Probate Costs

Our team at Myerson has a breadth of experience to provide you with the expert legal support and quality of service you are looking for.

As part of our core values, we provide you with clear and transparent cost information from the outset. 

Working in partnership with you on your requirements, matters are assigned to the most appropriate level of fee earner (always subject to partner supervision) to support you throughout your matter and ensure absolute cost effectiveness and efficiency. 

We set out below a summary of our charges which, when combined with our high quality service, represents excellent value.

We would be happy to discuss our fees with you further, contact us here.  

Our approach to costs

The costs in this guide apply to estate where there is a Will and a Grant of Probate is required, and also where there is no Will and a Grant of Letters of Administration is required. In this guide, the term Grant refers to both of these types of Grant.

We break the administration process down into two stages; these being, firstly, the work required to obtain the Grant, and then, secondly, the work required after a Grant is obtained. The amount of work involved will also depend on whether the estate is taxable.

Stage One

Work involved in obtaining a Grant includes:

• Initial meeting and fact find
• Advising on process – if there is no Will we will advise on who is entitled to apply for the Grant and how the estate will be divided
• Drawing up a schedule of assets and liabilities
• Writing to the various banks where the deceased had accounts, or institutions such as unit trust managers where they had investments
• Contacting credit card providers and utility companies to ascertain any sums due to/from the deceased
• Arranging valuations of assets, e.g. property, shares etc.
• Preparation of an Inheritance tax (IHT) return (if required)
• Preparing the Grant Application (online or paper, as applicable)
• Arranging to pay Inheritance Tax (if applicable)
• Obtaining the Grant

Please note:

The timeframe for a Grant to be issued depends on the type of Grant, but the average timeframes range from 11 weeks to 27 weeks as of Q1 2024.

IHT400 not required and no IHT payable - you are providing all information yourself:

Likely fees: £2,500 to £3,000 plus VAT and Additional Costs (examples below).
Likely timescales – ready to apply for the Grant about 4 weeks after you have provided the information, provided it is comprehensive.

IHT400 not required and no IHT payable - we are required to obtain asset information and correspond with third parties:

Likely fees: £3,000 to £4,000 plus VAT and Additional Costs (examples below).
Likely timescales – ready to apply for the Grant about 8-12 weeks after you have provided the information about the deceased’s estate to enable us to make enquiries.

IHT400 required but no IHT payable - you are providing all information yourself:

Likely fees: £4,000 to £5,500 plus VAT and Additional Costs (examples below).
Likely timescales – ready to submit form IHT400 about 6 - 8 weeks after you have provided the information, provided it is comprehensive. HMRC then take around 4-6 weeks to come back to us before we can finalise the application for the Grant.

IHT400 required but no IHT payable - we are required to obtain estate information:

Likely fees: £5,000 to £7,000 plus VAT and Additional Costs (examples below).
Likely timescales – ready to submit form IHT400 within 12-24 weeks. HMRC then take around 4-6 weeks to come back to us before we can finalise the application for the Grant.

IHT400 required and IHT payable - you are providing all information yourself:

Likely fees: £5,000 to £7,000 plus VAT and Additional Costs (examples below).
Likely timescales – ready to submit form IHT400 within 8-16 weeks after you have provided the information, provided it is comprehensive. HMRC then take around 4-6 weeks to come back to us before we can finalise the application for the Grant.

IHT400 required and IHT payable - we are required to obtain estate information:

Likely fees: £6,000 to £8,500 plus VAT and Additional Costs (examples below).
Likely timescales – ready to submit IHT400 within 16-24 weeks. HMRC then take around 4-6 weeks to come back to us before we can finalise the application for the Grant.

IHT may be payable on an estate and is not included in our estimate of fees and costs. IHT is a complicated tax with many liabilities, exemptions and reliefs. We will assess the IHT position of an estate once we have the relevant information. You can find out more about when Inheritance Tax is payable here.

