Our Fees

• Once we have obtained all the relevant estate information from you, the preparation of the Legal Statement and application for the Grant will be sent to you for review and approval within 2-3 weeks.
• Once you have returned the signed documents, we will arrange to make the application to the Probate Registry.

Time scales beyond this point are out of our control however on average the Probate Registry can take between 16 to 22 weeks to issue the Grant.

These costs include the following services:

• Preliminary enquiries as to assets with you only. We will not be writing to the financial institutions for you to obtain values.

• The completion of Inheritance Tax forms

• The preparation of the Legal Statement to lead to Grant

• Application for Grant

You will remain responsible for the following:

• Providing a valuation of assets to UnionLine

• You will need to complete any Income Tax returns to date of death if this is required.

• Clearing the house

• Arranging insurance of any house and contents

• Gathering in the assets, closing the bank accounts, cashing in premium bonds, selling the property if required.

• Paying the debts, liabilities, and funeral costs

• Distributing the assets to all the beneficiaries

• Providing advice to the beneficiaries on their personal tax affairs

In summary, we shall prepare the Inland Revenue forms and the Legal Statement leading to the Grant and make the application to the Probate Registry. This will be based on the information and values you provide. Please ensure the information you provide is accurate.

Upon receipt of the Grant, we will send you official copies for you to deal with the closure of accounts, gathering in of the assets and settling the liabilities. It is then your responsibility to make the distributions to the correct beneficiaries.

• Once we have obtained all the relevant estate information from you, the preparation of the Legal Statement and application for the Grant will be sent to you for review and approval within 2-3 weeks.

• Once you have returned the signed documents, we will arrange to make the application to the Probate Registry.

• Time scales beyond this point are out of our control however on average the Probate Registry can take between 16 to 22 weeks to issue the Grant.

• Once we have obtained all of the relevant information from you, the preparation of the Deed will be 1-2 weeks.

• Once you have returned the signed Deed the execution will be checked, and the Deed returned to you within 1 week.

These costs include the following services and are included in the fees:

• Preliminary enquiries as to assets.

• Arrange house clearance (only on your request)

• Completion of IHT forms and any subsequent negotiation with H M Revenue and Customs.

• Preparation of Legal Statement to lead to grant.

• Application for the grant.

• Registration of the grant with asset holders.

• Collecting in assets of estate.

• Selling assets or transferring to beneficiaries

• Discharging liabilities of estate.

• Distribution to beneficiaries.

• Estate’s income tax and capital gains tax liability for the administration period.

• Preparation of estate accounts.

The following advice and services are not included:

• Income tax returns to date of death.

• Arranging insurance of house and contents.

• Valuation of assets (although we can of course instruct the appropriate valuer on your behalf)

• Advice to the beneficiaries on their personal tax affairs.

Where possible we will seek to provide a fixed fee for estate administration. This fee is usually confirmed at the time of applying for the Grant of Probate. This fee will not exceed the percentage amounts outlined above.

The anticipated timescale for completion is as follows:

• Making preliminary enquiries and obtaining values of the estate to enable the preparation of the Inland Revenue Account and Legal Statement and application for the grant – up to 16 weeks from receiving the relevant paperwork from you.

• Registering the grant of representation, closing the accounts and gathering the assets – between 12 to 20 weeks

• Preparation of estate accounts and making interim distributions or finalising the estate – 20 to 52 weeks

Please note that these are estimated time scales based on the average estate. If the estate is likely to include assets which would qualify for Inheritance Tax, Agricultural Property Relief or Business Property Relief or where the deceased had an interest in a trust, the time required to complete the matter would be more than the above estimate. This is because it will take longer to obtain appropriate values and there will be more correspondence with the Inland Revenue during the administration.