Estate Administration
At Clarke & Son, we provide a caring approach to guide you through the process of Estate Administration. We offer a free consultation and a fixed fee service for your peace of mind.
It’s a really sad and distressing time when someone you care about dies. Here at Clarke and Son, we offer a free initial consultation to talk you through to process of estate administration.
The Wills and Estate Planning Team includes Solicitors who are up to 20 years + qualified, Legal Executives and support staff. We have members of Solicitors for the Elderly (SFE), Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP) and Probate Section of the Law Society.
We can also give you some practical information e.g. how to register a death; how to organize a funeral; tax advice; property ownership advice and so on. Each individual is different and each estate administration is different and we want to provide a caring approach to suit the needs of each client.
Some clients feel it is very important to be involved in the administration as it is very cathartic and part of the grieving process. Others want us to take total control and deal with everything that is required and keep the whole process simple and straightforward.
Free Initial Consultation
We offer an initial free Consultation to talk you through the process of Estate Administration, for your peace of mind.
We work closely with our colleagues in other teams to give you a seamless approach.
Furthermore, we do our best to complete the administration of estates in an effective and expeditious fashion. We also work closely with local professionals e.g. estate agents; accountants and financial planners to secure the best possible service levels for you.
We also offer this service on a fixed fee basis – to give you total peace of mind in relation to costs and the processes involved.
Probate
When someone dies leaving a Will, it may be necessary to apply to a court for a Grant of Probate to be able to deal with the assets in the estate.
The Will outlines the wishes of the Deceased, but in order to carry out the wishes the Executor will need the official authority of the Grant to act. Sometimes, depending on the nature and value of the assets in the estate a Grant of Probate may not be required and we can advise you on this during an initial free consultation.
We can help you if you are the Executor named in the Will or the beneficiary. Our solicitors advise on how to collate the assets and liabilities in the estate. We advise on the interpretation of the Will. We prepare the probate application documentation including forms for the Inland Revenue. As well as draft Estate Accounts and the payment of taxes, and advise on the distribution of assets.
Our solicitors offer additional advice required concerning taxation and post death variations.
Probate Pricing
In our experience, the word ‘Probate’ is scary to some people. This is due to the fact that there are different ways of extracting the Grant of Probate and it has a different meaning for people depending on the makeup of various estates.
Here at Clarke & Son, our approach to estate administration is holistic and we look at everything that requires attention; not just the straightforward legal matters, but practical issues as well. We can also offer advice on Inheritance Tax and estate planning generally. As the composition of everyone’s estate is different, we have listed an illustration of some typical fees that we have recently charged on some of our estate administrations.
All costs information given here are general and we will give more personalised information later when a full quote is requested.
We charged £1200 plus VAT and disbursements.
When 85 year old Alice died, her husband, Peter, asked us to sort out Probate for her estate. This was a simple matter handled by an experienced Solicitor who is a member of STEP and SFE. We were able to sort out the entire matter in just over two months from being instructed. Our bill was £1200 plus VAT and disbursements. The reason the bill was this amount is because:
- Alice’s house was in the joint names of her and Peter so no complex conveyancing was required.
- No Inheritance Tax was payable.
- The assets we had to collect and distribute were just one savings account and one investment account with a total value of £120,000.
- There was only one Executor, namely Peter himself.
- There were only two beneficiaries in addition to Peter himself, namely their two children who were both adults.
- There were no trusts or other complexities involved in the estate administration.
- We had prepared Alice’s Will ourselves a few months before she passed away so much of the information which was needed, we had to hand.
- Peter was prompt and well organised in responding to our requests for papers and information.
In addition to our bill there were disbursements that would be payable at any firm and they were made up of:
– Probate application fee – £156
– Swearing of the Oath – £7
– Bankruptcy Searches – £2 per beneficiary
When Barbara died, two years after her husband, Gary, their son asked us to sort out Probate for her estate. We were able to sort out the entire matter in approximately five months from being instructed and our bill was just £4,000 plus VAT and disbursements.
The reasons the bill was as such were:
- Barbara’s house had recently been sold as she had gone into care and therefore there was no conveyancing required.
