Wills
Many people do not make wills which can lead to difficulties later. At Farnworth Shaw our solicitors are able to offer a complete will drafting service.
Prices start from as little as £100 plus VAT for a single will and £150 plus VAT for couples wills.
Probate
When a close family member or a friend who has made you Executor has died, it is a distressing and confusing time but there are things that must be dealt with whether the estate is large or small. What needs to be done with regard to funeral arrangements? What happens to the house? Money can be tied up and there are banks, insurance policies, care home fees and even the state to deal with regarding pensions and benefits paid to the person who has died. There might be Inheritance Tax to pay and worries about how to pay it. Our solicitors offer a sympathetic helping hand and the expertise to help deal with these issues for you professionally and take some of the worries off your shoulder.
Costs
As we are sure you will appreciate, every estate is different. Some people have lots of stocks, shares and investments, whilst others have more cash based assets or properties, some people are receipt of means tested benefits whilst some have complex tax affairs. No matter what type of estate you are dealing with, you need to be sure that you have someone who understands the process and has the relevant expertise to ensure that all aspects of the estate are dealt with in accordance with the law and that the Executors/Administrators cannot be held personally liable if things do go wrong or if something is missed. We ensure that everything is done correctly and legally.
We are able to provide a tailor-made service designed with your particular needs in mind, which can include:
- Ensuring that the Executors and Administrators are protected from being personally liable if the estate is not administered in accordance with the law.
- Ensuring that the estate is administered with the benefit of expert knowledge in relation to the whole of the administration process, not just in relation to the investments and accounts but in relation to other aspects such as: potential claims on the estate from disinherited or disappointed beneficiaries, estoppel claims, constructive trusts and other trusts as well as partial intestacies, to name but a few.
- Having the knowledge and expertise to identify problems with regards to the validity of the will and/or its format, wording and drafting issues.
- Obtaining the probate valuations of all the assets and liabilities (both joint accounts as well as sole accounts).
- Applying for various reliefs and exemptions such as: Agricultural Property Relief, Business Property Relief, double taxation and transferable tax-free allowances.
- Dealing with the payment of various bills and expenses to ensure that the Executors do not become personally liable for these once the estate administration has been completed.
- Claiming refunds
- Arranging for the funeral to be settled directly out of the estate
- Opening of the Executors account and dealing with the interest payable including the relevant tax forms.
- Placement of Trustee Notices
- Carrying out bankruptcy searches
- Dealing with Social Securities Administration Act 1992 claims and requests
- Keeping the necessary records to comply with any request from the Court and/or HMRC in relation to an inventory and account of the estate.
- Dealing with any variation of the estate and redirecting funds from one person to another
- Capital Gains Tax and Income Tax
- Accounting for interest to the beneficiaries
- Preparation of estate accounts
- Ultimately paying the legacies and bequests
We will be happy to discuss your individual needs with you. Once we are in receipt of all the details of the assets involved we will be happy to give you a full written breakdown of our estimated costs based on your individual needs to ensure that you are fully aware of the cost implications prior to any work taking place.
In relation to an application for the Grant of Probate or Grant of Letters of Administration, provided all that we are doing is preparing the Court papers based on probate valuations supplied by you, arranging for them to be signed and them submitting them to the Court, then our costs start from as little as £350.00 plus VAT. If however we need to apply for a residential nil rate band, a transferable nil rate band or a transferable residential nil rate band then the costs for this start from £500.00 plus VAT.
In addition to these fees there are various disbursements, or out of pocket expenses, which must be paid (whether or not you are using our services). The standard disbursements are the Court fee of £155.00, plus 50p for each Court sealed copy of the Grant needed (you may need one each for each asset holder). There also may be a swearing fee payable of between £5.00-7.00 per person depending on what type of application is being made.
If you wish for us to deal with the whole administration process then please speak with us and we will be more than happy to go through with you in detail, what is required in your individual circumstances and will then be able to send you detailed information about the costs involved.
Director and Solicitor, Amanda (Mandy) Howfield, is in charge of this department. Assisting in this department is Chartered Legal Executive, Julia Nutter.
