Personal representatives have the responsibility of administering the estate properly. This means establishing the extent of the estate, paying the debts and taxes and distributing the balance. The law requires that this is done with due diligence, and it is our job to help you do this. When dealing with an estate administration from start to finish, we handle all of the following steps for you:
It is difficult to predict how long it will take to reach each stage, because each estate is individual. Generally, we aim to obtain a Grant of Probate within six months of the date a person passes away although it may be considerably sooner. Our charges to provide the full estate administration service depend on the size of the estate, as this reflects the level of financial responsibility falling on our firm, and the time taken.
In terms of the size of the estate, the following percentages are applicable: ½ % on the value of the deceased’s residence; and 1% on the rest of the estate. (These percentages increase slightly where we are appointed executors, to ¾ % and 1.5% respectively.) In terms of the time taken, this is the one of the most variable factors of all but on average, we estimate approximately 10 to 15 hours of work are required for an average estate.
Charge out rates are as follows:
Overall, our fees in total, including both value and time elements tend to amount to approximately 1.25% to 1.75% of the gross value of the estate. In addition, the following disbursements are typically required. These are payments made by us on your behalf to other organisations which are added to your bill.
If we are asked to carry out work relating to the income tax affairs of a deceased person while they were alive, work repaying relating to overpaid benefits or in respect of challenges to the Will then this will incur extra work and be quoted for separately.
When preparing a new Will for you, we will meet with you to discuss your requirements, your assets and your personal circumstances. We will then prepare a bespoke document to reflect your wishes, including who you would like to inherit your estate, who you entrust with administering your estate (please see above for the duties of personal representatives) and matters such as custody of minor children, if relevant. We then provide you with a draft Will and when you are happy with this, and when we have answered any questions you may have, we provide you with a fair copy for signature. We are happy to store the original, signed copy in our strongrooms for as long as this may be required, at no extra charge. Our firm’s fees for an individual Will start at £350 plus VAT and a Will Search fee (if required) is £140 (inclusive of VAT).. The majority of Wills can be prepared at this simple, fixed fee. For clients with very complex estates, for example where there are questions of domicile or complex trusts, then we may need to charge at the hourly rates listed above. This work would usually be undertaken by a partner, associate, solicitor or a Legal Executive and approximately five to ten hours’ work would be involved.
When preparing a Lasting Power of Attorney for you, we would meet with you to explain the options available. We would then draft all necessary documentation and talk through the documents with you. Once you are happy with the documents, you could sign these at our offices, and we will provide the required certificate of capacity at no extra charge. We will then deal with the registration of the powers of attorney with the office of the Public Guardian and provide certified copies of these to you. As with Wills, we are happy to store the original documents in our strongrooms for as long as this may be required, again at no additional charge. There are two kinds of lasting power of attorney. One deals with Finances, property and investments and the other deals with health, welfare and care. Hallett Co charge £400 per lasting power of attorney per person for the comprehensive service described above. A fee of £82 is payable to the Office of the Public Guardian for each application to register a Lasting Power of Attorney.
If a person loses mental capacity and there is no lasting power of attorney in place, then it can be very difficult for others, even close relatives or friends to make legal decisions for that person. In this case, Hallett Co can assist with an application to the Court of Protection to appoint another person to make decisions for them. Where another person has been appointed by the Court in this way, they are known as a “Deputy”. We charge a fixed fee of £1,500 for this service. In addition, the Court will charge an application fee of £371. These fees are normally recoverable from the person about whom the order is made. If the court decides a hearing is necessary, this will cost £494. Deputy applications involve a medical opinion on a person’s capacity. Sometimes a social worker or medical practitioner can provide these for free but sometimes it is necessary to pay privately for a doctor to provide this and this can cost approximately £200. Once appointed, a Deputy must pay an appointment of Deputy fee and purchase an annual insurance bond. The price of the bond will vary according to how much property, investments and money the person about whom the order is made has. The appointment of Deputy fee is £100 (no VAT). Thereafter, Deputies must pay an annual “supervision fee” which ranges from £35 to £320 (no VAT), depending on what level of supervision the deputyship needs. Again, these fees are normally recoverable from the person about whom the order is made. We are also able to assist the Deputy with the preparation of annual Deputyship Reports for £300 (plus VAT) and annual tax returns from £400 (plus VAT) for the person who has lost capacity.
Hallett & Co are committed to ensuring equality and diversity in the workplace, and in providing services to clients. Our aim is to respect, encourage, value and manage diversity and equality of opportunity for our staff and job applicants. A copy of our Equality and Diversity Policy can be found here.
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Solicitor
Bethany joined the firm in September 2016 as a Legal Secretary before enrolling with the University of Law in 2018 under their Solicitor Apprenticeship scheme.
During the course of the apprenticeship, Bethany graduated in 2023 with a First Class Degree in Legal Practice and Skills. She then undertook and passed the new Solicitor Qualifying Exams, before qualifying as a Solicitor in the firm’s litigation department in November 2024.
Bethany has a wide range of experience assisting in litigation matters. Her areas of practice in the department include:
Partner
Mark is the firm’s Senior Partner and head of our Commercial Property department. He qualified as a solicitor in 1985, became a Partner in 1988 and became Senior Partner in 2015.
Mark can provide the full range of commercial and business conveyancing services, ranging from drafting of leases and tenancies to dealing with the purchases of offices, shops and businesses.
