Private Client

Whilst it is understandably uncomfortable to think about and discuss, it is important to ensure that your finances, property and personal assets will be looked after and distributed in accordance with your wishes. It is also imperative to consider what would happen to you, your home and personal affairs if you became incapable of handling one or more of these things yourself. We offer a compassionate approach to dealing with these often sensitive areas whilst providing you with fundamental and clear-cut advice.

Wills
The laws of intestacy sometimes do not favour the people that you would want to inherit or benefit from your assets when you pass away. For this reason, it is important to ensure that you make a will. Wills are legal documents and it is therefore essential to ensure that you receive the correct advice and that the will is correctly drafted and executed. Recent case law highlights the risk of making a will that is not executed in the correct way.

Our Wills costs are from £150.00 plus VAT charged at 20% per Will.  In the event any Office Copies are required, these are charged at £3.60 each (£3.00 + £0.60 VAT) per document.

Lasting Powers of Attorney
If you are worried about what would happen to you, your welfare and your home and affairs if you became unable to make decisions on these matters, you should consider making a Lasting Power of Attorney. A Lasting Power of Attorney gives someone else - usually a family member or someone close to you - the legal right to manage your affairs. There are two types of Lasting Powers of Attorney:

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• Lasting Powers of Attorney (Property and Affairs); and

• Lasting Powers of Attorney (Personal Welfare).

A Lasting Power of Attorney (Property and Affairs) will give the Attorney the legal right to deal with your property and affairs either as soon as the LPA is registered, or when you lose the mental capacity to deal with your property affairs yourself.

A Lasting Power of Attorney (Personal Welfare) allows you to specify or indicate the level and type of care you want and do not want should you lose the mental capacity to make or communicate these decisions in the future.

We can draft both types of LPA for you and can advise on the legal effects of making an LPA.

Our Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) Fees are £300.00 plus VAT charged at 20% per LPA plus a Registration Fee of £82.00 (no VAT charged) per LPA.

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Probate
When a family member or friend dies, it can be overwhelming to think about sorting out their estate at what is an emotional and distressing time. We can assist executors and administrators with handling the administration of the estate and can make the process as stress-free as possible.

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We will gather details of the estates assets and liabilities from you, apply for a grant of probate, complete an inheritance tax return and pay any tax due and distribute the estate in accordance with the terms of the deceased's Will. If there is no Will, the process is slightly different but we can still administer the estate under the rules of intestacy. We can't give exact timescales that it would take to obtain a grant as this will depend on the complexity of the estate and could take anything from 6 months to 2 years.

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We do not deal with contentious estates, however the list below highlights some of the circumstances which would make administration more complex, and therefore have an impact on the costs below:

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• There is no valid Will;

• Where Inheritance Tax is payable;

• Where one or more executor(s) wishes to renounce executorship;

• Where an executor has lost mental capacity and is unable to act;

• Where we have to trace beneficiaries on an intestacy which may involve enquiry agents;

• Where trusts are created by the Will;

• Where assets include foreign property which has to be sold;

• Where we have to obtain a valuation for stocks and shares and arrange sale of the same which can be time consuming. Similarly where the estate includes agricultural land or business assets;

• Where there are disputes amongst beneficiaries which need to be resolved;

• The sale of a  property forming part of the estate which would be a separate transaction;

• Where the estate is insolvent.

The list is a guide only.

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For our probate fees, hourly rates apply as set out below:

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Shelley Jones - £175.00 plus VAT charged at 20% per hour

Lynne Guttridge - £130.00 plus VAT charged at 20% per hour

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On average probate files take 40 hours to complete and therefore the range of fees is usually between £5,000.00 and £10,000.00 plus VAT charged at 20%.

The disbursements that would typically be needed are £273.00 (no VAT) for the grant of probate plus £1.50 (plus VAT charged at 20%) for each additional office copies of the grant.

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Please note that any sale or transfer of property in the Estate is not included in the above costs.  Please refer to our conveyancing costs set out on our residential pricing page - click here.

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Our Probate team, Shelley Jones (SRA Qualified) and Lynne Guttridge (CILEX Qualified), have vast experience in all types of Probate and would be happy to discuss any of these needs with you, please contact our Head of Private Client, Shelley Jones on 029 2267 1301 or by email at shelley@legrossolicitors.com.

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