WILLS, PROBATE AND TRUSTS FEES
At Curwens we have an experienced team of solicitors ready to give you straightforward advice to help resolve your issues. You can view the professional profiles of our expert team here.
Our Fees
Wills and Lasting Power of Attorneys (LPA)
We will provide you with a quote at the outset based on the facts provided by you. For straightforward Wills our fees will be at the rate stated below. However depending upon the specific circumstances the Will may be complex and so our quote will be higher. An example of such a complexity would be where Inheritance Tax planning is involved.
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From January 2024 |
Our Typical Fee (ex vat) |
Vat |
Our Typical Fee (inc vat) |
Time Scale |
|
WILLS |
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Single Will (including Certainty.co.uk registration) |
£300.00 plus VAT |
£60.00 |
£360.00 |
2-6 weeks |
|
Mirror Wills (including Certainty.co.uk registrations) |
£580.00 plus VAT |
£116.00 |
£696.00 |
2-6 weeks |
|
Single Codicil |
£175.00 plus VAT |
£35.00 |
£210.00 |
2-6 weeks |
|
Mirror Codicils |
£250.00 plus VAT |
£50.00 |
£300.00 |
2-6 weeks |
|
Single Life Interest Will including Severance of Joint Tenancy (including Certainty.co.uk registration) |
£550.00 plus VAT |
£110.00 |
£660.00 |
3-8 weeks |
|
Mirror Life Interest Will including Severance of Joint Tenancy (including Certainty.co.uk registrations) |
£950.00 plus VAT |
£190.00 |
£1,140.00 |
3-8 weeks |
|
Single Discretionary Trust Will including drafting of Letter of Wishes (including Certainty.co.uk registration) |
£800.00 plus VAT |
£160.00 |
£960.00 |
3-8 weeks |
|
Mirror Discretionary Trust Wills including drafting of Letters of Wishes (including Certainty.co.uk registrations) |
£1,300.00 plus VAT |
£260.00 |
£1,560.00 |
3-8 weeks |
|
LASTING POWERS OF ATTORNEY |
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Single LPA (registration fee also payable in addition of £82 per LPA) |
£550.00 plus VAT |
£110.00 |
£660.00 |
3-6 months |
|
2 LPAs (registration fees also payable in addition of £82 per LPA) |
£900.00 plus VAT |
£180.00 |
£1,080.00 |
3-6 months |
|
4 LPAs (registration fees also payable in addition of £82 per LPA) |
£1,500.00 plus VAT |
£300.00 |
£1,800.00 |
3-6 months |
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DEEDS |
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Deed of Variation, from; |
£500.00 plus VAT |
£100.00 |
£600.00 |
2-6 weeks |
|
Deed of Appointment, from; |
£500.00 plus VAT |
£100.00 |
£600.00 |
2-6 weeks |
|
Deed of Appropriation, from; |
£500.00 plus VAT |
£100.00 |
£600.00 |
2-6 weeks |
|
DEPUTYSHIP APPLICATIONS |
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Deputyship 1 Application, (court / registration fees also payable in addition) from; |
£950.00 plus VAT |
£190.00 |
£1,140.00 |
3-6 months |
The fees above are stated excluding VAT which will be charged at the prevailing rate (currently 20%). The figures quoted cover all of the work we would reasonably expect to complete the straight-forward documents stated.
Examples of additional fees we may have to charge would be for where the documents are to be produced in an unusually short time frame or where home or hospital visits are required.
The fees listed above do not include amounts that we may have to pay to third parties (disbursements). An example of such a disbursement would be the registration fee payable to the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) which is currently £82 per LPA.
Typically, it will take between 10 and 21 days to prepare a Will from the time of receiving all of your instructions. For LPA’s the timescale to prepare and register the forms at OPG is also 10 to 21 days. There is then a statutory waiting period and typically if there are no queries raised by OPG the LPA should be registered within 3 months.
Probate
As the circumstances around dealing with each Probate matter differ the quote you receive will be specifically tailored to those circumstances. The quote we provide will be based on the expected time it will take to complete your matter charged at your solicitor’s hourly rate (Anne - £350 per hour) (Jeff - £300 per hour). To give you a guide our fees tend to fall into the following ranges for the stages of the process described.
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PROBATE / LETTERS OF ADMINISTRATION |
Our Typical Fee (ex vat) |
Vat |
Our Typical Fee (inc vat) |
Time Scale |
|
Up to obtaining Grant of Probate including obtaining the valuations of the estate’s assets and liabilities (Probate court fee also payable in addition). |
£2,000.00 - £3,000.00 plus VAT |
£400.00 - £600.00 |
£2,400.00 - £3,600.00 |
6 – 12 weeks |
|
Collecting the assets and settling the liabilities, preparing the estate accounts and making the distributions. |
£2,500.00 - £5,000.00 plus VAT |
£500.00 - £1,000.00 |
£3,000.00 - £6,000.00 |
2 – 4 months |
The fees above are stated excluding VAT which will be charged at the prevailing rate (currently 20%). The figures do not include amounts that we may have to pay to third parties (disbursements). If the estate is complex in nature our final bill may be higher to reflect this.
The factors that can affect the price are whether the estate includes any properties, the number of assets to be collected, whether Inheritance Tax is involved, the number and location of beneficiaries, etc.
In some complex matters the firm's charges may also contain an element based upon the value of the estate, in accordance with the guidelines issued by the Law Society. This is because the value is a reflection of the importance of the matter and consequently the responsibility of the firm to take all due care of that value. Consequently, in a number of cases, the firm will also charge between 1%-1.5% of the gross value of the estate (less the value of any residence which was owned and forms part of the estate) and between 0.5%-0.75% of the value of the deceased's interest in any residence.
If properties are involved and we deal with the sale, we will charge separately for that transaction (see our Residential or Commercial Property Fees Guide as appropriate).
Any work that is contentious such as the Will being contested will be dealt with by our Dispute Resolution team on an hourly charge basis. (see our Dispute Resolution Team Fees Guide as appropriate).
The fees listed above do not include any amount that we may have to pay to third parties (disbursements). The following are the usual disbursements you can expect:
- Electronic transmission of money - £35 plus VAT
- Probate application fee - £273
- Swear fee - £5 to £10
The Hourly Fees that our solicitors charge is based upon their seniority and experience:
Anne Stennett - £350 p/h
Jeff Dunne - £350 p/h
Helena Drewett - £275 p/h
Mark Fitzpatrick - £150 p/h
VAT will be added at 20%
