Wills & Probate
It's Important to Make a Will
The importance of making a Will and reviewing it on a regular basis cannot be over- emphasised. If you die without making a Will (Intestate) the Law specifies how your Assets are to be divided and this may not be in accordance with your wishes and can also give rise to unnecessary Inheritance Tax implications.
Making a Will enables you to:
- Ensure the Assets in your Estate pass to the people you would like to receive them; such as Family, Partner, Friends and Charities.
- Appoint who you want to manage your affairs after your death (your Executors).
- Appoint a Guardian to bring up your Children.
Reduce or extinguish Inheritance Tax liabilities in certain circumstances. - Set up a Trust to benefit any one or a number of named Beneficiaries.
Making your Will
If you have not made a Will and wish to do so or you wish to update your existing Will, then please contact us to arrange to discuss your particular wishes and to give you an estimate of the costs involved.
We will then prepare a draft Will for your approval. When you are satisfied with the draft, we will prepare the final version for you to sign.
Wills are charged at £300.00 plus VAT for an individual Will. £500.00 plus VAT for joint.
Probate
After a death, it is important to those who are left behind that the Estate is administered with sympathy, as well as efficiency. It involves obtaining values of all Assets of the Estate, settling any Tax Liability, applying for the Grant of Probate and then with the benefit of the Grant, gathering in the Assets of the Estate and administering them according to the Will or according to the Law as the case may be.
Probate costs – for an individual straight forward application our fees will start at £750.00 plus VAT plus the Probate Court fee. The fee for which is dependent on the size of the estate but in the region of £303.00. there is no VAT on the disbursement.
The timescale for Probate matters varies dramatically. Simple cases can take a matter of weeks but are dependent on the Probate Registry whose current timescale is between 16 and 20 weeks. If there is any tax to pay the timescale will be significant and it is not unusual for it to take a year to obtain the Grant.
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