Wills, Probate & Estate Planning

A UK will is from £360 including VAT (£300 plus VAT), and mirror wills for a couple from £540 (£450 plus VAT); a codicil is from £180 (£150 plus VAT) and a review of an existing will £102 (£85 plus VAT). We confirm the fee before we start: a will that needs a trust, business succession terms or detailed inheritance tax planning costs more, and we tell you the figure first.

Your estate is divided under the intestacy rules, not your wishes. These statutory rules decide who inherits and in what shares — an unmarried partner gets nothing automatically, stepchildren are excluded, and the result is often not what you would have chosen. A will is the only way to control who inherits, name guardians for children, and appoint who administers your estate.

The Probate Registry typically issues the grant within about three months (12 weeks) of the application, once the estate has been established and valued; administering a simple estate usually takes about a year in all, longer where property must be sold, tax affairs settled or the parties are slow to co-operate. Where a full inheritance tax account is required, the application cannot be made until HMRC has had it. We give you a realistic timeline at the outset.

A property & financial affairs LPA lets your attorney manage money, bank accounts and property; a health & welfare LPA lets them make decisions about your care and medical treatment. They are separate documents under the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and most people set up both. A financial LPA can be used while you still have capacity (with your permission); a health LPA only when you can no longer decide for yourself.

Inheritance tax is charged at 40% on the part of your estate above the nil-rate band, but several lawful reliefs reduce it. The Inheritance Tax Act 1984 provides the nil-rate band, an additional residence nil-rate band when you leave a home to direct descendants, the spouse exemption on transfers between married couples, annual and small-gift exemptions, and reliefs for business and agricultural assets. Lifetime gifts can also fall outside your estate if you survive seven years. We model the numbers for your estate before recommending anything.

You can apply for probate yourself, but a solicitor is worth it when the estate is large, includes a business or property, owes inheritance tax, or risks a dispute. Executors are personally liable for mistakes — underpaid tax, overlooked creditors, or wrong distributions — so professional help protects you as much as the estate. We offer a grant-only service if you want to handle the rest yourself, or full administration if you'd rather not.

Under section 9 of the Wills Act 1837 a will must be in writing and signed by you (or acknowledged by you) with the intention of giving it effect, in the presence of two witnesses who are both present at the same time and who then each sign in your presence. A witness, or a witness's spouse or civil partner, must not be a beneficiary: the will stays valid, but that gift fails. You must also have the mental capacity to understand what you're doing. Witnessing and capacity are where home-made wills most often come unstuck, which is exactly where a supervised signing protects you.