Probate Fees

Dealing with the administration of an estate and obtaining a grant of probate can be complicated; and can take several months. At Edward McCourt & Company we can offer a complete estate administration service to deal with everything for you or we can assist you with specific areas within the estate administration process to meet your individual requirements.

Our charges are calculated by reference to how much time is spent in the administration of an estate, which depends upon the amount of work required and our current range of hourly charges are £200 to £275 per hour  depending upon the complexity of the estate and who is dealing with the matter and we set out two examples of our fees below:

Example One: No Inheritance tax due & executor to administer estate.

For obtaining a Grant of Probate for an Executor who has provided all of the necessary up-to-date financial documentation to us and where no inheritance tax is due, and where they will undertake to administer the estate themselves for estates in England and Wales, where:

•        There is no more than one property in the sole name of the deceased or in the joint name of a spouse/partner
•        There are no more than 3 bank accounts;
•        There are no debts (other than utility bills);·       
•        There is a valid will appointing an Executor/Executors;
•        There is no requirement to provide an HMRC account;·       
•        There are no unforeseen complications;

Our fees is likely to range between £1,250 and £1,500. excluding any conveyancing work.  This is on the basis that the Executor would then carry out the administration of the estate without any further assistance from us.  This service is likely to take several months to complete.

Example Two: Administration of a small estate

For a straightforward Grant of Probate and administration of a small estate, excluding any conveyancing work, for estates in England and Wales, where:

•        There is no more than one property in the sole name of the deceased or in the joint name of a spouse/partner
•        There are no more than 3 bank accounts;
•        There are no debts (other than utility bills);
•       There is a valid will appointing an Executor/Executors;
•        There are no more than 2 beneficiaries;
•        There are no unforeseen complications;
•        Provide a simple HMRC account (IHT205)

Our fees is likely to range between £1,950 and £6,000. This service is likely to take around twelve months to complete.

In addition to the costs set out above, the following disbursements (costs payable to third parties) are likely to be incurred:-

       Probate Court fee, please visit www.gov.uk/wills-probate-inheritance/applying-for-a-grant-of-representation

And in respect of Example Two, also;

•       Statutory Advertising £250-400
•      Bankruptcy searches £4
•       Land Registry Searches £3
•       Land registry documents £3
•       ID Checks £6

The two examples above are based on straight forward simple administration of two estates.

More complex transactions, for example, estates comprising shares and investments, multiple properties, multiple beneficiaries, payments to charities, more complex HMRC accounts will result in a significantly higher cost and will take longer to complete and such cases may result in costs of up to around £10,000 or more depending on the size of the estate.

Please contact us so that we can provide you with an individual estimate based upon your specific circumstances known at that time.,.

Please note that if the transaction does prove to be more complex and time consuming than originally anticipated then our fees will increase beyond those provided in our estimate based on our hourly rate of between £200-275 per hour which, in any event, will always be set out in writing to our clients within our client care letter.