Dora Clarke
Partner | London
Probate is the legal process whereby the estate of a person who has died is dealt with. If the person has made a Will this usually appoints people to be executors to administer the estate. If there is no will then next of kin will be appointed by the court as administrators instead. We refer to executors and administrators as personal representatives (‘PR’s) in this guidance.
The first step PR’s need to take is to apply for formal authority to deal with the assets of the estate. We refer to this authority as ‘the Grant’ in this guidance. The PR’s will then need to identify the assets and collect them in, pay any debts, calculate and pay to HMRC any inheritance tax (IHT) which may be due and then distribute the estate between the beneficiaries. The beneficiaries will be determined by the Will, if there is one, or the Intestacy Rules if there is not. There are many other things which PR’s have to do to in administering an estate. Our note on the Administration of Estates (ADD LINK) explains more about what is involved in the administration of estates.
Our team of probate specialists can advise and help PR’s and it has particular expertise in high value estates and IHT matters. It comprises probate specialists who spend the majority of their working lives on probate matters only. We specialise in complex matters including international matters and issues such as businesses and foreign assets. This guidance sets out the service we offer and how we charge for it.
Our team comprises two partners and four other lawyers and paralegals.
All cases will be managed by one of the partners or special counsel who will work with other members of our team with the appropriate level of experience. Click on an individual’s name to view their profile.
Dora Clarke (qualified as a solicitor in 1985)
Julia Abrey (qualified as a solicitor in 1987)
Christopher King – Special Counsel (qualified as a solicitor in 1990)
Elizabeth Hinch – Associate (qualified as solicitor in 2018)
Charlotte Kipping – Trainee Legal Executive (Trainee Legal Executive as of 2020)
The team is also assisted by trainee solicitors who will spend six months working with the team. Their overall experience of legal practice will depend on what stage of their two-year training period they have reached and any prior experience gained before they started their training contract.
Partner | London
Partner | London
Special counsel | London
Associate | London
Our service will usually involve the following steps, although some may not be required in every case:
Our basic fees for work done before a Grant is obtained (points 1 to 8 above) are calculated by reference to the gross value of the estate excluding any debts.
Our basic fees for work done after a Grant is obtained (points 9 to 18 above) are also calculated by reference to the gross value of the estate excluding any debts.
Not all estates will need all the services set out in points 1 to 18 above. For example, the Will may not include any legacies.
In addition to the basic fee, we charge a further percentage of the total basic fee. The percentage applied will depend on how the estate passes to the beneficiaries and who they are. The percentage is higher where assets are held in a trust rather than being divided between one or more individuals.
Some estates may not need to pay IHT because they are small or because the assets or the beneficiaries who inherit can benefit from a tax exemption or relief. If no IHT is payable, the administration of the estate is usually easier and our fees may lower than those indicated in the term. This is something we can discuss with the PR’s. If other complicating factors are relevant, additional charges may still be payable.
If a partner of this firm or our trust corporation, WITCo, is appointed as a PR an additional fee of £750 will be charged.
Click here to open a table setting illustrating how our basic and percentage charges are calculated.
It can be hard to work out how much work will be involved in administering an estate – and what needs to be done determines how much our team will charge for doing it. In the early days after a death there may be a lack of information as to what the assets and debts of the estate are and it may take time for this to become clear. Generally, however, the larger and more complex the estate, the more work is required to administer it. Some examples of complexities might be:
We will therefore make an additional charge if particular factors are relevant to the estate, including:
Our additional charge will be based on the hourly rate of the members of the probate team who work on the matter and the number of hours they spend.
Team member's seniority & Hourly rate as of 1 July XXXX:
Please note that these rates do not include VAT and disbursements. Please also note that our hourly rates may be varied on 1 July of each year. VAT is applied at the rate of 20% on our fees and, where applicable, disbursements.
We will provide the PR’s with an estimate of what any additional charges are likely to will be and will update them on this likely cost regularly during the administration. We will be able to provide a more accurate estimate when we have more information about the nature of any additional work which will be required.
Our fees for dealing with the administration of an estate do not cover any additional work that will be necessary for a house has to be sold or transferred. Conveyancing fees will be charged separately. This link provides further details about our services and charges for the transfer of residential property.
Various additional expenses will also be incurred. These are known as disbursements and will be payable to third parties. Some that will usually be incurred are as follows:
The charges above do not include taxes that may be payable by an estate, the person who has died and their PR’s or beneficiaries such as:
We will need further information to be able to advise up whether these taxes are payable and, if so, how much.
On average, most estates are administered within one year of death. Typically obtaining the Grant takes around 12 to 16 weeks. Collecting in assets and agreeing and paying debts and IHT before distribution involves the remainder of the year. The more complex the estate the longer the administration will take.
Our website will give you a flavour of the advice we provide - if you would like to talk to us for more information, please contact our client services team who will be happy to assist.