Our Costs

As part of our Estate Administration Service, we will:

 

• Meet with clients and take instructions regarding what work you would like us to undertake in the estate administration.
• Consider the paperwork belonging to the deceased to identify the various organisations that may need to be contacted identify the true assets and liabilities in the estate.
• Provide the client with regular updates during the administration period.
• Calculate the assets and liabilities from the information provided from the organisations that we have contacted.
• Prepare the Probate Application forms and Inheritance Tax forms.
• Calculate the amount of Inheritance Tax due, if any.
• Pay the Inheritance Tax using money from the deceased accounts, if there is any tax to pay.
• Obtain the Grant of Probate/ Letters of Administration.

 

Clients instructing Edwards Solicitors for their Estate Administration service will also have a

dedicated solicitor who specialises in Probate and Estate Administration and a named assistant, who will assist with matters that do not need the legal expertise of a solicitor.

 

Probate and Estate Administration Prices

 

We have set out our estimated costs below. Every estate is different, varying in both size and complexity. Therefore, we have provided below the hourly costs of the persons that will be working in the matter in order to gauge an estimate of the total amount due.

 

Our Fixed Costs for Probate and Estate Administration*

 

Below, we have set out Edwards Solicitors’ fixed costs for applying for the Grant of Probate/Letters of Administration, and the fixed costs for dealing with the administration of a standard estate.

 

Application for a Grant of Probate/Letters of Administration ONLY £950 – £1,250

 

Obtaining a Grant and 10 – 12 hours’ worth of work £2,750 – £3,300

 

Obtaining a Grant and 25 hours’ worth of work £6,875

 

*(These fixed prices do not include VAT and do not include any disbursements or additional costs that are needed to deal with your matter.)

 

Hourly Costs for Administration

 

Our costs for administrating far more complex estates, which require more than 25 hours of work are calculated by reference to the actual time spent working on the matter.

 

 

The hourly rates of the persons who will be working in the matter are as follows:

 

Hourly rates (2024)*

 

Partner / Associate Solicitor / Senior Solicitor / Consultant £275 per hour

 

Manager £195 per hour

 

Support Staff £105 per hour

 

VAT will be added to the hourly rates given. The rate of VAT is currently 20%.

 

*(Our hourly charges are reviewed annually, in December, and implemented in January. We will notify you if there is a change in our hourly rates during the course of your matter.)

 

The costs are based upon the amount of time spent working on the matter, including telephone conversations, writing letters, travelling to and attending meetings, etc. All such time will be recorded on the file and the client will be charged accordingly.

 

Disbursements and/or additional fees

 

Disbursements are fees that we are required to pay to third parties, on your behalf, in connection with administrating the estate, or obtaining a Grant of Probate, which you will need to reimburse us for.

 

These prices are not calculated by us, but are set by the third parties involved.

 

Common disbursements and additional fees anticipated during the administration period include:

 

High Court Probate Registry Grant Application Fee	£300.00
Office Copies of the Grant of Probate	£1.50
Travel (if applicable)	£0.45 per mile plus VAT
Car Parking charges (if applicable)	TBC
Statutory Notice under S.27 Trustee Act 1925 – London Gazette	£99.00 plus VAT
Statutory Notice under s.27 Trustee Act 1925 – Local Newspaper – Melton Times	£227.25 plus VAT
House valuation fees for Probate purposes, at least 3 are required	Estimated at £250 to £350 plus VAT each
Valuation fees for professional valuations of any assets	TBC
Auctioneer costs if personal belongings sold at auction	TBC
Land Registry Office Copies	£3.00 each
Bankruptcy-only Searches	£2.00 per person

 

 

 

 

Potential Additional Costs

 

Under the following circumstances, there are likely to be additional costs in dealing with your matter:

• If there is no Will, we will have to identify all potential beneficiaries and Certainty searches may therefore need to be undertaken.
• If it is necessary to deal with the transfer or sale of any property.
• If it is necessary to prepare and complete any HMRC Tax Returns for the deceased.
• If the estate consists of any shareholdings, such as stocks, shares and bonds.
• If there are any issues regarding the validity of the Will or Codicil.
• If there are any disputes or claims against the estate.

 

Timescales for Probate and Estate Administration:

 

Typically, simple estates can be dealt with within 9 to 10 months, but this depends on when we receive the Grant of Probate/Letters of Administration.

 

Please find below the stages of the administration of simple estates together with estimated timescales:

1. Gathering the information required to apply for a Grant of Probate/Letters of Administration takes approximately two months from the date we receive instructions, and this is also subject to the receipt of our signed Client Care Letter and Terms of Business.
2. When we receive all the information required we can then apply for a Grant of Probate/Letters of Administration.
3. The Probate Registry typically issues the Grant of Probate/Letters of Administration approximately 16 to 26 weeks from the date the Probate Application is allocated with a Case Reference number, albeit the Government website states 16 weeks.
4. Once the Grant of Representation has been obtained, it is good practice not to distribute the estate until a period of 10 months has elapsed. This is because anyone wishing to make a claim against the estate has a period of six months in which to do so, and has four months from the date of issue of the claim in which to serve it.
5. However, this waiting period can be avoided if a statutory notice is placed in the London Gazette or local newspaper, but you must wait 2 months from the date of the advertisement for creditors to come forward.
6. When the Grant of Probate/Letters of Administration has been obtained, assets are collected and debts and expenses are paid, which can take a further 8 weeks.
7. Once we receive all the assets and all debts have been paid, we can then prepare the Estate Account and distribute the estate, which takes approximately 2-3 weeks.

(Please note that the above timescales are estimates based on the administration of simple estates. In more complex estates, where inheritance tax is due, the administration process is likely to take longer but if there are delays at any time during the administration we will let you know at the earliest opportunity).

At Edwards Solicitors, we offer both Pre-Court action debt recovery services (including Statutory
Demands) and Court action debt recovery services, representing both businesses and individuals.
Our debt recovery services include:

• Taking your instructions and reviewing your claim
• Issuing a letter of claim
• Chasing the debtor for payment by phone, email and letter
• Serving Statutory Demands
• Taking legal action, if necessary
• Enforcing Court judgments

Our Fees for Pre-Court Action Debt Recovery
Our Fixed fee for our first initial meeting plus the letter before action £250 + VAT.

The above Court Action fees also include the work we have carried out during the Pre-Court Action
Debt Recovery stage.

Hourly Rates for Our Debt Recovery Service
Our hourly rates are used for debt recovery matters, if more extensive time is spent working on the
matter. For example, if the other party disputes your claim once we issue a letter of claim, then
further work will need to be untaken to resolve this dispute.

The hourly rates of the persons who will be working in the matter are as follows:

Hourly rates (2024)*

Partner / Associate Solicitor / Senior Solicitor / Consultant £275 per hour

Manager £195 per hour

Support Staff £105 per hour

VAT will be added to the hourly rates given. The rate of VAT is currently 20%.

*(Our hourly charges are reviewed annually, in December, and implemented in January. We will
notify you if there is a change in our hourly rates during the course of your matter.)

The above hourly rates cover all our services, including time spent meeting with you and others
discussing the matter, providing you with independent legal advice, telephone calls, writing letters
emails and preparing documents.

 

Debt Recovery Timescales

If payment is not received within 30 days of the pre-action protocol letter, we will provide you with advice on next steps and likely costs.

Matters usually take 4-8 weeks from receipt of instructions from you to receipt of payment from the other side, if the debt is uncontested. If enforcement action is needed or if the debt is contested, the matter will take longer to resolve.