Probate

At Corfield Solicitors, the cost of instructing us to support you in dealing with the administration of the estate of your loved one will be based on how much assistance you need from us. We offer two different services accordingly:

1. Our “Full Administration” Service
If you wish for us to deal with all the legal aspects of the estate on your behalf from start to finish, then you may wish to use our Full Administration Service. A full breakdown of what is included in this service is set out below.

2. Our “Grant Application” Service
If you feel confident dealing with most of the administrative aspects of the estate yourself but need support in submitting Inheritance Tax returns (if applicable) and the Probate application, then you may wish to opt for our Grant Application Probate Service. More details of this service are set out below.

Full Administration Service

Sometimes Executors wish to instruct us to undertake the full administration of the estate, just wishing to provide the initial asset details for us to prepare the paperwork and submit the application for a Grant of Probate/Letters of Administration. Once the Grant has been obtained then we will progress to deal with the work required to finalise the administration of the estate and the distribution of the estate monies in accordance with the Will.

How much does this service cost?

The cost of this service depends on the complexity of the estate but as a general guide:

If the gross value of the estate is below £1,500,000 (or exceeds £1,500,000 but the estate is being passed to a spouse via the Will), then the estate will be charged at our hourly rate. We would anticipate that the full administration of this kind of estate to take between 20 to 60 hours work at our hourly rate of £295 plus VAT. Most estates will fall towards to the lower end of this time estimate but some may require more time to be spent. For example:

20 - 30 Hours	30 - 40 Hours	40 - 60 Hours
Your loved one has left a Will that appoints their spouse to be their sole beneficiary and most of their assets are held jointly with that spouse, such as their house and bank accounts, but a grant of probate is needed for a specific asset in their sole name to be administered such as a cash ISA or premium bonds.	Your loved one has left a Will that leaves some cash gifts to friends/charities and then leaves the rest to their children. Their estate is made up of a main residence in their sole name, a few bank accounts and a couple of shareholdings.	The estate is comprised of a property portfolio together with extensive investments such as shareholdings and bonds. Their Will that leaves a number of cash gifts and then leaves the rest into a trust or to numerous beneficiaries such as friends, family members and/or charities.

If the gross value of the estate exceeds £1,500,000 then our fixed percentage of one percent of the gross value of the estate plus VAT will apply. We do not charge an hourly rate on top of this percentage. This gives the executors certainty of how much the administration will cost from an early stage and reflects the complexity of administering complex assets together with account of the necessary insurance cover that a high value estate carries for our firm.

The above fee structures only apply in estates where we are not acting as sole proving executors.

What is included in our Full Administration Service?

Our Full Administration Service is our most comprehensive probate service, and as a result we will deal will all the legal aspects of the estate. By signing a probate application you are declaring that you have carried out full investigations as to the value of the estate; will keep an inventory of the estate; and will keep a full account of how the estate has been distributed. We will do all of this for you as part of this service as well as the following:

Initial Stages

Pre-Probate Application

Probate Application

Post Probate

• An initial meeting to discuss your loved one’s estate and what assets and liabilities need to be administered
• Discussing the death registration process
• Obtaining the original Will and identifying the executors
• Assisting with utilising your loved one’s bank account(s) to settle any outstanding funeral invoice
• Advising you of what practical aspects of the estate you will need to deal with such as securing any property and obtaining date of death valuations of that property

• Obtaining valuations of the assets and liabilities from the institutions/banks
• Identifying what type of probate application is required
• Obtaining any supporting documents that may need to be submitted for probate such as renunciations of any executor(s) named in the Will who do not wish to act
• Supporting you with any practical matters that you are dealing with in respect of the estate assets

• Drafting the Inheritance Tax return
• Identifying and claiming any Inheritance Tax reliefs that may be utilised
• Advising you of any tax liability and arranging the payment of this liability from your loved one’s bank accounts
• Dealing with any enquires that HMRC or the District Valuer’s Office may raise
• Checking HMRC’s tax calculations
• Obtaining HMRC tax clearance code
• Applying for probate

• Arranging the encashment, sale and/or transfer of the assets of the estate
• Settling the liabilities of the estate
• Placing a notice in the Gazette and local paper advertising the estate to any unknown creditors
• Calculating and settling your executor’s expenses
• Identifying the beneficiaries of the estate as per the Will or via intestacy if there is no Will
• Carrying out bankruptcy searches against the beneficiaries
• Arranging interim distributions to the beneficiaries
• Advising you of any potential tax liability of the estate
• Drafting full estate accounts showing all assets, liabilities, income and expenditure and liaising with the beneficiaries
• Dealing with the final payments to the beneficiaries and finalisation of the estate

What is not included in our Full Administration Service?