IHT is generally payable before a Grant is applied for. If the estate includes property or a controlling shareholding in a company, typically only one-tenth of the IHT attributable to the property is payable prior to the Grant being issued with the balance payable over the next 10 years (interest is charged on the outstanding balance) or on the sale of the property.

Stage Two

Following the Grant being issued, the personal representatives must gather in the assets of the deceased, discharge any liabilities, and then distribute the estate in accordance with the Will or the intestacy rules. The work usually involved is:

• Preparation of closure/transfer forms
• Corresponding with banks and organisations to release funds
• Selling property, shares, and investments
• Collecting in funds
• Settling liabilities
• Dealing with any income received and preparing R185 forms
• Drawing up estate accounts
• Dealing with distribution – including verifying beneficiary ID and information and carrying out bankruptcy/insolvency searches

Simple, non-taxable estate with a small number of beneficiaries:

Likely fees: £2.500 to £5,000 plus VAT and Additional Costs (examples below).
Likely timescales – 6-12 weeks from receipt of the grant (excluding sale of property).

Larger, non-taxable estate with a small number of beneficiaries:

Likely fees: £5,000 to £10,000 plus VAT and Additional Costs (examples below).
Likely timescale: 12-24 weeks from receipt of the Grant (excluding sale of property)

The following Additional Costs are likely to be incurred:

Grant application fees: £300 (if the estate is over £5,000)
Additional copies of the grant (per copy): £1.50
Client and beneficiary ID checks: £8.00 plus VAT per person
Bankruptcy search: £2.00 plus VAT per beneficiary, per distribution
Bank transfer fees (UK transfers): up to £35.00 plus VAT per transfer
Bank transfer fees (international transfers): £5o.00 plus VAT per transfer
Land Registry documents: £3.00 plus VAT per document
VAT is chargeable at 20%.

The following Additional Costs may be incurred, depending on the estate, but these are estimates:

Will search: £140
Valuation fees: Dependent on valuer
Financial Asset Searches: £200
Statutory advertisements for creditors: £200 - £300
Registration of complex estate with HMRC: £500 plus VAT
Registration of estate trusts with HMRC: £350 - 500 plus VAT per trust

The following complicating factors will increase our fees and the time involved in dealing with the estate:

• Further properties or assets
• Foreign property or assets
• Multiple beneficiaries
• Charity beneficiaries
• Business property relief or agricultural property relief applies
• Lifetime gifts
• The executors are disposing of assets with a value over £500,000 (whether or not there is a liability to Capital Gains Tax)
• Assets increasing in value significantly between date of death and date of sale
• Missing or damaged Will – affidavits required, may need to locate individuals
• Missing beneficiaries or non-responsive/un-cooperative beneficiaries
• Missing share certificates – additional paperwork required
• Missing documents relating to death of first death when a nil-rate-band needs transferring
• Unusual investments which require more paperwork, e.g. gift and loan trusts
• Income tax affairs are not up to date
• There are a lot of income producing assets or gross income is received during the administrations, which makes dealing with the income position more onerous.
• There are a substantial number of creditors
• A dispute arises between executors or beneficiaries
• We are required to carry out work normally carried out by family members such as organising valuation of property and jewellery or clearing the property
• If a legal claim is outstanding against the deceased or a claim is made against the deceased's estate or the deceased's will is disputed

Examples of complicating factors on taxable estates only:

• HMRC decide to investigate any part of the IHT400 form
• Business accounts are not up to date or there is other missing information
• The 36% rate for IHT applies due to charity beneficiaries
• Quick succession relief applies
• There are a large number of lifetime gifts
• A loan is required to fund the Inheritance Tax
• Assets increasing or reducing in value significantly between date of death and date of sale

Hourly rates of our solicitors

If complicating factors arise then we will charge for the extra time involved based on our standard hourly rates set out below.

Where additional charges apply in such circumstances we will provide you with an accurate estimate of charges for each element of additional work before undertaking that work for you.

All rates are subject to VAT at 20%.