- Whilst her estate was valued at £500,000, there was no Inheritance Tax payable as we were able to transfer reliefs from Gary’s estate to ensure that there was no Inheritance Tax payable.
- The assets included three bank accounts, a handful of shares and an investment bond.
- There were two Executors, both of whom responded to our requests for paper information in a prompt and timely fashion.
- There were only four beneficiaries who were all adults and there were no trusts or other complexities involved.
- We had prepared Barbara’s Will ourselves and there was no issue with the Will which was very straightforward.
- We were able to deal with the paperwork for the Inland Revenue in a timely way and the Grant of Probate was issued relatively quickly. This was then registered with the various organisations which meant that the assets could be transferred into a cash sum and distributed promptly.
In addition to our bill there were disbursements that would be payable at any firm and they were made up of:
– Probate application fee – £157.50
– Swearing of the Oath – £14
– Bankruptcy Searches – £2 per beneficiary
– Statutory Notices in the London Gazette and local paper – £204.58
Casper was 68 when he died and his partner asked us to sort out Probate for his estate. This was handled by an experienced Solicitor who is a member of STEP and SFE. We were able to sort out the matter in approximately nine months from being instructed. Our bill was £8,700 plus VAT.
The reasons the bill was as such are:
- Casper had a house in his sole name and this needed to be sold during the course of the administration.
- We had to prepare complicated papers for HMRC as there was Inheritance Tax due on the estate.
- The assets we had to collect and distribute included several accounts, eight sets of shareholdings, some investment bonds and other investments with a total value of £700,000.
- There were three Executors, one of whom required constant updates from ourselves.
- There was only one beneficiary who was an adult and there were no trusts involved although the nature of some of the assets was quite complex.
- We handled all the paperwork in relation to the Probate application including the forms for HMRC in order to ensure all reliefs and exemptions were applied to the estate to reduce and mitigate the Inheritance Tax.
In addition to our bill there were disbursements that would be payable at any firm and they were made up of:
– Probate application fee – £170
– Swearing of the Oath – £21
– Bankruptcy Searches – £2 per beneficiary
– Statutory Notices in the London Gazette and local paper – £204.58
– In addition there were conveyancing fess of £800.
As you can see from the above illustrated cases, estate administrations can vary widely. We offer a complimentary, free-of-charge, initial meeting/consultation to discuss the estate administration and any ancillary issues. The ancillary issues can include:
- Looking at Inheritance Tax.
- Looking at asset-preservation and future planning.
- Dealing with land and property.
- Dealing with foreign property etc.
We can assist in practical aspects such as registering the death, organising funeral, clearing a property and so on.
Probate does not have to be scary or time-consuming and the sooner you can get the requisite expert advice on the estate administration, so that you know what you face in dealing with this aspect, the better. We understand from our clients this gives them peace of mind.
Intestacy
Sometimes people die without leaving a Will. In this instance you might need to apply to court for a Grant of Letters of Administration. This will enable us to be able to deal with the assets in the estate.
Where there is a Will it outlines the wishes of the Deceased, but where there is no Will, then the law decides on who should be the personal representative of the estate and the beneficiaries. In order to administer the estate under the intestacy rules, the personal representative/administrator may need the official authority of the Grant to act.
Sometimes, depending on the nature and value of the assets in the estate a Grant of Letters of Administration may not be required and we can advise you on this during an initial free consultation.
We can help you determine what should be done in order to administer the estate based on law. We can advise on how to collate the assets and liabilities in the estate, advise on the interpretation of the intestacy rules, prepare the application documentation for the Grant including forms for the Inland Revenue, pay taxes and draft Estate Accounts and advise on the distribution of assets.
There may be additional advice required concerning taxation and post-death variations.
What do you need to bring to the Estate Administration Meeting?
Please bring with you a copy of the death certificate, a copy Will (unless we hold the original), and information concerning the assets and liabilities in the estate. Also, contact addresses for any executors, or beneficiaries/family would also be useful.
Wills & Estate Planning Team
Contact Details
If you have any questions or would like to enquire about one of our services, please fill in the enquiry form below and one of the team will get back to you.
