Full Service or Grant Only?
JE Bennett Law offers two approaches to estate management to meet your particular circumstances and preferences.
Full Service
With full service we will handle everything required as part of the estate administration process. This includes all required research/investigative work that may include any of the following:
- arranging the funeral
- clearing the deceased’s property
- identifying and arranging valuations of assets
- preparing the grant application documents
- inheritance tax returns
- considering the deceased’s income tax position
- collecting in the assets after the grant has been issued, dealing with all tax matters
- settling liabilities
- preparing the estate accounts and distributing the balance of the estate to the beneficiaries
We price our full service Estate Administration services based on hourly rates, rather than a percentage of the estate value as some firms do. So what you will pay is based on the work we do, not how large the estate is.
The total cost you will pay will be the sum of the hours worked by our team plus any disbursements. The details of which are laid out below in the disbursements section.
We will always provide an estimate in writing of all costs prior to taking your instruction.
Grant Only
With our grant only service, we will manage the application process for you, but will rely on you to provide all the information required in order to complete it. There are 4 tiers to our grant only service, depending on the nature of the grant. For grant only applications we offer a fixed price service. Types and pricing are detailed below.
Which is best for you?
Whichever suits your preferences and situation. If you have the time and inclination to provide all the necessary information yourself and/or want the reassurance of fixed fee, then a grant only option may suit your purposes. If you prefer to take advantage of our skills and experience in researching and providing all the required information, then full service may be more appropriate.
Overall Costs
Whether you opt for Full service (hourly rate) or Grant Only (fixed fees) the overall cost to you of our Estate Administration services will depend on the complexity of the work. This may be influenced by such matters as whether a will is in place, whether a sole executor has been named, amount of assets, number of residuary beneficiaries, number of creditors and the number of disbursements.
Due to the number of influencing factors our Estate Administration fees typically range from around £3000 to £18000 exc VAT. This represents a guide not a limit.
For full service work we will always provide you with an estimate prior to enagagement based on your particular circumstances.
For Grant only applications we will advise on the appropriate scenario and likely disbursements.
Our Professional Fees – For Full Service (hourly rates)
Our Estate Administration services will be carried out by our experienced probate team. Our work in this area is typically led by a partner or Associate Solicitor, who may be supported by a member of our legal support team. You can learn more about our probate work here and more about the experience of our individual team members by clicking on their name below.
Team Member Seniority Hourly Rate
Richard Shearing Senior Partner £395 + VAT (£474 inc VAT)
Anastasia Andrews Associate Solicitor £225 + VAT (£270 inc VAT)
Talia Higgins Junior Paralegal £140 + VAT (£168 inc VAT)
Natalie Marais Legal PA £140 + VAT (£168 inc VAT)
Our Professional Fees for Grant Only (Fixed Fee)
In grant only applications the client is required to obtain all of the necessary information to make the application and takes full responsibility for the veracity of that information. The JE Bennett Law team will guide them with regard to the information required. Grant only applications are a fixed fee service + any disbursements.
Grant only applications – 4 Scenarios:
- Application for a grant where there is no inheritance tax to pay and requires completion of IHT205 – £1,450 plus VAT (£1,740 inc VAT) plus disbursements
- Application for a grant where there is no inheritance tax to pay and requires completion of IHT205 and IHT217 to claim the transferable nil rate band – £1,795 plus VAT (£2,154 inc VAT) plus disbursements
- Application for a grant where there is no inheritance tax to pay and requires completion of IHT400 and associated supplements – £2,350 plus VAT (£2,820 inc VAT) plus disbursements
- Application for a grant where the estate is subject to inheritance tax to include completion of IHT400 and associated supplements – £2,895 plus VAT (£3,474 inc VAT) plus disbursements
Disbursements:
Disbursements are payable in addition to our professional fees and are as follows:
Probate Application Fees £300 (free for estate value under £5000)
Advertising For Unknown Creditors* £280 + VAT
Bankruptcy Searches £2 + per surname searched
Will Search** £105 + VAT
