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It may be a difficult time when someone dies who is very close to you. At this hard time, you need to deal with the paperwork to apply for the probate which could be a complex and lengthy process.
When someone dies, you may require Probate and Estate Administration Services and need a professional help to get matters sorted smoothly.
At The Stan Lee, we try our best to have one step less stress in your distressing experience.
Do I need a Probate if I lost my loved one? The answer is that it depends. There are some certain circumstances as follows where a Probate application will not be necessary:
However, in other circumstances, you definitely need to apply for a Probate and some of the cases are as follow:
You have several steps for the whole process of Probate and Estate matters and that starts from (a) the immediate post-death affairs, (b) Estate valuation (c) IHT return and payment, (d) the Grant application, and ending with (e) Estate Administration (post-grant).
We are flexible and you can choose us to pass the entire process or the specific areas where you need our help. The key services relating to the Probate are:
Stan Lee Probate Limited will prepare and submit the application for the grant of representation and associated IHT forms and our legal fees for Probate matter in the below.
The other services including; estate valuation, IHT computation, estate accounts and other will be under Stan Lee Accountancy Ltd. Our fixed fee is at 1% for estate administration matters depending on estate value. Additional fees could applicable for Income Tax and Capital Gains Tax matters where appropriate.
Depending on the complexity of the estate, it takes around 6 to 12 months to complete the entire Estate Administration.
Estate value of £325,000 or below | £1,250 + VAT of £250 (Total fees: £1,500) |
Estate value between £325,001 and £650,000 | £1,500 + VAT of £300 (Total fees: £1,800) |
Estate value between £650,001 and £1,000,000 | £2,500 + VAT of £500 (Total fees: £3,000) |
Estate value above £1,000,000 | approximately £500 for each additional £500k |
Disbursements required to complete the work, which are paid to other organisations and our professional fees exclude any disbursements:
Probate application fee (paid to Probate Registry) | £300 |
Fee for each additional grant of probate (paid to Probate Registry) | £1.50 |
Professional valuation fees (paid to accredited valuer) | £600 |
Notice to London Gazette (paid to service provider) | £150.96 |
Notice to local paper (paid to service provider) | £120 |
Transfer of ownership of property (paid to authorised conveyancing firm) | £600 |
Those disbursements can vary due to the fact that they are provided by external service providers, so a more accurate price indication will be provided to you after our initial free and non-obligation consultation meeting and prior to you taking our services.
Please find the following scenarios as examples regarding the total costs involved for your probate and estate administration matters. Third party costs vary because they come from external providers. After our initial free consultation, we will give you a more accurate price before you decide to use our services.
Example 1: Application for Grant of Probate and Estate Administration (Simple Estate)
An estate consisting of a single residential property, up to two bank accounts, and no more than two beneficiaries. The estate’s value is £325,000, and no Inheritance Tax (IHT) is applicable.
Particulars | Cost (£) | VAT @ 20% (£) | Total (£) |
Our fees: Legal fees for probate application Estate administration fees (£325,000*1%) |
1,250 3,250 |
250 650 |
1,500 3,900 |
Applicable disbursements: Professional valuation fees Conveyancing fees Probate Court Fee Copies of the Grant (1 extra copy) Notice to local paper |
500 500 300 1.50 100 |
100 100 Nil Nil 20 |
600 600 300 1.50 120 |
Total Price | 5,901.50 | 1,120 | 7,021.50 |
All fees are payable directly to Stan Lee Accountancy Ltd, the accounting firm. The estate administration fee (under our accounting firm) is calculated at 1% of the estate’s value, and it will fluctuate according to the precise valuation.
Please be aware that property valuation and conveyancing fees are charges incurred by third party providers and can vary significantly. However, a quotation will always be obtained before engaging the services of such third parties
Example 2: Application for Grant of Probate and Estate Administration (Moderate Estate)
The scenario involves an estate valued is £650k, including one residential property, three bank accounts, and four beneficiaries, with no inheritance tax payable.
Particulars | Cost (£) | VAT @ 20% (£) | Total (£) |
Our fees: Legal fees for probate application Estate administration fees (£650,000*1%) |
1,500 6,500 |
300 1,300 |
1,800 7,800 |
Applicable disbursements: Professional valuation fees Conveyancing fees Probate Court Fee Copies of the Grant (1 extra copy) Notice to local paper |
500 500 300 1.50 100 |
100 100 Nil Nil 20 |
600 600 300 1.50 120 |
Total Price | 9,401.50 | 1,820 | 11,221.50 |
All fees are payable directly to Stan Lee Accountancy Ltd, the accounting firm. The estate administration fee (under our accounting firm) is calculated at 1% of the estate’s value, and it will fluctuate according to the precise valuation.
Please be aware that property valuation and conveyancing fees are charges incurred by third party providers and can vary significantly. However, a quotation will always be obtained before engaging the services of such third parties.
Example 3: Application for Grant of Probate and Estate Administration (Complex Estate)
An estate valued is £1m includes two residential properties, four banks, shares, six beneficiaries, and is subject to inheritance tax.
Particulars | Cost (£) | VAT @ 20% (£) | Total (£) |
Our fees: Legal fees for probate application Estate administration fees (£1,000,000*1%) |
2,500 10,000 |
500 2,000 |
3,000 12,000 |
Applicable disbursements: Professional valuation fees Conveyancing fees Probate Court Fee Copies of the Grant (4 extra copies) Notice to London Gazette Notice to local paper |
1,000 1,000 300 6 125.80 100 |
200 200 Nil Nil 25.16 20 |
1,200 1,200 300 6 150.96 120 |
Total Price | 15,031.80 | 2,945.16 | 17,976.96 |
All fees are payable directly to Stan Lee Accountancy Ltd, the accounting firm. The estate administration fee (under our accounting firm) is calculated at 1% of the estate’s value, and it will fluctuate according to the precise valuation.
Please be aware that property valuation and conveyancing fees are charges incurred by third party providers and can vary significantly. However, a quotation will always be obtained before engaging the services of such third parties.
Please note that this figure does not account for the inheritance tax paid from the estate. Additionally, this example excludes considerations related to Income Tax and Capital Gains Tax where applicable.
Example 4: Application for Grant of Probate and Estate Administration (Large and Complex Estate)
If the estate value is above £1m, our legal fee for probate matters will increase by approximately £500 for each additional £500k of the estate. We will confirm this at the initial stage, prior to starting our service. For example, our legal fees are £2,500 (£3,000 with VAT) for an estate value of £1m. If your estate value is £1.5m, our legal fees will be £3,000 (£3,600 with VAT). Our estate administration and thirdparty disbursements will be similar to the above examples.
At The Stan Lee, our aim is to provide the complete support on your Probate affairs and to do so we may use outsourcing in some points (for instance; complex tax planning, estate valuation and others). For further information about The Stan Lee and find out how we can help on your Probate and IHT affairs, please contact us or visit our office, we love to hear from you.
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We are required by our professional bodies to have separate entity and therefore, there are two firms involved. Both firms are required to have Professional Indemnity Insurance (details of the PII available in our office upon request).
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