Probate pricing
Our team of private client lawyers includes Bushra Khan a Partner and is assisted by paralegals. Bushra Khan has extensive experience in delivering high quality work in all matters relating to Wills and estate administration. They have particular expertise in high value estates and inheritance tax matters. Regardless of who works on your matter, they will be supervised by Bushra Khan a partner within the team.

M & K Solicitors charges for advising on and dealing with the administration of the estate of a deceased person will be calculated as set out here. All estates are necessarily different and in all cases we suggest that you contact us so that we can give a specific estimate of our charges designed to meet the facts of your particular case.

We set out below cost estimates which we will charge in the circumstances set out in each scenario. These estimates are based on an estate where:
• There is no more than one property
• There are no more than 3-5 accounts with different banks or building societies
• There are no disputes between beneficiaries on the division of assets or claims made against the estate.
The costs estimates exclude VAT at the current rate of 20%.

Please note that the cost estimates apply for dealing with: ascertaining the necessary information about the estate, submitting the Inheritance Tax Account to HMRC, applying for the Grant of Probate. We do not undertake gathering of estate assets, paying liabilities and expenses, and distributing the estate to the Beneficiaries.

If there are complications, the costs are likely to be at the higher end of the range.
Please see Disbursements and Additional Costs for different aspects of an estate which will affect our charges and lead to additional costs.

No Inheritance Tax payable
In this scenario, our charges will be £500 plus VAT £100 = £600. This should cover 2-3 hours’ work. If further work is required, we would charge at hourly rates varying from £140 to £320 plus VAT at crunt rate of 20%, depending on the seniority of the person dealing with the case.

The exact cost within the range will depend on the individual circumstances of the case, taking into account the time taken to complete the case.

VAT to be added to the above estimates is currently chargeable at 20%.

Full Accounts to HMRC but no Inheritance Tax to pay
Here the Executors need to submit a full account to HMRC, using Form IHT400, but no Inheritance Tax is payable. In this scenario, our charges will be in the range £1,000 to £1500 plus VAT crunt rate of 20%, This should cover 5-10 hours’ work, at hourly rates as set out above, depending on the seniority of the person dealing with the case.

The exact cost within the range will depend on the individual circumstances of the case, taking into account the time taken to complete the case.

VAT to be added to the above estimates is currently chargeable at 20%.

Full account to HMRC, using Form IHT400, but Inheritance Tax is payable
Here the Executors not only need to submit a full account to HMRC, using Form IHT400, but Inheritance Tax is payable. In this scenario, our charges will be in the range £6,500 to £10,000. This should cover approximately 30 hours’ work, at hourly rates as set out above, depending on the seniority of the person dealing with the case.

The exact cost within the range will depend on the individual circumstances of the case, taking into account the time taken to complete the case.

VAT to be added to the above fee estimates is currently chargeable at 20%.

Disbursements
In addition, there will be disbursements, which are costs related to your case that are payable to third parties, such as Court fees as follows:
• Probate Application Fee: £300 plus £1.50 per copy (usually one per asset)
• Bankruptcy-Only Land Charges Department Searches: £2.00 per beneficiary
Optional disbursements payable to protect against unexpected claims from unknown creditors or beneficiaries:
• Estate Assets Searches: £185+VAT
• Advertising in the London Gazette and a local newspaper: £200 to £300

Additional Costs
These costs estimates are for straightforward cases within the parameters set out. Please contact us and submit our Probate Questionnaire so that we can give you a more accurate quote once we have more information about the facts of your case.

Additional costs will be incurred in cases where any of the following circumstances apply:

• If there is no Will, in which case it may be necessary to employ third party commercial organisations to search for possible heirs
Note: The costs estimates exclude VAT at the current rate of 20%. In the event that there is a change in the rate of VAT, our costs estimates will be amended accordingly.

How long will the process take?
Again, the simplicity or complexity of the particular case will determine the length of time that is needed to complete the process. Taking into account the scenarios mentioned above:

On average, where an estate is not inheritance Tax payable are likely to take 3 to 6 months to complete. Typically, obtaining the Grant of Probate will take up to 20 weeks. Collecting in the assets after the Grant has been issued will take between 4-6 weeks. We do not distribute the assets to the beneficiaries.

Where Full Accounts to HMRC but no Inheritance Tax to pay and where Full account to HMRC, using Form IHT400, but Inheritance Tax is payable, cases which involve correspondence with HMRC are likely to take longer. For a taxable estate the whole process may take an additional 6 months on top of the timescales indicated above.

Where it is necessary to correspond with independent third parties, the time taken will often be outside our control and the time estimates included here are to be regarded as indicative only. In all cases, however, we will keep you updated with timescales and will always aim to speed matters along as best we can.

Please note that you should wait at least 2 months from the date of publication, if you are advertising for creditors, and at least 6 months from the issue of the grant of probate, if there is a risk of family claims against the estate. Whilst these periods will run concurrently with the administration of the estate, the timescales set out above may be affected.

Please note both HMRC and the Probate Registry have significant backlogs at present and the time taken up to the issuing of a grant is out of hands and could be considerably longer than the above timescales given.