What Are The Costs Of Dealing With Probate?
Posted on 6th April 2020
When you have the unenviable task of being a Personal Representative (Usually called an Executor or Administrator) following the death of a loved one, there comes with the ‘job’ a wide array of expenses. Some expected, some not so expected, however, each of them is reasonably recoverable from the deceased’s Estate, provided the costs is, just that, reasonable.
What kind of costs are involved?
It’s likely that there will be expenses such as Probate Court fees, Funeral expenses, costs of dealing with their property including estate agents, any clearance agents and Solicitor’s fees for acting on the sale, travel expenses, postage costs and the inevitable Inheritance Tax.
The scale of these fees is hard to estimate, however, broadly speaking the larger and more complex the estate, the higher the fees are likely to be.
How do I recover these fees?
Generally speaking, you are in charge of the estate and so, it is something of an honour system where you are expected to use the funds responsibly and take only those fees that are reasonable.
It is strongly recommended that you keep a written record of any fees paid, including those paid to others and to yourself, as any of the Beneficiaries of the estate, or any other Personal Representatives can ask you about these expenses and if you have, in their opinion, overspent, they can challenge you on this point.
Can I employ help with the Estate?
The honest answer is yes, and you really should look into doing so. You can seek Legal Advice and Representation from a Probate Solicitor, such as MG Legal, your Probate Solicitor in Longridge. For little cost, our probate solicitors can assist with the various and often confusing aspects of the more complex Estates, as well as working in tandem with our Property Department if there are houses or other types of property to liquidate or transfer to Beneficiaries.
Whilst simple estates, say, those with no property to sell, debts to pay or tax to settle can be concluded in a handful of months, more complex ones can take over a year.
MG Legal, your Probate Solicitor in Longridge is currently Administrating an estate with over 30 Beneficiaries, all of whom are entitled to varying sizes of shares from the liquidation of property, after deduction of bank finance charges and other applicable taxes. We are also advising on a matter where the Executor of an estate wrongly interpreted the wording of a Will and dispensed assets to the wrong parties, in the wrong order.
If you aren’t sure, don’t take the chance
MG Legal, your Probate Solicitor in Longridge are well versed in dealing with this type of matter and we offer an affordable service to either act as Personal Representatives or to assist them. We offer a variety of funding options, including fixed fees wherever possible to ensure that the maximum possible of all assets reaches those intended by the deceased whilst ensuring that all loose ends are tied up and all legal obligations are satisfied.
We appreciate that navigating the many and varied legal mazes at a time of great personal sadness can be difficult and stressful. Whether an Executor or if you are thinking of making a Will, you can appoint MG Legal as Personal Representatives or to work alongside your chosen Personal Representative.
Get in touch with our Wills and Probate Team today, by phone, email, web-contact form or at one of our offices in Longridge, Garstang or Lancaster and we will get things moving the same day.
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