Wills & Probate Fees

Take a look at our probate and will writing fees

Our Birmingham-based in Birmingham team of solicitors understands that transparent fees make the will writing process much more straightforward. Take a look at our fees below.

Wills, Trusts, Probate, and Lasting Power of Attorney

Please note that our fixed or estimated fees for Wills and Probate work are based upon a matter having standard features. They give an indication of the likely range of prices in most instances. However if your matter has non-standard features such as complex property, family relationships, dispositions or risks, then we may not be able to assist you for the fees shown on our website. In that instance we may give you an alternative fee quote based on hourly rates or further fixed or estimated fees.

Wills		Cost
Level 1 Wills:	• We send out a link to our Wills instruction form for you to complete as far as possible and return in advance so that it ensures we can get your Will done in one visit.	£300 Single Will - £400 Mirror Wills (plus VAT and ID check)
	• If you are not on email then we can send a Will pre-appointment questionnaire in the post so that we can get the Will done for you in one visit if you return the questionnaire beforehand.
	• If you want to attend to provide instructions and we then draft the Will and go through it with you before signing all in one attendance (and you don’t want to pre-complete a questionnaire either through our online system or by bringing in a pre-appointment questionnaire we send to you in the post).
Level 2 Wills - Multiple Legacies	• Suitable if the Will is more complicated, requires multiple legacies or you would like a draft to be sent to you to consider further. This option is also suitable if you would like to attend to provide instructions, we then draft the Will and go through it with you before signing all in one attendance.	£375 Single Will - £450 Mirror Wills (plus VAT and ID check)
	• Should you need to leave someone out of your Will an additional £90 including VAT will be payable to cover the cost of the advice we need to give you on the implications of this.
Level 3 Wills	• Wills to include a trust to protect against factors which could affect the surviving spouse/civil partner together with the relevant deed to ensure that the jointly owned property is owned in such a way to allow a half share to pass into a trust on the first death.	£400 Single Will - £600 Mirror Wills (plus VAT and ID check)
Level 4 Wills	• This is for people who wish to receive inheritance tax planning advice related to their Will so as to leave as much as possible to their chosen beneficiaries through minimising inheritance tax paid. These Wills can involve the use of trusts to plan to minimise the impact of inheritance tax and is more particularly aimed at married couples/civil partners due to the tax exemptions provided to them*.	£1,555
	• *If you are not married or in a civil partnership we would be able to advise you on inheritance tax planning options which advice would be charged on the hourly rates of the person assisting you.

Probate
Grant of probate/grant of letters of administration only where no Inheritance Tax is payable –	• Executors/administrators can then deal with the administration of the estate after we have obtained the grant for them.	£1,200 plus third party costs (disbursements)* and VAT
	• If Inheritance Tax is payable or there are other tax matters arising we will agree a fee with you based on the hourly rates of the person dealing with the matter. Complex estates involving tax matters tend to be handled by more senior solicitors and staff and our average hourly rate for them is £225 plus VAT.
Dealing with entire estate (obtaining grant, collecting in assets and distributing to beneficiaries)	• For average estate values which are under £325,000 and with no inheritance tax payable, where this is the case our average prices are: 3% of the gross value of the estate plus third party costs and VAT.
	• This means, for example, that if the estate is worth £250,000 before deduction of debts and other expenses then our fees would be £7,500 plus third party costs and VAT.
	• We charge a minimum fee of £3,000 plus third party costs (disbursements)* and VAT.
	• If Inheritance Tax is payable or there are other tax matters arising we will agree a fee with you based on the hourly rates of the person dealing with the matter. Complex estates involving tax matters tend to be handled by more senior solicitors and staff and our average hourly rate for them is £225 plus VAT.
*Third party costs	• Probate Court fee of £273 plus VAT
	• £1.50 plus VAT for each office copy of the grant required (1 per asset usually)
	• £20.00 plus VAT HM Land Registry official copy entry
	• £20.00 plus VAT bankruptcy search
	• £100.00 plus VAT for electronic ID search
	• HM Land Registry registration fees based on scales and the value and status of the property - between £30 and £200.
	• Other third party costs will be advised as required, e.g. accountant’s fee for potential income tax return, statutory advertisement fee to advertise for unknown creditors, asset tracing fee
	• There may be additional third party costs for lost share certificates and share registrar and/or sale agent fees on transfer or sale of the shares
	• S27 Advertisements in the London Gazette and a local newspaper in from £150 - £300 depending on the local newspaper advertising costs
	• Stockbroker fees - £25 - £150 depending on the number of shareholdings to be dealt with

Lasting Power of Attorneys
	A single Property and Affairs Lasting Power of Attorney document	£682 inc VAT (which includes a £600 solicitor’s fee and £82 Court fees)
	A pair of similar Property and Affairs Lasting Power of Attorney documents	£1,064 inc VAT (which includes a £900 solicitor’s fee and £164 Court fees)
	A pair of similar Property and Affairs Lasting Power of Attorney documents PLUS a pair of similar Health and Welfare Lasting Powers of Attorney documents	£1,768 inc VAT (which includes a £1,440 solicitor’s fee and £328 Court fees)

Trusts
	Bare trust holding cash	1,500 -£2000
	Lifetime discretionary trust or life interest trust designed to hold cash or investments	£2000 - £3000

Key stages and what is included in our pricing

If you instruct us to obtain a grant only and you administer the estate then the key stages and what is included in our prices is:

Preparing the relevant HMRC forms and Statement of Truth from the probate valuations obtained by you
Placing statutory advertisements (if required)
Carrying out a Certainty Search if required
Helping you to ensure that the relevant HMRC forms and Statement of Truth are correct and suitable to be signed
Lodging your application for the Grant of Representation at the Probate Registry
Providing you with the Grant of Representation and sealed copies.

If you instruct us to obtain a grant and administer the estate then the key stages and what is included in our prices is:

Valuing the estate assets
Obtaining details of outstanding debts
Arranging payment of the funeral from estate funds (if required)
Placing statutory advertisements (if required)
Carrying out a Certainty Search if required
Preparing the relevant HMRC forms and Statement of Truth
Arranging payment of Inheritance Tax where necessary
Helping you to ensure that the relevant HMRC forms and Statement of Truth are correct and suitable to be signed
Lodging your application for the Grant of Representation at the Probate Registry
Collecting in the assets
Paying the debts from estate funds
Liaising with HMRC in respect of income tax for the current tax year up to date of death
Instructing an accountant to complete additional tax returns (if required)
Preparing estate and distribution accounts
Distributing the estate to the beneficiaries