Notes on Fees

Applying for Probate is a reserved activity under the Legal Services Act 2007, and we make applications through our company Crossleys Probate Services Limited which is Authorised and Regulated as a CILEX-ACCA Probate Entity by the Chartered Institute of Legal Executives.

We charge a fixed fee of £295 for submitting probate applications, this applies to ALL probate applications, irrespective of the size of the estate. Apart from our fixed fee there is a fee of £273 that has to be paid to the Probate Registry, and it is wise to buy several copies of the Probate Grant, consequently the fee for submitting the probate application will be as follows:-

Please note:

Crossleys Probate Services, as a CILEX-ACCA Probate firm can only provide the reserved element of probate activity, ie the completion and submission of the Forms to the Probate Registry. All other work is undertaken by your accountancy firm, Crossleys Limited; for example calculating the value of the estate and calculating the Inheritance Tax position, preparing Estate Accounts or assisting with the administration of the estate.

Consequently the fee of £295 quoted above, charged by Crossleys Probate Services Ltd refers to the act of completing the Forms which have to be submitted to the Probate Registry, it does not cover any other work.

The fee for other work done, charged by Crossleys Limited, is not fixed but depends on the hours worked, at £95.00 plus VAT, per hour. When we start work for a client, after we have discussed the details of the estate,  we provide an estimate of the expected fees. This is based on how long we expect the work to take. 

If we are requested to calculate the value of the estate we will request the following information:-

Details of property, and interests in property
Details of household chattels, cash balances, jewellery and other items of value 
Details of all bank and savings accounts, and other accounts holding money 
Details of investments, including shares, investment accounts, ISAs etc
Details of pensions and insurance policies
Details of debts owing and owed
Details of funeral costs and other allowable expenses
Obtaining details of personal tax affairs, if necessary dealing with any outstanding matters
Any other relevant information

Once the above has  been received we will scrutinise as necessary, eg analyse the bank statements for income from investments etc, obtain valuations as appropriate.

Our estimate of how long this would take will not be based on the value of the estate, but the complexity of the work to be done, eg the number of properties, bank accounts, shares etc.  If there was one property, a couple of bank accounts, and a handful of shares, we might estimate that valuing the estate would take 9 hours, our fee for doing it would be  9 * £95.00 plus VAT = £1,026.00.

If the client also asked us to help with the administration of the estate, eg helping with the sale of properties and other assets. Please note that we do handle funds owed by the estate, but we can provide advice on, and help with, liquidating the estate assets, keep the records, calculate the amounts to be distributed, and prepare the Estate Accounts. 

If we estimated that this would take 5 hours, our fee for helping with the administration would be 5 * £95.00 + VAT = £570.00.

 On this basis, the total fee would be £2,230.50, calculated as follows:-

Applying for Probate	As above	634.50
Calculating Value of Estate	As above	1,026.00
Help with Estate Administration	As above	570.00
		£2,230.50
Of which Disbursements £280.50

If there were three properties, 5 bank accounts and 10 investments and shares, we might estimate that valuing the estate would take 14 hours, and helping with the estate would  take 8 hours, giving  rise to fees, including VAT,  of £1,596.oo and £912 respectively.

The total fees would therefore be:-

Applying for Probate	As above	634.50
Calculating Value of Estate	As above	1,596.00
Help with Estate Administration	As above	912.00
		£3,142.50
Of which Disbursements £280.50