Probate terms and conditions

Cost and fees

Probate application cost

If the Personal Representative (PR) makes the application for probate (either the Grant of Probate or Letters of Administration), the Probate Office charge a fee of £273 if the value of the estate is over £5,000. The Probate Office do not charge a fee to make the application if the value of the estates is £5,000 or less.

Extra copies of the Grant of Probate or Letters of Administration can be requested at the same time as making the application for £1.50 each. Additional copies are useful as it means you can send them to different organisations at the same time. The Probate Office charge significantly less for each extra copy of the Grant of Probate or Letters of Administration if ordered at the same time as making the application than they charge if ordered later.

If probate has already been granted, it costs £20 to make a second application. It is necessary to pay this fee even if the value of the estate is £5,000 or less.

Buzzacott fees

Unlike banks, probate solicitors and probate practitioners, we typically charge our usual hourly rates for time spent, rather than fees based on the value of the estate (typically 2-5%), which is a more cost-effective option as you’re only charged for the level of advice you require. Our charge out rates per hour depend on the member of staff providing the services. 

We understand that you may prefer to know what fees are involved at the outset. The different steps of the process will take a different length of time depending on the circumstances of each case. Once you've decided what support you require and have the estate information, we can estimate fixed fees and provide a breakdown tailored to you.  However, fixed fees could end up being more than if fees are chargeable on a time spent basis, because an element of a fixed fee is a reserve for contingencies. 

We reserve the right to revise the fixed estimates where the original information is inaccurate, the circumstances change or complications arise during the process that significantly increase the amount of the work required. If any issues are identified, that are likely to significantly affect the fees, we notify the PRs at the earliest opportunity and a revised fixed estimate will be provided before undertaking additional work. So, if a PR wants certainty, it may be worth considering having a fixed fee estimate with the possibility of paying a premium.

Some examples of the fees charged for our services are outlined in the following cases:

Case study 1

When we’ve dealt with estates for non-UK domiciled deceased individuals, with UK assets that were jointly owned with net UK asset value of up to £1,500,000 with a couple of UK bank accounts, a UK property, a UK portfolio of investments and some UK personal property where the personal representatives (PRs) had UK reporting requirement but probate was not required because all the asset passed by survivorship, we’ve typically charged approximately £4,000 (plus VAT, where applicable) to prepare and submit the UK Inheritance Tax forms. 

Case study 2

Where we’ve dealt with estates for UK resident and (deemed) domiciled individuals without a will and the net value of the estates were around £1,000,000 and consist of a range of UK and non UK assets such as bank accounts, investment portfolios, unincorporated businesses, life assurance policies, personal possessions etc. our fees were typically ranged between £4,000 and  £6,000 (plus VAT) for preparing and submit the UK Inheritance Tax forms and between £2,800 and £3,250 (plus VAT) for dealing with the probate application.

Case study 3 

For more complex cases where we are dealing with the PRs of a UK estate for UK resident and (deemed) domiciled individuals, with UK assets and foreign assets consisting of bank accounts, portfolios of quoted investments, national savings products, life policies, residential property, personal possessions including vehicles, where the net value of the estates ranged between £450,000 and £3,000,000 and UK probate was required our fees have ranged between £20,000 to £40,000 (plus VAT) to prepare and submit the UK Inheritance Tax forms and the probate application, as well as provide other services including: registering the estate with HM Revenue and Customs, dealing with the UK tax compliance reporting requirements, preparing estate accounts, providing PRs with advice on a variety of matters during the administration period, such as advise on tax efficient distributions, providing PRs with a client account services involving collecting in assets, paying estate liabilities and made payments to beneficiaries.

Additional costs of probate (where applicable) include: 

• Copies of death certificates
• Land registry searches - £3-£7 +VAT
• Advertisements in the local newspaper and state Gazette (£150 - £300 depending on the paper)
• Asset or beneficiary tracing searches
• Costs for replacing lost title documentation (such as lost share certificate)
• Bankruptcy searches
• Costs of transferring legal title of property to legatees/beneficiaries

These aspects will typically involve a charge by the service provider as well as a charge by us to organise the matter including liaising with you and the service provider.