Estate Administration

When is it necessary to obtain probate?

When someone dies it is often necessary for the executor(s) of the Will (or if someone has died intestate the Administrator(s)) to obtain a Grant of Representation in the estate.

This generally happens when there are funds in the estate exceeding £10,000-£15,000.

When does it get complicated?

When someone dies there are often many details which have to be sorted through. If someone dies and leaves in excess of the nil rate band (and in other circumstances also) it is necessary to complete an Inland Revenue Inheritance Tax account.

This now consists of in excess of 40 pages and is something of a daunting task to complete. In addition to Inheritance Tax there can quite often be Capital Gains Tax implications in an estate.

As a result it may well be worth instructing a solicitor to deal with such matters.

How much will you charge?

Many solicitors charge both a Value element and a Time element in relation to an estate. We do not generally do this. We simply charge for our time spent in administering an estate and we do not take commission from the estate itself. We would normally charge out at a rate between £180 - £195 plus VAT.