My accountour premium service fees
Our fees for providing the Prob8 Premium Service are designed to be calculated in a clear, simple and easy to understand way. It is worth bearing in mind that many probate lawyers charge for their time rather than a fixed percentage fee of the estate value, which Prob8's Premium Service does.
How is the fee going to be calculated?
Our fee is simply a fixed percentage of the gross value of the estate (i.e. the value of all the assets in the estate at the date of death which need to be administered by the grant of representation). We will charge a fixed fee of 1.5% of the gross value of the estate, subject to a minimum charge of £1,250.
Do remember that we have to add VAT to this amount (current rate of 20%).
What happens if I change my mind before the valuation process is complete?
If, for any reason, you decide to terminate your instructions with us at any time before the valuation process is completed and therefore before we are able to calculate the fee payable, we will charge you a fixed fee of £500 plus VAT.
However, once the valuation process is complete and the Grant of Probate application has been submitted to the probate registry then our fee will simply be calculated as above.
How do your fees compare to other people?
Unlike many other law firms, Prob8 does not make separate charges for our time and an additional value element, simply because in many estates this method of charging often means that a large percentage of the estate is eaten up by administration costs.
Also we do not charge anywhere near what your high street bank will charge. Not only do the banks charge percentage fees typically around 4% – see the table below, they will also charge you for extras such as filling out tax returns, fees for payments to each beneficiary and sometimes fees per asset realised etc.
| Value | Prob8 | Lloyds TSB Bank [1] | Barclays Bank [2] |
|---|---|---|---|
| £50,000 | £1,250 | £2,000 | £2,250 |
| £100,000 | £1,500 | £4,000 | £4,500 |
| £200,000 | £3,000 | £8,000 | £8,000 |
| £300,000 | £4,500 | £12,000 | £11,500 |
| £400,000 | £6,000 | £16,000 | £15,000 |
| £500,000 | £7,500 | £20,000 | £18,500 |
| £600,000 | £9,000 | £23,000 | £20,000 |
| £700,000 | £10,500 | £26,000 | £21,500 |
| £800,000 | £12,000 | £29,000 | £23,000 |
| £900,000 | £13,500 | £32,000 | £24,500 |
[1] Source Lloyds TSB Private Banking terms & conditions for estate administration - undated.
[2] Source Barclays Wealth Estates & Trusts terms & conditions – May 2008
When will I know what the Prob8 Premium Service fee is going to be?
Once we have completed the valuation stage you will be informed of the precise fee payable and this will appear in your secure online financial statement. This will only change if further assets that need to be administered under the Grant come to light after the Grant has been obtained.
How will the charity gift work?
Once we have worked out what the gross value of the estate is, we shall be able to calculate our fixed fee of which we will donate 5% to a charity of your choice. We shall ask you who you would like us to make the donation to and at the end of the case we shall send the donation to your charity and forward their receipt to you.
You can use this gift however you like, such as saying thank you to a charity that may have helped your loved one or help further research in to something which may have been close to their heart. The choice is yours.
What about joint property which does not need to be administered?
We do not make any charge on the value of jointly owned property which automatically passes to a living co-owner outside the provisions of the will or the intestacy rules. We also do not make any charge on the increase in the value of an asset which arises after death.
Will there be any other expenses to be paid?
During the administration of the estate, there will be additional expenses incurred in addition to our fee. These are commonly referred to as “disbursements”. The main disbursements (although there may be others) will be:
- Valuation fees
- The probate application fee of £40.00
- Sealed office copies of the Grant of Probate at £1.00 each
- Commissioner’s fees of at least £5.00 – the precise fee will depend on a variety of factors and will be notified to you at the beginning of the process
- Unclaimed Assets Register search of £25.00
- Creditors’ search advertisements – variable amount, and
- Beneficiaries’ bankruptcy searches at £2.00 each
When will you bill the estate?
We will bill the estate 50% of the total fee payable (as calculated in accordance with the above) once the Grant of Probate is obtained. We will bill the remaining 50% of the total fee payable once we have finished the estate administration.
Where we are carrying out additional work we will discuss and agree with you when the additional fees relating to that work will be payable.
Will I have to pay your fees personally?
Usually the answer is no. The way most estate administrations work is that we will collect in all of the deceased’s assets. The money we recover will be paid in to our client account. This money does not belong to us but to the estate. As and when our fees come to be paid they are usually deducted from the monies we hold in the client account. In this way, you will not need to pay the fee yourself; you will simply be advised when the fee had arisen and the amount involved.
However, sometimes this is not always possible and you will be advised if this looks likely. In such cases you will be personally responsible for the payment of our fees.