The actual costs will depend on the amount of work to be done and the greater the number of assets to deal with, the longer the work will take to complete. Fees for obtaining a Grant of Probate/Letters of Administration in a straightforward matter will be £1,500 plus VAT and the fee to the Probate Registry for applying for Probate, charged as per Government current charges. The fees for obtaining a Grant of Probate/Letters of Administration in a more complex matter will be £1,900 plus VAT and the Probate Registry fee.
Once the Grant of Probate/Letters of Administration has been obtained, we will work with clients to administer the Estate and to distribute the assets to the beneficiaries. Costs are likely to be in the region of at least £3,000 plus VAT and will depend on the amount of actual work to be done. As a guideline, the average cost of obtaining a Grant of Probate/Letters of Administration and fully administering an Estate can be between £4,500 to £15,000 (in complex cases) plus VAT. The number and nature of the assets will affect the overall cost.
Our fees are charged on an hourly basis, meaning that we only charge for the actual time spent in dealing with your case. Our current hourly rate is £280 plus VAT.
Please note that in the Administration of the Estate, before it can be distributed, there will need to be Public Notices (newspaper advertisements). The cost of these Notices depends on the size of the advertisement and need to be placed in both the London Gazette and a local paper. The approximate costs of these advertisements will be £250 to £300 including VAT and clients will be charged only the cost as charged by the papers involved.
On occasions it may be necessary to instruct a third party such as a tracing agent to find a beneficiary. These costs cannot be anticipated in advance and will depend entirely on the amount of work the tracing agent has to carry out. We will always discuss these costs with you beforehand if this service is required and will liaise with the tracing agent involved as to the amount of work being done.