If you are searching for answers to the question ‘How much does a probate lawyer cost?’, chances are you have a probate matter on which you require expert legal advice.
At Bartlett’s, we specialise in probate law and practice. Our experienced team is on hand to offer the advice and support you need at competitive, affordable rates.
To speak to our experts please call us free of charge on 0800 988 3674 or Make A Free Online Enquiry.
What Does A Probate Lawyer Do?
A probate lawyer is a qualified legal professional who specialises in the field of Wills and Probate. They support their clients with a wide variety of matters, including the following:
• Making a Will to ensure your estate goes to the people and causes that are dear to you and minimise inheritance tax. Instructing a specialist probate lawyer to prepare your Will ensures that it is valid and watertight and accurately reflects your intentions.
• Updating or changing an existing Will to account for changes in your circumstances, such as marriages, births, or deaths
• Setting up a trust to protect and manage your assets.
• Long-term care planning.
• Administering the estate of a loved one who named you as executor under their Will. This includes:
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- Applying for the Grant of Probate
- Valuing the estate
- Dealing with inheritance tax issues
- Clearing your loved one’s debts and liabilities
- Distributing the estate in accordance with your loved one’s wishes as detailed in their Will
• Administering the estate of a loved one who did not leave a Will. This includes:
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- Applying to act as administrator
- Applying for the Letters of Administration
- Administering the estate in accordance with the provisions of the Intestacy Rules
• Dealing with any disputes that may arise during the probate process. For example, individuals may make a claim under the Inheritance Act if they do not believe that the deceased person made ‘reasonable financial provision’ for them. A probate lawyer can represent either the individual bringing the claim or other interested parties, such as the executors, administrators, or beneficiaries.
How Much Does A Probate Lawyer Cost?
It is impossible to say definitively how much a probate lawyer costs, since it all depends on the nature of the work we undertake for you. We are committed to providing exceptional legal advice to our clients at affordable, competitive rates, and you can be sure of receiving exceptional value for money.
We may be able to act on a fixed fee basis for some types of work, such as preparing, updating, or amending your Will. In these cases, we will provide an estimate of our fees during our initial meeting with you so you can budget accordingly. Our fees will vary depending on the type of Will involved and the complexity of your arrangements. Our fees for preparing a straightforward Will will usually be lower than those involved in drafting a more complicated Will, for example, one that involves overseas assets or a trust.
For estate administration matters, our probate lawyers usually charge an hourly rate, which will not be more than £200 an hour plus VAT. Since we cannot be sure how long the estate administration will take, we usually reassure clients that our total fees will not exceed 2% of the value of the estate in question. Please note that we provide this reassurance purely to ensure that our client’s fees remain proportionate to the estate value; it does not mean that we will charge 2% of the value in all cases. We will send our invoice, which will be based on a number of factors unique to your situation, including the complexity of the issues involved, to you for approval before submitting it.
When we charge on an hourly rate, our fees will depend on how long it takes your probate lawyer to complete your matter. Accordingly, if the estate administration proceeds without issue, our fees will be lower than if we encounter problems, such as challenges to the validity of the Will. In these cases, our probate lawyers always seek to resolve the issue as quickly and cost-effectively as possible.
For example, where possible, we will seek to negotiate a settlement with the other side to avoid our client incurring the costs of contested court proceedings. Our probate lawyers are expert negotiators and frequently use their skills to secure excellent outcomes for our clients. If negotiations fail to yield the desired results, our probate lawyers will consider exploring alternative dispute resolution methods, such as mediation, which are quicker and more cost-efficient than litigation, and can preserve important relationships. Only in very limited situations do we advise our clients to take a matter to court.
To speak to our experts please call us free of charge on 0800 988 3674 or Make A Free Online Enquiry.
