Probate and Estate Administration Costs

Last updated on December 17th, 2020 at 10:23 am

Graysons has been carrying out probate and the administration of estates since 1925.

Anne Rogers is the partner who heads the department and supervises all probate matters.  Our private client advisors, Chris Shaw and Laura Cowan also carry out probate work.

Our fees are based on various factors, including the complexity of the matter, the level of assistance required to complete the work, the value of the estate and disbursements that have to be paid.  Whilst it is difficult to give an accurate estimate of costs before we have detailed information about the estate to be administered, our experience shows that the following chart of costs will cover many situations.

Work type	Description	Cost
Extraction of grant (IHT205)	Take instructions from executor, extract grant and hand to executor to deal with administration. Executor to gather and provide all relevant information for application.	£750 Plus VAT and disbursements.
Extraction of grant (IHT205)	Take instructions but Graysons Solicitors to gather all information relating to assets and liabilities. Grant extracted and passed to executor to deal with estate.	£800 – £1,000 dependent on complexity. Plus VAT and disbursements.
Extraction of grant (IHT205) and completion of transfer of NRB (IHT217)	Executor to provide all information relevant for completion of IHT205 and IHT217 application. Graysons Solicitors to obtain necessary information to complete NRB (IHT217).	£1,000 – £1,500 Plus VAT and disbursements.
Grant and completion of IHT400	Graysons Solicitors to obtain all relevant information and complete form IHT400. Grant passed to executor for administration of estate.	From £2,000 to £3,000 dependent on complexity. Plus VAT and disbursements.
Grant, transfer of NRB and completion of IHT400	Non-taxable estate – simple will consisting of a limited number of assets.	From £1,500 Plus VAT and disbursements.
	Non-taxable estate – complex will with varied assets.	From £2,500 Plus VAT and disbursements.
Grant, transfer of NRB and completion of IHT400	Taxable estate – simple will consisting of a limited number of assets.	From £2,500 Plus VAT and disbursements.
	Taxable estate – complex will with varied assets.	From £3,500 Plus VAT and disbursements.
Full estate administration	Estate value of up to £300,000	£2,000 and 1% of the estate’s gross value and 0.5% of the property value. Plus VAT and disbursements.
	Estate value of £300,001 to £500,000	£2,500 and 1% of the estate’s gross value and 0.5% of the property value. Plus VAT and disbursements.
	Estate value of £500,001 to £1,000,000	£3,000 and 1% of the estate’s gross value and 0.5% of the property value. Plus VAT and disbursements.
	Estate value of £1,000,001 and above	£3,500 and 1% of the estate’s gross value and 0.5% of the property value. Plus VAT and disbursements.
	Payment of residue of estate to charities, dealing with all aspects of administration and distribution.	From £3,000 dependent on complexity. Plus VAT and disbursements. Plus 1% uplift for complex assets.
Administration only	For collection in of assets where a grant is not required. Payment of liabilities and distribution.	From £1,000 dependent on amount of administration to be done – fixed fee (based on an hourly rate).

 

Who will deal with Probate and Estate Administration?

Probate and Estate Administration is dealt with by Solicitors, Legal Executives and Private Client advisors of appropriate and equivalent experience, assisted by graduates, trainee solicitors and trainee legal executives subject to appropriate supervision. For more information please refer to our Meet the team

Qualification	Hourly Rate
Partner / Solicitor	£201 – £250
Legal Executive	£201 – £225
Senior Private Client Advisor	£177 – £201
Private Client Advisor	£146 – £177

 
Hourly rates will be capped where a fixed fee has been offered

There is no inclusion within the costs above for any conveyancing related to, and required as a result of, the administration of the estate. These costs will be quoted for separately.

Where unforeseen circumstances, or matters that protract the completion of the matter, are encountered, we reserve the right to vary the above costs. We will advise you as quickly as possible when we become aware of any such events.