IWC are regulated by the Society of Will Writers and Estate Planning Practitioners

IWC Estate Planning
& Management Ltd is
Registered in England
No 4532330

Probate fees

Probate Fees

You will incur probate fees when you apply for your Grant of Representation. These are the costs of administering probate by HM Courts & Tribunals Service. As detailed in probate form PA3, a fee of £105.00 applies in all cases where the net estate value is over £5,000. If the net estate value is under £5,000, probate fees are nil.

You'll also find that there is a charge of £1 for every official, sealed copy of the document you require. This will depend on how many financial institutions you have to deal with to obtain access to the assets of the deceased as they'll require original documents.

Of course, these are merely the Government administration charges. If you have decided to appoint a professional to handle the deceased's estate, you'll also pay for services undertaken.

Solicitors Fees for Probate

Probate costs vary immensely; if you're looking to appoint a professional to deal with the estate administration consider your options carefully.

Percentage of Estate Value - Many solicitors and banks will calculate probate fees based on a proportion of the value of the estate, normally 1-5%. Obviously this can be very costly, as an example, on an estate worth £500,000 fees of 4% will be £20,000, even at 1% you'll be paying in excess of £5,000 once all extras have been added.

At IWC we do not base our probate fees on the value of the estate. Costs are based on how many bank accounts, financial institutions and beneficiaries; this way, you only pay for the amount of work involved. We believe that it's wrong to charge a percentage because dealing with one bank account will mean the same amount of work whether it's got £20,000 or £200,000 in it.

Hourly Rates - Some probate solicitors will charge an hourly rate, this may seem fair but when they want almost £200 - £300 per hour, it can mount up quite handsomely. Plus you'll always feel like the clock is ticking which is no use when you need reassurance on important issues.

Per Activity - You must also beware of firms who charge per task or activity, £30 for a phone-call, £10 to send an e-mail, £100 to fill out a form. This all adds up and is a completely unfair method to use to calculate probate fees.

No Fee Agreed - If you don't agree a fee in advance, your appointed probate professional will be able to charge whatever they see fit. When hourly rates and task charges apply, your total bill could amount to thousands with pages and pages of add-ons and extras. Always agree a price in advance.

IWC offer low cost, fixed probate fees that are agreed with you in advance before we start work. This way, there won't be any unpleasant surprises later on, as there's nothing extra to pay. There are no hourly rates or activity charges on top and you can contact us at any time at no extra cost. Works are undertaken by full STEP members or law degree qualified professionals. We even have a free phone number for questions and advice open 7 days a week until 10pm.

Call us now on 0800 612 6105 for more information.

0800 612 6105 020 8150 2010

Low cost fixed fee solutions

Our Probate Advice lines are open until 10pm seven days a week.

"You take care of your family all your life, don’t leave them in a mess when you’re not there."

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