A. Williams & Co. (Solicitors)

The services we provide are all on a privately paying basis.

Information on the Wills & Intestacy Services we provide and those we do not provide

We provided advice and representation in the following areas;

1. Provision of legal advice and representation
2. Applying for the grant
3. Collecting and distributing the assets

We do not provide services in respect of legal aid or mental health issues.

Our standard range of costs with additional fixed fees for additional work

Applying for the grant, collecting and distributing the assets

We anticipate this will take between 20 – 30 hours work at our Principal's charging rate of £350.00 plus 20% VAT per hour – £500.00 plus 20% VAT per hour. Total costs including the cost for preparation of our instructions and written advice is estimated at £7,000 (plus 20% VAT) – £10,000 (plus 20% 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. If there are also several possibilities as to where the deceased passed away, this may involve additional costs.

In all circumstances, we will provide you with our written advice which be based on our instructions and will set out the basis for the documentation to be filled in so there are no discrepancies on the facts later on.

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 1 bank or building society account
• There are no other intangible assets
• There are only 1-2 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

Disbursements to be included in addition to this fee:

• Probate application fee of £215
• Swearing of the oath (per executor) £10
• Bankruptcy-only Land Charges Department searches (per beneficiary) £5
• Advert in The London Gazette (protects against unexpected claims from unknown creditors) £84 (plus 20% VAT) - £114.60 (plus 20% VAT)
• Post in a Local Newspaper (this also helps to protect against unexpected claims) dependent upon the newspaper

Disbursements are costs related to your matter that are payable to third parties, such as the Probate Registry 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 each (1 per asset usually)
• 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 2 – 4 months. Typically, obtaining the grant of probate takes 4 – 8 weeks from the submission of the application. Collecting assets then follows, which can take between 4 – 6 weeks. Once this has been done, we can distribute the assets, which normally takes a minimum of 4 – 12 weeks.