Probate Services
Hayhow & Co Probate Services Ltd is authorised and regulated as a CILEX–ACCA Probate Entity, Authorisation number 3001246
At Hayhow & Co we like to form life-long relationships with our clients, which includes looking after our client’s affairs. We understand that losing someone can be a very difficult time, and administering the estate can be onerous.
Hayhow & Co can offer advice and support which is clear and concise, covering all aspects of the process involved.
Why choose Hayhow & Co:
- Friendly and approachable service
- Advice, support and assistance with estate administration; completing probate forms and applying/filing for grant of probate; including obtaining Grant of Probate, dealing with property and distribution of assets
- Preparing estate accounts
- Valuation of business
- Calculating the Inheritance tax liability and explaining any payments instalment options
- Dealing with HM Revenue & Customs on behalf of the estate, including liabilities
- General advice and support on the role of the estate executor/administrator
We believe the benefits of using Hayhow & Co is that over the course of our client relationships we have developed a real appreciation and understanding of the financial and tax affairs of our clients.
This knowledge can be very helpful when assisting and advising on probate, as we will also have a clear understanding of the deceased intentions.
If you want to find out more about our services please do not hesitate to contact Hayhow & Co for more information.
Information
Pricing
We are pleased to work to a fixed quote for the completion of the probate work. The level of fees will be dependent on the complexity of the estate, along with the number of beneficiaries and the number of assets and accounts.
In addition to our fees there will also be payments we need to make to third-parties to complete the probate process. These include by are not limited to:
- The probate application fee paid to the Probate Registry = £273
- Official copy of the grant of representation = £1.50
- Placing a notice in a local newspaper = £80
- Placing a notice in the London Gazette = £110
Beyond these disbursements there will be other disbursements that vary considerably these would include:
- Third-party valuations of property
- Third-party valuations of other high value assets such as antiques and jewellery.
Before we start work on your matter, we will provide you with an estimate for the work that we propose to provide, based on the information that you are able to give to us at that time. Please try to be as accurate as possible with the information you provide as if there are significant variations from the information provided this may necessitate an increase in the estimate. We would always advise you in advance and in writing if an increase is necessary, providing you with the reason and the revised estimate.
We have a range of services that can be offered to you regarding probate, each package can be tailored to your needs, the exact cost will depend on your specific circumstances, and the complexities of each case.
To provide you with an indication of our pricing the following are three examples covering the range of estates we tend to deal with, but please remember every estate is different so they are only a guide:
Example 1 – A simple estate with one residential property, two bank accounts, no shares and two beneficiaries. The estate is valued at below £200,000.
Legal fees for the work of:
Hayhow & Co Probate Services Ltd
- Drafting and submitting the application to the Probate Registry
- Valuation of the estate
- Calculation of the inheritance tax (verifying that it does not apply)
- Administration of the estate
£2,000
Applicable disbursements:
- Probate Registry fee £273.00
- Three official copies of the grant of probate £4.50
- Notice in local paper. £80.00
- Notice in the London Gazette. £110.00
Total for fees, and disbursements £2,467.50
All fees are paid directly to Hayhow & Co the accountancy firm. Where applicable VAT is included at 20%.
Example 2 – A more complex estate with one residential property, three bank accounts, shares and four beneficiaries. The estate is valued at below £500,000.
Legal fees for the work of:
Hayhow & Co Probate Services Ltd
- Drafting and submitting the application to the Probate Registry
- Valuation of the estate
- Calculation of the inheritance tax
- Administration of the estate
£4,000.00
Applicable disbursements:
- Probate Registry fee £273.00
- Four official copies of the grant of probate £6.00
- Notice in local paper. £80.00
- Notice in the London Gazette. £110.00
- Fee for the valuation of the property £450.00
- Fee for the sale of the property £TBA
Total for fees, and disbursements £4,919
All fees are paid directly to Hayhow & Co the accountancy firm. Please note property valuation fees and conveyancing fees, are fees that will be paid to third-party providers so can vary significantly, but a quotation will always be obtained before the services of such third-party providers are engaged. Where applicable VAT is included at 20%.
Please also remember this figure does not include the inheritance tax that had to be paid from the estate.
Example 3 – A complex estate with two residential properties, a business, four bank accounts, shares and six beneficiaries. The estate is valued at below £1,500,000.
Legal fees for the work of:
Hayhow & Co Probate Services Ltd
- Drafting and submitting the application to the Probate Registry
- Valuation of the estate
- Calculation of the inheritance tax
- Administration of the estate
£6,000.00
Applicable disbursements:
- Probate Registry fee £273.00
- Four official copies of the grant of probate £6.00
- Notice in local paper. £80.00
- Notice in the London Gazette. £110.00
- Fee for the valuation of the property £450.00
- Fee for the sale of the property £TBA
Total for fees, and disbursements £6,919.00
All fees are paid directly to Hayhow & Co the accountancy firm. Please note property valuation fees and conveyancing fees, are fees that will be paid to third-party providers so can vary significantly, but a quotation will always be obtained before the services of such third-party providers are engaged. Where applicable VAT is included at 20%.
Please also remember this figure does not include the inheritance tax that had to be paid from the estate.
