Private Client

Our Private Client Service deals with wills and probate. Our team regularly provides professional advice and expertise for:

Preparing wills
Applying for probate and distributing the assets
Lasting power of attorney (LPA) for financial, property and healthcare

Our role is to be your confidential and expert adviser, achieving your objective on your behalf and guiding you through whatever legal issues are involved.

We prioritise your needs and wishes so that you have peace of mind.

Hourly Rate: £300 plus VAT

Average time spent will be dependent  on size and complexity of estate:   usually between 5 to 50 hours so range of between  £1,500 – £15,000 plus VAT

The exact number of hours required to deal with a matter will depend on the individual circumstances of that matter.

Disbursement expenses likely to be incurred (other expenses may become payable), paid for with funds available in the estate but if none, we usually ask you to pay the expenses in advances:-

Bank Charge £200
Bankruptcy Searches (in UK) – per name £2
Chattels Valuation (average cost) £200 – £500
Probate Court application fee £155
Copies of the Grant of Probate (£0.50p per copy) £5 – £10
Oath fees (per Executor/Administrator) (average cost) £7 – £11
Probate Software Unit Charge £105.60
Probate Valuation of House/Flat £540 – £660

 

Work Included

  1. Reviewing information provided by you in relation to all the assets and all the debts or liabilities of the deceased.
  2. Estimate the value of the deceased’s estate by writing to banks, building societies etc we are aware of to ascertain the market value of any accounts, holdings and assets as at the date of the death
  3. Ascertain the proper beneficiaries of the estate
  4. Arrange completion and submission of the appropriate HM Revenue & Customs Inheritance Tax Forms on your behalf
  5. Prepare an executor’s Oath for swearing by executors/PRs
  6. Provide you with draft Inheritance Tax forms and executors Oath for review. Once approved we will arrange for you to swear the Oath
  7. Submit the Will, Oath and Inheritance Tax Form(s) to Probate Register for a Grant of Probate/Grant of Letters of Administration
  8. Deal with any enquiries raised by HMRC in relation to the Inheritance Tax return
  9. Once the Grant has been obtained, deal with the collection of all the assets and discharge all liabilities of the deceased
  10. Ascertain the balance of the estate and distribute it or hold it in trust under the terms of the Will or the rules of intestacy
  11. Prepare Estate Accounts setting out full details of the administration
  12. Time spent will include meetings with you, considering and preparing and working on papers; routine letters e-mails and telephone calls made and received.

  1. The sale of any property
  2. If further assets are discovered after the submission of the appropriate HM Revenue & Customs Forms, this information must be reported to HM Revenue & Customs, Inheritance Tax BX9 1HT. This is your responsibility. If this occurs after the completion of the administration of the estate, we can assist you and a separate client care letter will be sent to you.
  3. Negotiations with HM Revenue & Customs as to the valuation of any assets
  4. The Deceased’s Income Tax and Capital Gains Tax affairs prior to death
  5. The estate’s Income Tax and Capital Gains Tax affairs
  6. Claims made against the estate
  7. Legal disputes between beneficiaries, for example on the division of assets
  8. Disclaimers and Deeds of Variation
  9. Anything else not specifically identified under Work Included above

  • Domicile issues
  • Interests in Trusts or other estates
  • Claiming a Transferable Nil-rate band
  • Claiming the Residence Ni-rate band
  • Claiming the Transferable Residence Nil-Rate band
  • Intangible assets such as digital assets or intellectual property
  • Investigations into missing family members
  • Determining appropriate parties in intestacy
  • The complexity and range of assets and debts
  • The number of beneficiaries we need to communicate with
  • Unforeseen complications
  • The speed at which third parties respond to our request for information
  • Issues raised by Inland Revenue which may cause extra work to be undertaken
  • Assets in foreign jurisdictions
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