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How much could probate or estate administration cost?

We recognise estates come in all shapes and sizes. That is why we base our estate administration or probate fees, not on the value of the estate, but on the work that is necessary to deal with the estate appropriately.

Before starting any work, we will spend an hour with you to discuss the estate and your needs. This will allow us to give you an estimate of our fees, clearly setting out what is and what is not included.

Our pricing offers good value for the extensive service and experience provided by our highly qualified team. You will have a single point of contact throughout and this will be the person carrying out the work. Your contact will be based in our nearest office.

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Full estate administration service

Our full estate administration service will provide you with expertise throughout the entire Probate process. This could include:

  • Providing initial advice
  • Gathering the necessary evidence needed for the Probate application
  • Applying for the Grant of Representation
  • Collecting in the estate assets
  • Paying tax, liabilities and legacies
  • Dealing with HMRC negotiations
  • Preparation of full estate accounts and tax returns
  • Distributing the residue of the estate to the entitled beneficiaries.

Our fees for this will vary depending upon the terms of the Will (or if the deceased died intestate), the size and complexity of the estate and the type of assets involved.

As a guide, the fees for full estate administration will typically start from:

Type Solicitor’s fees VAT at 20% Disbursements* Total
Straightforward estate £4,500 to £7,000 £900 to £1,400 Court fees: £300

4 Copy grants: £64

 £5,764 to £8,764
Moderate estate £12,000 to £20,000 £2,400 to £4,000 Court fees: £300

6 Copy grants: £96

 £14,796 to £24,396
Very complex estate (price from) £50,000 £10,000 Court fees: £300

10 Copy grants: £160

 £60,460

* Further disbursements may apply, please see below for examples

Costs can be reduced considerably if family members are prepared to help with the non-legal tasks such as clearing personal items, meeting with estate agents and transferring utilities. These aspects can often be time-consuming but do not usually require our expertise.

Before undertaking any work, we will meet with you to review the Will and discuss the estate. We will then give you a fee estimate – which is a range of costs that we believe we could incur when dealing with the estate. We will also give you a fixed fee alternative. If you chose a fixed fee option you’ll know exactly how much the estate administration will cost. Probate Court fees, other disbursements and the costs of selling property are payable in addition to our fees.

Legal costs for those who want to be more hands on

If you would prefer to carry out some of the work yourself but want the certainty that the important application for the Grant of Probate (or Grant of Letters of Administration) has been professionally dealt with, then we offer a ‘Grant Only Service’. You gather the information and evidence of values as at the date of death and, once the Grant is issued by the Court, you carry on with the estate administration. If you need any more help from us with the estate we can help as additional work/fees. We only offer our Grant Only Service where there is no inheritance tax (IHT) due.

Our Grant only fees are from:

Type Solicitor’s fees VAT at 20% Disbursements* Total
Simple grant only £2,500 £500 Court fees: £300

4 Copy grants: £64

 £3,364
Grant only – IHT 400 needed, no IHT due £3,500 £700 Court fees: £300

4 Copy grants: £64

 £4,564

* Further disbursements may apply, please see below for examples

Please contact us to discuss in more detail what is included in this service.

Hourly rates

Fees are charged on a time spent basis in accordance with hourly charge out rates (subject to VAT at 20%) reviewed annually. Other teams may charge different hourly rates, but we would advise you in advance of any changes to rates set out below. Current rates from 1 April 2025 are as follows:

Status Hourly rate VAT at 20% Total (per hour)
Partners/Consultants £420 £84 £504
Senior Associates £300 – £370 £60 – £74 £360 – £444
Associates £260 – £300 £52 – £60 £312 – £360
Solicitors/Legal Executives £220 – £240 £44 – £48 £264 – £288
Trainees £185 – £220 £37 – £44 £222 – £264
Paralegals £120 – £220 £24 – £44 £144 – £264

VAT & disbursements

Our fees and some disbursements are subject to VAT at 20%. Disbursements are charges payable in addition to our fees, normally to a third party. They can include fees payable to the Land Registry, barristers or search providers. The amount charged for the disbursements depends upon a number of variables so we will be able to advise you of the correct charges when we have further information from you.

Examples of disbursements include:

Disbursement Amount VAT at 20% Total Payable
Probate court fees £300 N/A £300
Grant Fee (per copy) £16 N/A £16
Statutory advertisements £165 £33 £198
Valuation fees: such as for property, jewellery or shares £150 – £1,000 £30 – £200 £180 – £1,200
Bankruptcy searches £6 per search £1.20 £7.20

We will discuss these with you in our initial meeting.

To give you an idea of the legal costs involved, we have provided two illustrative examples, originally based on real cases. One is a straightforward situation that would take a few months. The other is much more complex and would take considerably longer to resolve.

Case studies

A simple administration of a modest estate A more involved estate administration
Mr A, married with one son and two grandchildren, died leaving an estate consisting of:

  • a family home owned as joint tenants with his surviving wife;
  • a portfolio of investments managed by a wealth manager; and
  • both joint and sole bank accounts.

He had made lifetime gifts but in the seven years before his death all gifts were covered by his annual exemptions.

His Will appointed his wife and son as executors, left legacies to his son and grandchildren and the residue of his estate to his surviving wife.

Our fees at present hourly rates would be in the region of:

Fees: £6,800

VAT at 20% on fees: £1,360

Disbursements: £393 (probate fee, grant fee, bankruptcy search fees)

Giving a total of: £8,553.

In this example, the value of the estate is £464,000 and the estate administration would take around 11 months.

 Mrs D, a widow, died in a nursing home. Her assets consisted of:

  • an apartment in an attractive seafront retirement complex;
  • three bank accounts and National Savings Certificates;
  • foreign currency;
  • various antiques and jewellery which were sold at auction;
  • a portfolio of investments with a wealth manager; and two further directly held investments.

Mrs D was the beneficiary of a trust which was dealt with separately but impacted on the taxation of the estate.

Mrs D had made 12 reportable lifetime gifts in the seven years prior to her death most of which were identified on a comprehensive review of her bank statements by us as her executors had limited knowledge of her financial arrangements.

Her Will left 21 cash legacies to individuals and charities.

The residue of her estate after tax and expenses was split equally between 13 beneficiaries a number of which were living overseas.

The retirement apartment was already on the market at the date of death and took a further 18 months to sell which delayed the completion of the estate considerably.

Our fees at present hourly rates would be in the region of:

Fees: £42,000

VAT at 20% on fees: £8,400

Disbursements: £1,503 (probate fee, grant fee, statutory adverts, valuation fee, asset searches, bankruptcy search fees, foreign bankruptcy searches)

Giving a total of: £51,903.

In this example, the value of the estate is approximately £1.55 million. The estate administration would take around 30 months to complete.

Contact a probate and estate administration Solicitor

Email Samantha Neagle
Samantha Neagle

Samantha Neagle

Partner

Bristol
Samantha specialises in the administration of deceased estates with a particular focus on the complex estates of high net worth individuals often involving intellectual property, business and foreign assets.
View profile for Samantha Neagle >
Email Rebecca Clarke
Rebecca Clarke

Rebecca Clarke

Partner

Manchester
Rebecca is an experienced solicitor dealing with all aspects of private client work from capital taxes planning and Court of Protection work, to advising private family charitable trusts to dealing with contested probate cases.
View profile for Rebecca Clarke >

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