Wills, Power of Attorney and Probate.

At Funnell & Perring Solicitors we have a team of friendly expert lawyers, who will provide legal guidance for writing your Will, preparing Powers of Attorney and administering estates. Wills and Powers of Attorney are usually prepared on a fixed-fee basis, for couples or individuals, so you know what to expect.

There is a dedicated team for elderly affairs management, specifying in management of money and care fees, whether through yourself as an individual or through powers of attorney.

Codicil of your Will can also be conducted for a fixed-fee.

We also deal with all matters of probate, inheritance tax and distribution of assets.

PROBATE FEES

Applying for the Grant, collecting and distributing
the assets

The exact cost of this work will depend on the
individual circumstances of the matter. For
example, if there is one beneficiary and no property, costs will be lower. If
there are multiple beneficiaries, one or more property and multiple assets,
costs will be higher. If a dispute
arises over the validity of the Will, or the division of assets, or between
Personal Representatives, this is likely to increase costs. If there is no Will there may be further
costs and time involved in creating a family tree to ascertain who is entitled
to benefit from the estate, and other factors may also increase our charges. We
estimate that our fees to handle the entire estate administration may be
anywhere from £1500 plus VAT upwards depending on the work required. We can give you a more accurate quote once we
have more information. Dealing with the
sale of any property in the estate is not included.

Our charges are calculated mainly by reference to the time
that we spend on the matter. The costs, as laid down by the Law Society, our
governing body, fall into two parts:- a charge for the person doing the work –
you will be advised of the hourly rate of your Probate practitioner when you
instruct us; and a charge for care and control.
The Law Society has laid down rules on what we charge for this, being
0.5% of the value of real property (this is called realty and consists of all
land and residential dwellings and/or commercial property) owned by the
deceased at the date of death and passing under their Will. In addition, if we are acting as Personal
Representatives we charge 1.5% of the value of the remainder of the estate (the
remainder is known as personalty and includes everything that is not land,
residential dwellings and/or commercial property) but if we are not Personal
Representatives we charge 1%. This
element of the cost is to provide for our professionalism, knowledge,
responsibility etc in carrying out the work.
We add the two parts of the costs together to make the final bill, to
which VAT is added.

Disbursements are costs related to your matter that
are payable to third parties, such as Court fees, which will be shown in the
estate accounts and may also be added to your bill. We handle the payment of the disbursements on
your behalf to ensure a smoother process. Our fees may therefore include the following
disbursements:

·
Probate Court application fee - currently £155 plus 50p for each sealed
copy

·
Swearing of the Oath – from £5 (per Personal Representative)

·
Bankruptcy-only Land Charges Department searches - £2 (per UK beneficiary)

·
Notice in the London Gazette to protect against unexpected claims from
unknown creditors – from around £80

·
Notice in a local newspaper which also helps to protect against
unexpected claims – from around £70 depending on the newspaper

How long will this take?

On average, estates without complex factors such as multiple assets,
multiple beneficiaries or foreign assets are dealt with within six to twelve
months. Typically, obtaining the Grant
of Probate takes two to four months. Collecting
assets then follows, which can take a further few months, and may take longer
if there is a property to be sold. Once
this has been done, and the estate accounts are approved by the Personal
Representatives, we can pay the liabilities and distribute the assets.

As part of our estate
administration fees we will:-

·
Provide you with a dedicated and experienced Probate practitioner to
work on your matter

·
Identify the legally appointed Executors or Administrators (“Personal
Representatives”) and beneficiaries and verify their solvency

·
Accurately identify the type of Probate application you will require

·
Obtain the relevant documents required to make the application

·
Complete the Probate application and the relevant HMRC forms

·
Draft a legal Oath for you to swear

·
Make the application to the Probate Court on your behalf

·
Deal with payment if inheritance tax arises and complete tax returns if
necessary

·
Obtain the Grant of Representation

·
Collect and distribute all assets in the estate

·
Pay all liabilities and debts

·
Settle any administration period income or capital gains tax liabilities

·
Prepare estate accounts for the Executors and all residuary
beneficiaries

We can also help you by obtaining the Grant of Probate only on behalf of
the Personal Representatives so that they can then complete the estate
administration. Our fee for this will
range from £650 to £1500 plus VAT and disbursements, depending on the forms
that have to be completed, whether there is an inheritance tax liability
arising and any allowances that can be claimed to mitigate this.

Please do not
hesitate to contact us for further information or to give your instructions.

Contact us for more information - telephone 01424 426287 or email law@funnellperring.co.uk