Type of Application: Administration of an Estate where the Deceased has Died Intestate (Without a Will) in a Non-Taxable Estate
Costs: Our avarage fee is between £4,500 and £9,500 plus VAT at 20%, depending on the size of the estate.
Average Time: This type of work typically requires around 20 hours.
The exact number of hours depends on various factors, such as:
- The amount of supporting evidence needed
- Failure to cooperate with advice
- Disagreements among family members about who should be the personal representative
- Challenges in determining if a will was made
- Disputes among beneficiaries
- Unforeseen complexities
Costs are likely to be at the lower end if the case involves straightforward Letters of Administration for a non-taxable estate where the deceased died intestate.
Who will carry out the work?
Director & Associate Solicitor, assisted by Assistant Solicitor & Paralegal.
All work are supervised by a Director, who retains ultimate responsibility and conduct of matters.
Our fees:
Our fees are calculate based on the time spent on the on your matter. Less complex matter will normally involve less time and the lowers scale, while the more complex cross-border estates or matters subject to inheritance tax require more time. For estates that are straightforward and non-contentious, with the deceased domiciled in the UK and all assets in England and Wales, our estimate for our fees is:
- Estate value up to £5,000 – £1,500 + VAT
- Estate value £5,000 – £1m (no IHT) – £8,000 – £16,000 + VAT
- Estate value over £1m (no IHT) – £12,000 – £18,000 + VAT
- Estate subject to Inheritance Tax – £16,000 – £22,000 + VAT
What we included in our Services:
- Initial consultation to assess options and determine the most appropriate course of action
- Identifying the personal representative of the estate
- Determining the beneficiaries according to intestacy laws
- Identifying and valuing the assets
- Notifying all organizations with which the deceased had assets
- Obtaining valuations for property and contents
- Assisting in arranging for the property to be placed on the market
- Completing the IHT 205 form
- Preparing the oath and submitting the application for Letters of Administration
- Preparing a final estate account
- Distributing the assets
Additional Disbursements:
- Court fees (e.g. probate court fee, fees for additional copies of the grant of probate). Find updated list of court fees
- Other expenses such as the swearing of oath fee (£5.00 per executor)
- Law Society Gazette Wills & Whereabouts advertisement (£300-£500)
- London Gazette advertisement to protect against creditors (£185 plus VAT approximately)
We will inform you at the earliest opportunity and before any such fees are incurred if any of these additional costs apply.
Timescale:
- Estates in this range typically take between 5 and 18 months to process from initial instructions.
- Obtaining the Letters of Administration usually takes 7-26 weeks from initial instructions.
- Collecting assets follows, taking 6-15 weeks from obtaining the Letters of Administration.
- Distribution of assets typically takes 2-4 weeks after asset collection.
Please note that the estimated hours and fees are based on the information provided. All applications may vary, and we can offer a more accurate estimate once we have more details about your specific case.
