Calulker & Co
Solicitors
020 8801 9020
020 8801 9020
Our private client solicitor can assist with will drafting, power of attorney, and probate (estate administration on death).
Having a Will can ensure that you can provide for your family and loved ones in accordance with your wishes and can sometimes reduce or avoid Inheritance Tax
If you die without making a Will your estate will be distributed, in accordance with the Intestacy Rules, to various categories of relatives which could result in relatives or an estranged spouse benefitting if divorce not finalised from your estate instead of a current partner. If there are no relatives in the relevant categories, then your estate would pass to the Crown.
It is extremely important to have a Will. It gives you peace of mind and protects your family and friends by ensuring that your assets pass to who you wish. It allows you to:
The cost for any Will depends on the complexity of the Will instruction and the number of assets and beneficiaries involved. For a very simple Wills, which
are Wills involving no more than 3 beneficiaries and 3 bequests is from £350 No vat is chargeable. A Wills outside this description will be charged at the hourly rate of the Solicitor which ranges from £301/hr.
When someone dies, there is usually a need to deal with their Estate. Applying for Probate is the legal right to deal with the deceased person’s property, money and possessions (their ‘estate’). This legal document will allow the person’s assets to be released to the people who have the legal authority to act and administer the estate is called Probate. It confirms to the person holding the asset/s that they are releasing the assets to the correct and authorised people.
There is a misconception that when a person dies and leaves a will (Testate) there is no requirement for Probate. This is misleading as grant is required if the person left a Will. If the person who died left a Will you can get a ‘grant of probate’. If they did not leave a will, you will get ‘letters of administration.
In cases where Probate is required, the Estate of the deceased will be frozen until a Grant of Probate is obtained. Property cannot be sold or transferred and most Financial Institutions will not allow anyone to access the deceased’s account.
When Probate is granted, you will need to deal with the remainder of the Estate. Sometimes, you may wish to give this responsibility and task to another person.
Apply for letters of administration:
Allows close family members, or close relative to become the administrator of the estate:
Caulker & Co Solicitors are aware of how difficult bereavement can be for families and loved ones. We therefore make the process less stressful and use our expertise whilst being empathetic in dealing with the Estate of your Family and loved ones.
We go through the process by assisting to check whether there is a Will or not, establishing the assets completing the HMRC forms, paying or coming to arrangement with HMRC, applying and obtaining the Grant of Probate (or Letters of Administration where appropriate), collecting the estate and distributing it in accordance with the person’s Will or the intestacy rules. All debts and tax liability must be paid before any distribution can be done.
We take our time to explain to the Executors their obligations and other duties to you, so that you know what to expect and do not succumb to the pressure from beneficiaries and other interested parties in relation to the estate. We liaise with all parties connected with the estate who the deceased owed money and aim to settle it. We can either Only apply for probate or apply for probate and also distribute the assets depending on our instructions.
Sometimes dealing with and administering of an Estate can become contentious. This may happen where someone decides to challenge a Will on the basis that it may not be valid or question as to whether it is the last Will and Testament of the deceased. A person may challenge a Will if it fails to make adequate provision for him or her. Also, a person may challenge another person’s right to apply for letters of administration in a case of intestacy. Contentious Probate Matters are charged on an
ongoing hourly rate from £301 per hour. Vat is not chargeable.
At Caulker & Co we are experienced to deal with contentious probate matters, whether you have obtained letters of administration, and you are facing a challenge, or you want to bring a claim against an administrator or executor of a Will on any basis.
A reseal is the process that allows a foreign grant of probate to be used in England and Wales. It is used to release assets without the need to obtain a separate English grant of probate. It may be required when the deceased had property in multiple jurisdictions. It is important to know that a grant of probate made in England or Wales also has no effect in other jurisdictions. However, it is best to make enquiries with the holder of the assets like banks or other institutions in the low-value cases and one where no property is held, such as banks as some may agree to accept a grant from another jurisdiction together with the satisfaction of some other requirements.
We can assist you to reseal the grant obtained in a foreign jurisdiction. It is important to check whether the grant was issued by a country, state or territory recognised by the Colonial Probates Act 1892.
Our fees for probate as are follows. For Non contested Probate where the Estates is in the UK our hourly rate is £301 per hour in addition to a fixed fee of 1.5% of the value of the deceased's real property, with an added 1.5% on the value of each further asset. We do not charge vat. We are happy to assist in either obtaining the grant of probate, and/or with the estate administration.
The above fees anticipate a reasonable level of communication during the process and, in circumstances where that is exceeded, additional charges are likely to be incurred and you will be notified prior to any such charges being applied.
Circumstances where additional charges may be incurred are also set out below.
Executors/ Trustees of an estate may be entitled to reimbursement of all legal costs and related expenses involved.
Our minimum charge for probate matters – to obtain grant of probate – is £4515. No VAT is chargeable for our cost.
Disbursements are costs relating to your matter that need to be paid to third parties. We can handle these disbursement payments on your behalf for ease of process.
When the grant of probate has been issued, we will send a
final invoice for the work done and payment after which we will forward to you the original Grant of probate together with the certified copies that you requested.
If there is no Will or the Estate consists of numerous share holdings (stocks and bonds) there are likely to be additional costs which can 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 in relation to the assets involved.
To obtain a grant of probate will depend largely upon how quickly the relevant asset information can be obtained. Once the information has been obtained (which takes between 4 to 6 weeks depending on the institution in question) it can take another 4 to 6 weeks to obtain the grant of probate. If inheritance tax is payable the HMRC will issue a bill and this will take longer depending upon how quickly HMRC process the application, although that can add a further 3 to 4 weeks.
In addition to the above costs in obtaining the grant of probate, it will cost more to assist with the administration of the estate to include the collecting of all assets. The following additional costs will apply.
Where no inheritance tax is due, to collect in the assets and administer the estate to the beneficiaries normally takes between 15 and 25 hours work at £301 per hour no VAT is chargeable for our fees, i.e. £4500 - £7525. Sometimes the work will exceed the number of hours estimated. If this happens you will be advised and the amount due in advance.
It can take several months to administer an estate depending on several factors, including if there is a residential property to sell; if income tax returns to be completed; or an estate needs to be registered as a complex estate. In addition, we advise that clients consider not delaying the estate administration to avoid potential personal liability as an Executor for these reasons.
Where our services are terminated halfway in the matter (e.g. before obtaining the grant of probate or concluding the estate administration) charges for the work undertaken to that point will be made at the hourly rate referred to above or in our terms of business without VAT but with disbursements.
