All fees quoted are exclusive of VAT Charged at 20%.

Probate – Fixed fee initial advice

We charge £350 plus VAT for preparation of a simple will. If you leave the will with this firm and instruct us to act as your executor the cost is £175 + VAT.

Dealing with an application for probate with a simple straightforward estate where (1) all of the information is readily available, (2) we are not instructed to assist with winding up the estate, (c) inheritance tax is not payable and (d) we are not to act as executors will cost no more than £1000 Plus VAT. It may even be less than this.

If we are asked to assist in the administration of the estate then as a first step, we would see you for a fixed charge of £125 so that we can understand what needs to be done. At the end of that meeting we will be able to give you an estimate for the likely total cost of the work. However, we charge the normal hourly rates for solicitors in Inner Birmingham but we do not charge a percentage of the value of the estate.

Providing an estimate for the total cost of dealing with an Estate is notoriously difficult but for a simple estate, where all the information is available, there are no challenges to the administration, there is no property to be sold and the beneficiaries are all of adult age we would not expect the cost to exceed £3500 +VAT and in very simple estates it might even be less than this. At the other end of the scale where there are legal and factual complexities, the administration takes an extended period and there are challenges to the estate the fees can exceed £5000 +VAT and exceptionally even more than this.

The usual disbursements that are incurred in a Probate case are:

• Probate fees – £155.00 (a charge of £1.50 is applied for every copy)
• Land Registry fee – £6.00
• Bankruptcy Search – £2.00 per beneficiary
• Copy of Death Certificate – £14.50

Please contact Miss Raleigh Fox, [email protected] for further information.