Potential additional costs
You may consider collecting the following information to help generate a probate quote (this list is not intended to be exhaustive):
- whether there is a will and if it has been located
- identity of inquirer and, if they are not an executor, whether all executors have died or refused to act
- estimated value of assets
- whether there is property in the estate
- whether any property is outside England and Wales
- whether the grant of probate is likely to be contested
- number of actual assets/ liabilities apart from properties and their value
- number of properties and their value
- number of beneficiaries
- are any of the beneficiaries lacking capacity under the Mental Health Act or minors
- are there any trusts in the will
- is the estate a taxable one or not
- whether any gifts were made in lifetime
How long will the work take?
On average, for simple cases we will try and conclude the estate administration within 6 - 12 months of being instructed:
- We allow 3-4 months for obtaining the Grant of Representation from the point we are instructed.
- Collecting assets then follows, which can take a further 3–4 months.
- Once this has been done, distribution of the assets normally takes a further 3-4 months.
- The above time estimates are for guidance only and vary depending upon the work involved.
- Large and/or more complex estates will take longer to conclude as there will likely be Inheritance tax issues which will require us to liaise with HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC). HMRC can take up to 6 months to finalise their own position on an estate, and this increases the time it will take for us to conclude the estate administration.
- Where there are one or more properties in an estate that need to be sold, there might be a delay if a buyer is not found quickly.
PII Information
As a CILEX ACCA Probate Entity, we are required to hold professional indemnity insurance to cover our probate work. The level of cover is currently £5,000,000 and a copy of the current insurance certificate from Lockton Insurance is available to view at our office.
Complaints
Here at Hayhow & Co Probate Limited we aim to provide the best possible service to all our clients, so if you have any concerns, please contact the individual managing your matter as soon as these arise so that they can be addressed promptly. If this does not address the issue to your satisfaction, you can raise a formal complaint, by contacting Mrs Julie Gladman:
- Telephone on: 01553 764711
- Letter: 19 King Street, Kings Lynn, Norfolk, PE30 1HB
- Email: jdg@hayhow.com
To help us understand your complaint and to ensure we do not miss any relevant information please provide your full name and contact details, and information about what you think has gone wrong and when this occurred.
All complaints will be acknowledged by email within four working days, so that you have confirmation that your complaint is being investigated.
We will then investigate your complaint, which will involve reviewing the file and speaking to relevant members of staff. We may need further information from you and will contact you if this is necessary. If appropriate we may invite you to a meeting to discuss the complaint. You would not be required to attend if you do not wish to, and we would be happy to discuss the matter with you on the telephone if you prefer.
At the end of our investigation, we will provide you with a written response detailing our findings and outlining what action we propose to take. We aim to do this within 28 days of receiving your complaint but will advise you in advance if this period needs to be extended.
Upon receipt of our letter detailing the outcome of our investigation and our proposed action, we would ask that within 14 days you contact us to either inform us:
- That you are satisfied with the action that has been taken and that we can therefore close the complaint, or
- That you are dissatisfied with what is proposed.
Where you are dissatisfied with the outcome of our investigation, we will carry out a further review of the complaint and consider any new information, if there is any. We will aim to do this within 14 days and then provide you with a final written response to your complaint detailing the findings and proposed action.
If your complaint relates to the service we have provided and you are still not satisfied with the outcome in our final written response to you or we have not provided a final written response to your complaint within 8 weeks of receiving it, then you may be able to have the complaint independently looked at by the Legal Ombudsman. The Legal Ombudsman investigates complaints relating to poor service, but before accepting a complaint for investigation the Legal Ombudsman will check that you have tried to resolve your complaint with us first. If you have, and you are not satisfied with the outcome, then you can take your complaint to the Legal Ombudsman:
- Within six months of receiving a final response to your complaint and
- No more than one year from the date of the act / omission that gave rise to the complaint; or
- No more than one year from when you should reasonably have known there was cause for complaint.
The legal Ombudsman can be contacted by:
As the firm is authorised by the CILEx Regulation, if your complaint relates to the misconduct of a CILEX member or CILEX Practitioner (ACCA Probate), you can refer your complaint free of charge to CILEx Regulation for them to investigate. Misconduct is defined as any breach of the CILEX Code of Conduct: 2.-Code-of-Conduct-2019.pdf (cilexregulation.org.uk) Misconduct complaints must be made within 12 months of the act or omission that gave rise to the complaint or within 12 months of the complainant having knowledge of the act or omission that gave rise to the complaint, whichever is the greater. CILEx Regulation can be contacted by:
- Telephone: 01234 845770
- Email on info@cilexregulation.org.uk
- Website: https://cilexregulation.org.uk
- Post: Room 301, Endeavour House, Wrest Park, Silsoe, Bedfordshire, MK45 4HS.
Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) bodies such as ProMediate of Brow Farm, Top Road, Frodsham WA6 6SP, www.prometiate.co.uk exist which are competent to deal with complaints about legal services should both you and our firm wish to use such a scheme. Currently we do not agree to using an ADR scheme as we believe our own inhouse investigation supported where necessary by that provided by the Legal Ombudsman and CILEx Regulation is sufficient.