WSP Solicitors award three new Associate promotions
It is with great pleasure that WSP Solicitors can announce we have promoted three of our Solicitors to Associate Solicitor level within the business. From October 1st, 2022, Lydia Andrews,...
Wills, Trusts and Probate Solicitors
When a loved one dies leaving a Will, the responsibility for the administration of their Estate rests with the Executor named in the Will.
The Executor must identify and collect in the deceased person’s assets, pay any liabilities and distribute the deceased’s estate in accordance with the Will. The Executor may need to apply for a Grant of Probate, which is a legal document which confirms that the Executor has the authority to deal with the deceased’s assets (for example, their house or bank accounts).
We can assist an Executor, at what will be a difficult and emotional time, by undertaking on his or her behalf the administration of the deceased’s estate. This is a full “Estate Administration Service”. We also offer a “Grant of Probate only Service”, where an Executor provides us with the information we need to apply for a Grant of Probate, which we deliver to the Executor once received.
Completing an Administration of Estate can be broken down into three main stages which are as follows:
Where a person dies without leaving a Will, their assets are distributed using the Rules of Intestacy. We will be able to advise you how the Rules of Intestacy may apply to you in your individual circumstances.
The procedure and costs will mirror the administration of an estate where the deceased person left a Will, although the administration may involve genealogical research in tracking down all of the beneficiaries entitled to share in the estate.
Your matter will be undertaken by a member of our Wills, Trusts and Probate team. View the team’s profiles on our Meet the Team page. Whilst we welcome a request for a specific member of the Wills, Trusts and Probate team to act on your behalf, please note this may not always be possible, for example we may have another team member who has skills more suited to your matter.
Our Wills, Trusts and Probate team is supervised by Head of Department Kirstie Carr and Deputy Head Robert Selwood.
There is no typical estate. However, we estimate that a Grant of Probate is usually obtained within 6 months of the deceased’s death, although the Probate Registry is currently experiencing difficulties in producing Grants of Probate following the implementation of a new computer system and has a significant backlog of applications. Collecting in the deceased’s assets and settling any liabilities can take between 3 and 6 months. We can distribute, then prepare estate accounts and distribute the deceased person’s assets within a further 2 months.
The timescales are based on our experience of a “standard” estate administration. However, there are factors that may delay the estate administration including:
We offer clients a choice of two different pricing models (subject to appropriateness) which are set out below and called “Hourly Rate” and “Fixed Percentage”.
We can complete the administration of estate based on our time spent. The benefit of this approach is you only pay for the time required to undertake the administration of estate.
Our current charge rates range from £100 to £295 per hour. We estimate that a ‘straightforward estate’ will take between 5 and 20 hours to administer which will be charged at out hourly rates. It is important you note that:
Alternatively, we can undertake the administration of estate based on a fixed percentage of the gross estate value. The benefits of this approach are:
The fixed percentage is generally set at 2% unless it is the death of a spouse who is survived by their partner, in which case it is 1%. An additional 0.2% is charged where we act as an executor, reflecting the responsibilities we conduct and risks we are exposed to on behalf of the estate. It is important you note that:
Given each estate is different, we recommend that we always meet with an Executor so that we can provide an estimate of costs. This is especially important when the estate may include more complex assets e.g. business or agricultural property.
We offer a fixed fee appointment lasting approximately one hour to release a will to the executors of an estate (following the death of the Testator/Testatrix) to discuss the Will/intestacy, duties of the executors and estate administration. The charge for this is set at £250 plus VAT and disbursements including the cost of an Equifax search (£10 plus VAT).
Should the appointment lead to further instructions being provided, such as; obtaining Grant of Probate in the estate or full estate administration, then the initial charge would be incorporated into the overall charges in place for this work. (Eg. If the executors proceed to instruct us to obtain a Grant of Probate with information they have provided, we would still only charge £1,500 plus VAT and disbursements and not £1,750 plus VAT and disbursements).
In addition to our charges above, clients may also be required to pay additional fees for the following services:
You will also be required to pay fees for the following:
Thirdfort ID fee (Where required) ID administration fee (Equifax) Bank Transfer administration fee (for a three day payment using BACS) Bank Transfer administration fee (for a same day payment using CHAPS) Home Visit within 10 miles of a branch Home visit over 10 miles from a branch |
£24 £12 £24
£48 £90 50% of the hourly rate |
£20 £10 £20
£40 £75 50% of the hourly rate |
In the majority of Estate Administration matters we expect to pay the below third party expenses on your behalf. It is important you note we do not make any money from these payments and this is not an exhaustive list.
You will also be required to pay fees for the following:
Probate Registry fees £155.00 (plus £1.50 for each sealed copy obtained at the same time as the Grant of Probate) VAT free
Trustee Act Notices Approximately £255.00 VAT free
Bankruptcy search £2.00 per individual VAT free
Chartered Surveyor’s or Valuer’s fees Approximately £180.00 to £250.00 including VAT
Certainty National Wills Register Search Basic search £45.60 including VAT
If you decide to cancel your instructions to us, we will charge an abortive fee. This fee will be based on the amount of work we have undertaken (expressed in the time recorded on your file) and charged at our Wills, Trusts and Probate team member’s hourly rate.
We will also charge you any payments to third parties we have incurred on your behalf.
I have nothing but praise for all of the people I have dealt with over the years. Nothing has been too much trouble and I would have no hesitation in recommending them.P. Browne
A very thorough and professional company. Always found staff to be very approachable, helpful and very clear in their explanations of all options available to me. Would strongly recommend WSP.D. Maton
WSP is the one-stop superstore for all your legal requirements. It is staffed with friendly, professional and expert people who are a pleasure to deal with. As a long term user of the company I always recommend WSP to all of my friends based on my own happy experience.D. Wilkins
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