Wills, death, costs of solicitor

[Nerf]

We are trying to work out what the solicitors costs might be for being executor for a smallish estate. Paperwork organised, a couple of accounts and other assets, so dealing with this, probate, beneficiaries and invoices?
I know charge out rates differ, but how many hours etc would be average or normal?
Thanks

How much is the estate? You could tackle it yourself.

About 200k. Think it's too much stress over getting the paperwork right for dm really. She/I have done lots of easy bits - telling Dwp etc.

Hi

I'm a probate lawyer so will try to help you as best I can. Unfortunately it is not necessarily the value of the estate that determines the fee but the complexity. An estate can be worth £10m but if it is all in one bank account then it will be easier to deal with than an estate worth £500k which has a couple of properties, some shares and several bank accounts in it.

So you need to look at the estate assets and answer the following questions:

1. Is there a will ?
2. Is there a property ?
3. Is the property mortgaged ?
4. Are there any shares ?
5. Is there business or agricultural property ?
6. Is there any foreign property ( and I don't just mean a house in Spain; shares in Cadbury Schweppes, for example, are foreign property as they are listed on the US stock exchange and hellish to deal with) ?
7. How many beneficiaries are there ?
8. Are all their whereabouts known ?
9. Are there any charitable beneficiaries ?

10. Is there likely to be a claim against the estate ?

All these are factors which could affect the cost of dealing with an estate. So if you came to me and said for example:
There is a will; the assets are all cash and UK based investments; there are 3 beneficiaries and their whereabouts are all known, then I would estimate a fee of about £1000 - £1500 + VAT and disbursements in order to obtain the grant and wind up the estate. But as you can see there are many variables which can influence the final cost.

Hope this helps.

It's really surprisingly straightforward to do this yourself. I was sole executor and had an estate of under £30k and two beneficiaries - myself and a cat!

It only gets complicated if there's property involved.

Having just completed the probate myself for my late grandmother, I have saved several thousand pounds in solicitor fees.

It really is just a case of lots of emailing, obtaining specific forms and photocopying them to send copies off to various people, declaring various bits of information sometimes just to one source which can block declare n your behalf, shelling out some fees in the range of around a couple of hundred for the above, and a bit of waiting for replies.

I hear say of 'The Executor's Year' which is about how long solicitors will drag out the process, all the while charging you for every letter that says, 'The process is processing and meanwhile we are processing your fees ).

Of course, lawyers will insist it may incur added costs or complications if you do Probate yourself, because you are taking away work from them..

It's a fascinating process though.

Hello posh frock, thank you. Will was clear, small amount of shares, three bank accounts (uk) and all beneficiaries details handed over.
No IHT, no exciting chattels (right word?)
I think my mum is just worried about spending lots on a solicitor because she's joint exec and wants to do the right thing for the cousins (me included, although I want her to be stress free)

No property and no charitable donations.

Hi swindonian,
If it was me I would be happy to do it I think (I have a relevantish background) I'm really glad you found it straightforward, and that you and the cat have saved some milk money

Nerf that sounds quite straightforward and you should be able to find a lawyer who will do it for you at a reasonable cost if that's what you prefer.
Many firms ( including mine) will offer probate services on a fixed fee basis provided they have all the information up front so you will know from the outset what you are going to pay. Also bear in mind that probate application fees have recently increased and it is now £155 for a probate application made via a solicitor and £215 if made personally at the Probate Registry.

Of course, lawyers will insist it may incur added costs or complications if you do Probate yourself, because you are taking away work from them.

Yes, like the client of mine who overpaid inheritance tax to the tune of £66,000 because he wasn't aware of all the reliefs the estate was entitled to. Luckily we managed to get it back for him, with interest. We're not all out to fleece clients. Some of us actually want to help them. Please take your lawyer bashing elsewhere "Swindonian". It's not helpful to the OP.

Thanks, I know there's a tax to date of death to do, but only a few bills relating to the funeral etc. I did his tax return recently so waiting for the calculation. He did owe for a previous year to be collected this year so might remind the solicitor of that.
Mum is just lovely and has done lots of bits with me, but needs the security of someone legal I think.
Thanks for pointing out the additional costs, I will let her know as she may have to pay those in advance I guess?