Private Client, Wills and Powers of Attorney

We can advise you on the most appropriate type of Will for you, from the simple to the complex, depending on your circumstances.  Wills enable you to decide who will take charge of your assets after your death and make sure your wishes about how your estate should be distributed take effect.

Parents can appoint guardians of their children and trustees to look after the children’s inheritance until they are mature enough to inherit fully.

If you are in a relationship and worried about your partner meeting someone else after your death and disinheriting your children, or perhaps you have children from a previous relationship and don’t know how to provide for your children and your current partner, we can draft a Will that enables all parties to benefit from your estate.

Certain types of trust can be included in a Will which protects assets being exhausted by long term care fees or that protect vulnerable beneficiaries.

Whilst it is important for everyone to make a Will, it should not be done in isolation.  There are other things to consider when planning for your future.

We can advise you on the current Inheritance Tax regime and how you can take full advantage of the reliefs and exemptions available to you.  You may be considering gifting your property or setting up a trust for your children or grandchildren.

If you are purchasing a jointly owned property, you might require a declaration of trust to record what your share of the property is and make sure that when you die it passes to your estate.

Most people are aware of the importance of making a Will, but have you considered what would happen to your home and finances if you lacked the ability to deal with these affairs yourself?

As we grow older we can become frailer, have memory problems or suffer from dementia or Alzheimer’s Disease.  A stroke or a car accident can suddenly leave someone unable to manage their day-to-day lives as they did previously.

In any of these circumstances, an Attorney of a Lasting Power of Attorney can step in and take over the management of financial and property affairs.  The Attorney could be a relative, friend or a professional such as a solicitor.

The crucial thing is that the document has been drawn up in advance whilst you are well and have full mental capacity.  It is also possible to appoint an Attorney to make decisions about your health and welfare.  These are becoming increasingly useful in a care/hospital setting.

We can help you sort out someone’s affairs after their death.  If there is a Will then we can make the Probate application.  If there is no Will, we can advise you on who is legally able to apply for a Grant of Representation and how the Rules of Intestacy apply to the estate.

We offer different levels of service depending upon how much help you need, from Grant-only to full administration.  We can advise you on whether there is any inheritance liability on the estate and when a Deed of Variation can be used to re-distribute assets.

If a Will or estate is being challenged or if you need advice on challenging an estate yourself, our Civil Litigation team can assist you.

If a person, P (“known as a patient”) lacks the ability to manage their affairs and has not made a Lasting (or Enduring) Power of Attorney, an application can be made to the Court of Protection for the appointment of a Deputy.

The Deputy is granted the power to take over P’s financial and property affairs.  The Deputy is usually someone related or closely connected to P but a professional Deputy such as a solicitor can be appointed instead.

Applications can also be made to the Court of Protection for a statutory Will to be written on behalf of P or for permission for gifts to be made out of their estate.  In certain circumstances it is necessary to obtain an Order of the Court for Trustees to be appointed to deal with the sale of a jointly owned property on behalf of P.

Applying for the Grant, Collecting and Distributing the Assets

We anticipate this will take between 12 and 38 hours’ work at £220.00 per hour, plus VAT (£264.00 inc VAT).  Total costs estimated at £2,640.00 to £8,360.00, plus VAT (£3,168.00 to £10,032.00 inc VAT).

The exact cost will depend on the individual circumstances of the matter.  For example, if there is one beneficiary and no property, costs will be at the lower end of the range.  If there are multiple beneficiaries, a property and multiple bank accounts, costs will be at the higher end.

We will handle the full process for you.  The quote is for estates where:-

• There is a valid Will and no disputes between Executors
• There is no more than one property
• There are up to 4 residuary beneficiaries and up to 4 legatees
• There is no inheritance tax payable and the Executors do not need to submit an Inheritance Tax Account to HMRC
• There are no claims made against the estate

Disbursements also payable:

• Probate application fee of £273.00 plus £1.50 per copy Grant required (no VAT charged)
• Bankruptcy-only Land Charges Department searches (£2.00 per beneficiary) (no VAT charged)
• £150.00-300.00 (inc VAT) Statutory Notices to creditors (these protect against unexplained claims from unknown creditors)

Disbursements are costs related to your matter that are payable to third parties, such as Court fees.  We handle the payment of the disbursements on your behalf to ensure a smoother process.

Potential additional costs

• If there is no Will or if the estate consists of any share holdings (stocks and bonds), investments and if there are a higher number of beneficiaries (or the whereabouts of a beneficiary is unknown), properties or foreign assets, if the deceased made substantial lifetime gifts or had an interest in a trust, or if the Will contains a trust, there is likely to be additional costs that could range significantly depending on the estate and how it is to be dealt with. We can give you a more accurate quote once we have more information.
• Dealing with the sale, transfer or registration of any property in the estate is not included
  

How Long Will this take?

On average, estates that fall within this range are dealt with within 6-12 months.  Typically, obtaining the Grant of Probate takes 12-20 weeks.  Collecting liquid assets then follows, which can take between 4-8 weeks.  Selling the property may take longer.  It can take several months to finalise the deceased’s income tax affairs.  Once the executors are satisfied that all of the assets are collected, all of the liabilities paid, and Statutory Notices have expired, estate accounts are prepared and approved, then we can distribute the assets.  The distribution of the estate after approval of the estate accounts takes 2-3 weeks.

Grant-only Probate and Administration (Fixed Fee)

We offer a fixed-fee service where we obtain the Grant of Probate on behalf of an executor.  The executor then undertakes the process of collecting in and distributing the assets.

Fees range between £1,200, plus VAT and £2,500, plus VAT (between £1,440 and £3,000 inc VAT) and depend upon which HMRC forms need to be completed and whether there is any inheritance tax payable.  Relevant factors:-

• Value of deceased’s estate
• Nature of the deceased’s assets including lifetime gifts made and any interest in a trust
• Who is inheriting the estate ie spouse, children, charities
• Marital status of the deceased (where the deceased is a widow/er, what happened to the assets of the first spouse who died)

Disbursements also payable as set out above.

How Long Will this take?

Obtaining the Grant of Probate typically takes 12-20 weeks from the date the executor provides us with all the information we require in order to submit the Probate application.  If an Inheritance Tax Account IHT400 is required and/or Inheritance Tax is payable, the higher range of this timescale will apply.