Wills & Probate
A will that says what you mean and does what you want — and, when the time comes, an estate administered properly, with the tax right and the family informed.
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Typical matters we cover
Wills
Single and mirror wills, business and property provisions, guardians and trusts.
Probate & administration
Grants, estate collection, HMRC and distribution — with full estate accounts.
Intestacy
Who inherits without a will, and administering an intestate estate.
Inheritance tax
Reporting, reliefs, the residence nil-rate band and paying the tax.
Will trusts
Life-interest, discretionary and disabled-person trusts within a will.
Cross-border estates
Assets and beneficiaries overseas, and foreign wills.
Proudly serving founders, businesses & private clients
Our services in this area
Explore the specific services within this practice. Each links through to a dedicated page.
Estate Planning & Powers of Attorney
Protect what you've built, decide who benefits, and make sure someone you trust can act if you can't.
Business Succession
What happens to the business when an owner dies, falls ill or wants out.
Immigration & Visas
Our specialist lawyers help you determine the best route before you apply, and work with you to give your application the best possible chance — with multi-lingual capability and partners on the ground around the world..
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Tell us about your matter and a solicitor will come back to you with a plan and an estimate of our costs.
Specialists who know your case inside out.
You will not be passed down a chain. Your matter is run by solicitors who know the detail, are easy to reach, and keep the commercial outcome in view from the first letter to the last.
Quality, effective service with transparent costs
Our focus is on delivering a high-quality, effective service and achieving the right outcome for you, efficiently and without unnecessary cost.
Before any work begins, we confirm in writing how we will charge and provide an estimate of costs. We keep you informed as the matter progresses and notify you in advance of any change, so there are no surprises.
What it costs
Our fees for this work are published under the SRA Transparency Rules, shown including VAT; disbursements are extra unless stated, and we confirm your fee in writing before we start.
Wills
| UK willdepending on the estate and any trusts | from £360incl. VATfrom £300 + £60 VAT |
|---|---|
| Spouse mirror willsfor the pair | from £540incl. VATfrom £450 + £90 VAT |
| Codicil | from £180incl. VATfrom £150 + £30 VAT |
| Will review£50 less if you then instruct us on amendments | £102incl. VAT£85 + £17 VAT |
| Deed storage | £24 / yearincl. VAT£20 + £4 VAT |
| Professional executorsunless agreed otherwise, charged at our hourly rates (£145 – £350 + VAT), with an estimate when the will is made | Bespoke |
Our fees are shown including VAT at 20%, with the fee and the VAT beneath; third-party disbursements are extra, and each says whether VAT applies to it.
Probate
| Probate — up to obtaining a grant, estate below the nil-rate band | £1,800incl. VAT£1,500 + £300 VAT |
|---|---|
| Probate — up to obtaining a grant, estate above the nil-rate band | £3,900incl. VAT£3,250 + £650 VAT |
| Estate administration after the grantagreed before we start; in our published examples, from about £2,000 + VAT (a £100,000 estate of four bank accounts) to about £35,000 + VAT (an £800,000 estate with a dispute between the beneficiaries) | Hourly rate and/or 1.5% of the estate |
| Bank transfer feeour charge for each payment out of the estate | £48 / transferincl. VAT£40 + £8 VAT |
The Probate Registry typically issues the grant within about three months (12 weeks) of the application, once the estate has been established and valued. Our fees are shown including VAT at 20%, with the fee and the VAT beneath; third-party disbursements are extra, and each says whether VAT applies to it.
Probate disbursements
| Probate application feefor an estate over £5,000 (no fee at £5,000 or less); no VAT | £526 |
|---|---|
| Sealed copies of the grantordered with the application (£16 each afterwards); no VAT | £2 / copy |
| Bankruptcy searches against beneficiariesmade before the estate is distributed (portal fee; £7 by post); no VAT | £6 / name |
| Land Registry searchelectronic (£11 by post); no VAT | £7 / search |
| Statutory noticeapprox.; + VAT at 20% | £200 / notice |
Payable to third parties in addition to our fees.
Powers of attorney
| Ordinary power of attorney | £300incl. VAT£250 + £50 VAT |
|---|---|
| Ordinary power of attorney for property contractssigning up to 10 contracts free; £20 per additional signing | £240incl. VAT£200 + £40 VAT |
| LPA — health and welfare | £840incl. VAT£700 + £140 VAT |
| LPA — property and finance | £840incl. VAT£700 + £140 VAT |
| LPA — combined | £1,440incl. VAT£1,200 + £240 VAT |
| Acting as certificate provider | £210incl. VAT£175 + £35 VAT |
| Exercising ongoing attorney powers as professional trustee or attorneyunless agreed otherwise, charged at our hourly rates (£145 – £350 + VAT) | Bespoke |
Our fees are shown including VAT at 20%, with the fee and the VAT beneath; third-party disbursements are extra, and each says whether VAT applies to it.
Who does the work, and how long it takes
Qualified solicitors carry out most of the work. Legal executives and trainee solicitors, under the supervision of a qualified solicitor, may also do it.
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; it can take longer depending on the complexity of the estate and the co-operation of the parties involved.
Probate — assumptions, included and excluded
- 01A UK-domiciled deceased, assets in England and Wales only, no contested claims and no dispute between beneficiaries
- 02Includes: valuing the estate, the inheritance tax account, applying for the grant; estate administration then includes collecting in assets, paying debts and distributing
- 03Excludes: property sale conveyancing (quoted separately), tax returns for the estate beyond the IHT account, and any claim against the estate
Probate — key stages
- 01Establishing the estate: assets, liabilities and the will — 2 to 4 weeks
- 02Valuations and the inheritance tax position — 4 to 8 weeks; where the estate is not an excepted estate, the IHT400 account goes to HMRC before we apply
- 03Applying for the grant — usually within 12 weeks of the application, longer if the Probate Registry asks for more information
- 04Collecting in assets and settling liabilities — 2 to 4 months
- 05Estate accounts and distribution to beneficiaries — 1 to 2 months after the assets are in
Latest insights
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Frequently asked questions
The intestacy rules apply. A spouse or civil partner takes the first £322,000 plus half the rest, with children sharing the other half; an unmarried partner gets nothing; and if there's no family the estate passes to the Crown. A will is the only way to choose.
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