Administration of Estates Costs – General Points
The time taken to administer an estate after a death, and therefore the costs involved, are affected by a number of factors. These are primarily the number of beneficiaries, the number of institutions where assets or liabilities are held, whether there are any shares and whether the estate is taxable (or only non taxable if reliefs such as the transferable nil rate band are claimed).
The more beneficiaries and institutions involved, the greater the costs and the longer the matter will take.
Inheritance tax may be due on estates valued at over £325,000. If certain conditions are met, additional allowances may be available, increasing the value of a non-taxable estate up to £900,000 (increasing each tax year up to 2020 when it will be £1,000,000). Anything left to a spouse, civil partner or charity are tax exempt. Other tax reliefs may also be available.
Inheritance tax is complex and it is important that professional advice is obtained to ensure no unnecessary tax is paid.
Non Taxable estate
On a typical non taxable estate, comprising a property, modest savings in one or two banks and two or three beneficiaries, we would expect our fees to be £3,500.00 – £5,000.00 plus V.A.T.
Taxable estate
If the estate is taxable (i.e. subject to inheritance tax) then it is unlikely that our fees will be less than £4,500.00 plus V.A.T. and a fee of £7,500.00 plus V.A.T. can usually be expected. On complex estates the fees will be more.
Intestate estate
If there is no Will and the estate is intestate then the above costs may each increase by approximately £1,000 plus V.A.T. plus genealogist fees (required in order to try and locate the beneficiaries). In addition to the expenses shown below, genealogist fees are often 10% of the amount inherited.
Other expenses
Certain expenses are applicable to all estates. These are:
£155.00 Probate Registry fee plus 50p for each office copy of the grant. These fees are scheduled to increase considerably in April 2019 and will then depend on the value of the estate.
Bankruptcy search fees (against beneficiaries (if applicable)) of £15.00 plus V.A.T.
Conveyancing fees in connection with the disposal of any property in the estate are also charged separately.
Timescales
Most straightforward estates complete within one year (subject to the Inland Revenue considering tax returns for the administration period and assuming any property has sold).
Less straightforward estates will still normally be completed within two years of the date of death and usually only complex estates may take longer.
The above assumes that there are no contentious matters that arise during the estate administration.
The above costs are estimates only and are accurate as at December 2018. Please contact us for a quote for any particular estate; we can discuss the relevant details and give you a firmer estimate before starting work.