Solicitor cost for probate what to expect?

[Babymamamama]

Any solicitors or executors able to advise please? Would be super appreciated as I have no clue. Sadly a beloved elderly relative had recently passed.

I have had a couple of solicitor firms give me an estimate of cost for them handling the probate for myself and the other executors. The quotes seem quite high to me. Would anyone mind sharing their experiences of this? To get an idea what is actually reasonable. I’m wondering if the charge varies based on the size of the estate, or the complexity. Or other factors? TIA.

Mostly, it depends on the time they have to spend on the job. For a very simple estate, i.e. just savings in a bank account, then obviously, it's a very quick and simple job to go through the form filling etc. For someone with pensions, a property to sell, various bank accounts, various shareholdings, etc., it's going to take a lot of time just to sort the wheat from the chaff of sorting through paperwork etc to find what's what and then deal with each organisation. Some solicitors may charge a percentage of the estate, which obviously isn't good for a simple high value estate, but could well work out cheaper than "per time" for a complicated low value estate. For typical, relatively easy estate of savings, pension, house to sell, etc., I'd say £5k - £10k would be a ball park figure, but I could easily see it going up beyond £10k if there are multiple accounts/multiple properties/multiple investments, and especially if the paperwork is the typical jumbled mess.

Our solicitor for my dads estate is charging £3500 plus vat. Fairly simple estate, about £250k in bank (house was sold shortly before he died unexpectedly), car and 2 pensions.

When my last parent died it left a house , investments , bank & building society acs , and pensions.
The will had me as an executor , and I decided to do it myself.
I did nothing at all for a few months to a!low myself time , then sent away for the paperwork , again didn't rush and just went through it bit by bit not putting any pressure on myself. It was fairly straightforward and not too onerous and totally doable.

I've been told they want 3% of value of estate - even if it is large but shop around. If the estate is below a certain value and very straight forward then they could quote a set fee. Or they may charge by the hour. Ask in advance.

My brother and myself did DM's a few years ago, high value, but simple in terms of house and cash only. It was really simple, and there's lots of help on-line, and also the probate office are very helpful if you have any queries.

Thanks all for your responses which are really appreciated. Interesting to hear people’s experiences. I’m going to have to be brave and pick a solicitor as I am too unconfident with forms to handle it myself.

It is really very straightforward to do it yourself. I wouldn’t waste the money on a solicitor.

It’s very easy to do it yourself online OP. At least try it and then consult a solicitor if you feel you can’t do it. If his estate is straightforward it isnt difficult.

13k was a simple estate took 2 years. Total rip off.

DH and I have done it 3 times between us. Honestly it has been really straightforward and took a few months each time. My great aunt's estate (equally straightforward) was dealt with by a solicitor and took two years.

You don't have to choose a solicitor, you can use an accountant ( with suitable qualification) or a probate firm, I am not sure if the co-op have a specialised probate dept. Your bank may recommend one.

I was quoted about 6k for a simple estate with no tax payable . I did it myself . There is plenty of government guidance online on process and the forms . It does take a bit of time and concentration but not 6k worth

If it’s a straightforward estate then I would have a go yourself online. The forms look intimidating to begin with, but many sections may not apply. A solicitor may be willing to oversee it before you submit it.

I just did my mum's by myself, a straightforward estate of house, car, several accounts and pensions. One phone call to the probate helpline to help clarify about my deceased father's allowance also being eligible, and that was that. If you take your time, then you can do it. Caveat being, we had no inheritance tax to pay x

I did both my Dads and father in laws probate myself. They had houses and money in bank, both were under inheritance tax due to both being married and widowed. I had valuations for the houses and had bank statements showing how much money there was in various bank accounts. I phoned the Probate Office helpline who were very helpful and told me which forms I had to fill in. I did them myself and had a couple of queries, but again phoned and a lady went through the forms with me. I did ask what would happen if I put something in wrong and was told not to worry, they would contact if there was anything not right. I’m so glad I did it myself as not only did we save money, but probate on both occasions only took around 8/10 weeks to complete.

We've just done my dad's online. My sister and I both said 'is that it?' when we finished the form because it was so much easier than we expected.

I have just completed probate. The forms (particularly those relating to inheritance tax) are fairly straightforward (if a little long), however, the time consuming process is collecting all the information together. Each bank/building society has a different process. The post office took over three months to give us the information. I found it useful to print out the forms first and make a list of the information that was needed (which I kept on a spreadsheet and updated with any progress or issues). The actual probate form was quite easy to complete online. I am glad I did it as I have a much better understanding of the situation. I also think it took less time than if we had employed a professional.

Tbh if you're use a solicitor you still have to gather all the information. Once you've done that, the online form is very easy.

I did my mums probate myself that’s was in Dec 2019 and I got probate in January 2020

I used a company called Farewill in 2021 for when my father died as the house was in a trust via my mums death so a bit more complicated
They did the probate side of it
cost roughly 700 inc VAT

They sent me all the stuff that needed to be completed and then I sent it back
I got weekly updates by email and it took roughly 7 weeks to do

I paid 100 on account and the balance when i got probate.

if your organized and have all the details such as bank accounts money savings how much the property is worth
National insurance number death certificates and you have a Will then they are very good yo use as you know it’s done correctly and you still have control over everything

they do a complete service where they do everything that an executor has to do such as selling the property and distributing to beneficiaries and I think this was around 3k inc VAT

Thanks all this info is so useful. I’m such a novice. And kind of feel embarrassed to ask anyone in real life as death/inheritance etc are such delicate subjects.

I used a solicitor to get a grant of probate last year. The estate comprised a house, a number of bank accounts, some investments. Nothing complicated. I did all the information gathering myself, which was straightforward by using the Death Certificate, so I was able to hand over a breakdown of the values of all of the different components of the estate to the solicitor. The bill for all of the work and the fees was slightly over £1000.

Farewill were advertising in the weekend newspaper and really helpful to see a review above.

Have a look at the form on-line before you instruct a solicitor. It is very straightforward and the site guides you step by step. You could have a go at the form and if you then feel it is too much, you could put it in the hands of the solicitor.

My Mum died in May and I applied for Probate which was granted after about 9 weeks. I think it cost less than GPB300.

Have just done it myself it was really simple once I got my head round the jargon. Saved thousands

I did it myself. The probate office is more than helpful. Afterwards you will be glad you didn't pay fees to a solicitor.