1. Understanding Probate Fees
If you are new to dealing with probate, there may be some confusion over probate
fees. This is because there are two types of fee. The first is the fee you pay to HM
Courts and Tribunal Service for permission to probate the Will and access the
finances of your loved ones. This fee is £105 and you also pay £1 for each copy of the
documents needed to send to the financial institutions that hold the deceased’s
assets.
If the deceased has assets of under £5000 after funeral expenses you will not need
to apply for probate to access their money. This amount can be as much as £10,000,
depending on the financial institution.If your loved ones assets exceed this amount
you will need to apply for grant of probate and send your cheque off with the
application for £105 plus the costs of each copy of the document to HM Courts and
Tribunal service.
The second type of probate fee relates to paying someone to probate the Will. You
can probate the Will yourself but you may not feel like doing so when you are
already suffering the loss of your loved one. Probate services are usually available
from a solicitor, or a fixed fee probate service. These fees can vary, depending on the
service provided and how complicated the deceased’s finances are. Nobody ever
intends to leave complicated finances for a loved one to deal with the trouble is few
of us know when we are actually going to die.
What Do Probate Fees Include?
Probate fees include everything needed to deal with the estate. Before applying for
probate you would visit a fixed fee probate service or a solicitor and ask them to
apply for probate on your behalf. They would then access the deceased’s assets,
chase up any debts and pay any bills. They would then cash in all assets. Depending
on your loved ones estate this may involve the sale of any properties and stocks,
shares and bonds.
Next they would calculate any inheritance tax owing on the estate, deal with HMRC
on your behalf and pay any tax owing from the estate. Finally they would distribute
the estate to the benefactors of the will accordingly.
Is There a Way to Keep the Cost of Probate Fees to a Minimum?
Dealing with probate yourself at your sad time of loss can be daunting. So many
people opt to use a probate service instead. But the thought of unknown legal fees
can be daunting. Solicitors charge huge amounts for the work they do, and at around
£100 a letter, fees can quickly mount up.
A good way to keep costs down is by using a fixed fee probate service. This type of
service will discuss the deceased's assets with you and tell you exactly how much

2. dealing with the estate will cost, so you won’t have to worry about huge probate
fees once their work is complete.
IWC Estate Planning & Management Ltd. are a specialist
Will Writing and Probate Company offering nationwide
coverage. The company provides fixed fee probate
services; rates are agreed with clients in advance. Fees
are based on the work that has to be carried out, rather
than the estate value or at an hourly rate.
IWC are regulated by the Society of Will Writers and Estate Planning
Practitioners and registered at Companies House. Their head office is located
in Croydon, Surrey, with satellite office coverage across most of England.
Follow us on Twitter @IWCLtd