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Probate is a term commonly used in the UK when talking about applying for the
right to deal with a deceased person's affairs or a Probate Grant (called
'administering the estate').
In practice, different terms are used, depending on whether or not
the deceased person left a will and where they lived. This
information covers probate in England and Wales.
When you create your will you need to appoint
Executors. It is common for people to appoint their closest family
and nominate these as Executors. It is worth considering appointing
a professional Executor rather than your close family members. At
the time of your death it is highly likely that your loved ones will
be grieving, do they really want to take on the role of the Executor
for your estate?
These duties of the Executor can include:-
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Discovering and listing all the assets,
property, saving and investments
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having your estate professionally valued
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arranging your funeral
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ensuring the will is probated correctly
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gathering up information on outstanding debts and bills
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working out what Income and Inheritance Taxes are due
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making
any necessary tax returns and payments
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completing and submitting all Probate Registry forms
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recovering all assets
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paying off all debts
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ensuring all gifts and legacies are given to the correct
beneficiaries
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creating a clear set of accounts for the estate
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demonstrate
to the beneficiaries how they have disposed of the estate
In addition, if your estate contains Trusts
the Executors must ensure these are set-up correctly and passed to
the Trustees to manage. The Trustees have many duties including
taking good care of the assets in their Trust and where they do not
have the professional skills required they must employ suitably
skilled people. Trustees are, at all times, accountable to the
beneficiaries of the Trust they manage and if they act unwisely or
inappropriately they can be sued by the beneficiaries.
We offer a range of probate, professional
executor and professional trustee services.
These services can either be purchased as a
package when we write your will, or as required on death
Our fees for
immediate need probate cases are as follows;
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1.5% of the first £500,000 of an estate
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1% of the next £500,000
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0.75% of every £500,000 thereafter or part thereof
All fees are plus disbursements (for example Probate Court costs,
Land Registry fees, advertisement fees, Estate Agent fees) and VAT
where applicable and are calculated on gross estate values. A
minimum charge of £995 per case applies.
Where you would
like to appoint us in your will as executors our
packaged service provides the
services of Professional Executors and Trustees for you and any
qualifying members of your family. By purchasing this service your
loved ones will not need to worry about the arduous duties
associated with being an Executor or Trustee.
The service has a
fixed purchase price which covers all qualifying members of your
family. On death Executor and Trustee duties are handled for a fixed
percentage of the estate. This percentage is capped so you
your family will never pay more than the quoted percentage, but if
the works actually costs less to complete you your family will pay
less.
Capped packages are available giving a caped probate cost of 0.95
percent of the gross value of the estate or 0.75% of the gross value
of the estate plus VAT. Trusts are also administered at a fixed capped fee of
no more than 1% of the value of the Trust annually.
If
you need help or assistance in dealing with a deceased estate
general guidance can be obtained free of charge from your local Probate Office.
If
you do not want to expose yourself to the various liabilities of
being an executor or trustee and you wish to appoint a professional
probate company why not give us a call.
Wills, probate
establishing and managing trusts can be complicated areas. We work
with a specialist team of Solicitors that deal exclusively with
these matters and can relieve you of this burden.
If
you have been appointed as an executor in a will and are struggling
with the role maybe you do not understand probate, IHT100a IHT00b,
IHT100c, IHT200, CA1, CA4, CA5 PA3, PA4, or IHT 205 we offer a range of executor services.
Similarly if
you have been appointed as a trustee and would prefer to revoke this
role and appoint professional trustees, we have a range of partners
who other probate and trustee services at very competitive rates.
Please give us a call to see how we could help in your
circumstances.
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