• Dealing with lifetime or estate income and capital gains tax (if applicable) returns. We will be able to advise you whether you will need to instruct accountants to prepare these documents
• Notifying the utility companies, local authorities, insurance etc of any property(s)
• Implementing Tell Us Once
• Obtaining probate valuations of any property(s), vehicles and chattels
• Arranging the clearance of any property(s)
• Arranging the marketing of any properties, vehicles and chattels
• The conveyancing of any property although we offer a separate fixed fee conveyancing service
• Dealing with any claims against the estate. We do not deal with contentious probate aspects, and we will be able to advise you whether you will need to instruct specialist solicitors to act in this capacity alongside ourselves

Although the above aspects are not included in our Full Administration service, we will of course support you in carrying out these particular duties by explaining exactly what you will need to do.

Please note that the above are included where we are acting as sole proving executors.

Grant Application Service

If you are looking to do most of the administrative work yourself and wish for us just to apply for the Grant of Probate/Letters of Administration on your behalf then we offer two fixed fees for this work:

1. If the estate requires the completion of a full Inheritance Tax return, then our fixed fee is £1,800 plus VAT; or,

2. If the estate does not require the completion of a full Inheritance Tax return, then our fixed fee is £2,800 plus VAT.

Whether or not an estate requires an Inheritance Tax return can likely be ascertained by a short discussion with one of our solicitors who can discuss the anticipated assets and liabilities of the estate and any Inheritance Tax exemptions or reliefs that may apply. This discussion is included in the relevant fixed fee.
What is included in our Grant Application Service?

When we act solely in the application for Grant of Probate/Letters of Administration as detailed above you must ensure that you have accurately carried out the administration prior to instructing us to act for you. Once instructed we will meet with you to take your instructions on the value of the estate, prepare the probate papers to include an inheritance tax return (if applicable) and the legal statement needed to apply for the Grant. We will then lodge these documents with HMRC and the Probate Court as part of this service and also check the resultant documentation.

What is not included in our Grant Application Service?

• Obtaining date of death valuations of any assets and liabilities, although we do offer an additional fixed fee for obtaining these valuations (with the exception of property and chattels) of £495 plus VAT should you also wish for us to deal with this aspect on your behalf
• Obtaining details of any gifts made by your loved one
• Obtaining any supporting documents that may need to be submitted for probate such as renunciations of any executors who do not wish to act
• Obtaining the original Will
• Assisting with utilising your loved one’s bank account(s) to settle any outstanding funeral invoice
• Arranging the encashments/selling/transferring the assets of the estate
• Settling the liabilities of the estate
• Placing a notice in the Gazette and local paper advertising the estate to any unknown creditors
• Calculating and settling your executor’s expenses
• Identifying the beneficiaries of the estate as per the Will or via intestacy if there is no Will
• Carrying out bankruptcy searches against the beneficiaries
• Arranging any distributions to the beneficiaries
• Advising you of any tax liability of the estate such as income tax or capital gains and whether you will need to instruct an accountant/tax adviser for the estate.
• Drafting estate accounts showing all assets, liabilities, income and expenditure and liaising with the beneficiaries
• Dealing with the final payments to the beneficiaries

Once the Grant is issued our retainer shall come to an end unless you wish to further instruct us to assist you.

Disbursements

Most estates will incur costs related to the estate that are payable to third parties such as Land Registry fees, Probate court fees etc. These are referred to as disbursements and are not included in the fees listed above. For example some estates will usually incur the following disbursements (although this is not an exhaustive list):

• Probate application fee of £526 together with £16 per copy.
• Land Registry fees of around £15
• Professional Valuer’s fees for valuations of chattels, property, business, shares etc
• Bankruptcy searches of £6 per beneficiary
• Missing Beneficiary searches dependent on number of beneficiaries that cannot be located
• Financial Asset Search of around £200
• Fees to place a notice in the Gazette and local paper advertising the estate to any unknown creditors of around £300
• Missing Will Search of around £300
• Stockbrokers’ fees
• Taxes such as Inheritance Tax, Income Tax and Capital Gains Tax
• Bank charges of £15 per transfer
• Accountancy fees

Probate Conveyancing

When we undertake a full administration or if we are acting as executor of an estate we will also act in the sale of any property which forms part of the estate. More details can be found under our Residential Conveyancing section of our website or you can feel free to contact us to discuss.

Fees correct as of 01 September 2026