully administer and Estate we anticipate this will take between 10 and 20 hours work at £245 per hour (for a partner) or £215 (as an average for a solicitor, dependent on seniority). Total costs estimated at £2,000-5,000 (+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.

We will handle the full process for you. This quote is for 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 1-5 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 HMRC
• There are no claims made against the estate

Disbursements included in this fee:

• Probate application fee of £155.00
• Office Copies of the Grant of Probate cost £1.50 each
• Bankruptcy-only Land Charges Department searches (£2 per beneficiary)
• Trustee Act Notices which help protect against unexpected claims from unknown creditors can be placed in the London Gazette and in a Local Newspaper. This is optional and you will be advised, as an Executor, about this. Likely cost is approximately £200.00

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 to ensure a smoother process.

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 (1 per asset usually). Generally, we would suggest it sensible to obtain one copy per asset to ensure the Estate can be administered in a more timely fashion.
• Dealing with the sale or transfer of any property in the estate is not included.

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 6-10 weeks. Collecting assets then follows, which can take between 6-10 weeks for bank accounts or similar. If there is a property within the estate that requires selling a conveyancing timescale is usually 6-8 weeks but there will also be the time it takes to secure a buyer which obviously varies – once a property has been sold, we will close utility accounts, insurance, Council Tax etc which usually takes 4 weeks. Once this has been done, we can distribute the assets, which normally takes 1-2 weeks.

Fixed Fees

The above is an indication of likely cost on a time basis. We do tend to find that clients prefer a fixed fee quote for Estate Administration work, and these are provided on request. Should a fixed fee be requested we will not undertake any further work until you are happy with and accept that fixed fee quote. The Disbursements referred to above are also payable in addition to the firm’s fixed fee.

No matter how you decide you would wish for us to charge we will always: –

• Provide you with a dedicated, experienced and specialist probate solicitor to work on your matter
• Identify the legally appointed executors or administrators and beneficiaries
• Accurately identify the type of Probate application you will require
• Obtain the relevant documents required to make the application
• Complete the Probate Application and the relevant HMRC forms
• Submit the Online Probate application to HMCTS for you
• Submit the paper application together with supporting documents to the Probate Court on your behalf
• Obtain the Probate
• Collect and distribute all assets in the estate