We can pay all the costs of a Co-op Funeralcare funeral
We can pay all the costs of a Co-op Funeralcare funeral when you use our Probate Complete Service, and the Estate has sufficient financial assets which can be sold in due course.
Fixed fee probate quotation
You do not have to pay a percentage of the total value of the estate when you use our Probate Complete Service. This could save you thousands of pounds.
With our Probate Complete Service we take full responsibility for getting the Grant of Probate and dealing with the Legal, Tax (excluding VAT), Property and Estate Administration affairs.
When you choose our Probate Complete Service we can:
- Deal with HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) for the Inheritance Tax, Capital Gains Tax and Income Tax matters of the deceased.
- Pay all the costs of a Co-op Funeralcare funeral* and reimburse any deposit paid, as soon as you have instructed us to represent you; providing that the Estate owns sufficient assets that can be sold in due course.
*This does not include independent co-operative societies including Central England, East of England, Midcounties, Tamworth, Southern, Chelmsford Star, Scotmid, Heart of England, Channel Islands, Lincolnshire and Clydebank.
There are no upfront costs to pay as our Probate fees are deferred and will be taken from the Estate once it is in funds.
We will provide you with a fixed fee probate quote which is based on the individual circumstances of your loved one's Estate. Our price ranges from £1,630 to £36,698 excluding VAT and disbursements. There are a number of factors which can affect the complexity of an Estate and the quotation you will be given, including the value and nature of the assets, whether or not there is a Will, and the number of Beneficiaries.
Other solicitors may charge an hourly rate for time they spend on the administration of an estate and some charge a percentage of the value of the estate.
At Co-op Legal Services we don't do this. We offer a free, fixed fee probate quotation so you’ll know how much it will cost to fully administer the estate before our Solicitors start any work.
Example pricing
Every Estate is different, but to give you a deeper understanding of our Probate pricing here are some examples of our fixed fee Probate quotations for Estates of varying size and complexity. These examples are for illustrative purposes only and are not a guarantee of the fixed fee quotation that you will receive, which will be tailored to your specific situation:
Example Estate 1 – Simple Estate
- 1 property
- 2 bank accounts
- Valid Will
- No liabilities
- 4 Beneficiaries
- Estate value £145,000
Our fixed fee Probate quotation for this Estate would be £2,694 (+ VAT and disbursements)
Example Estate 2 – Standard Estate
- 1 property
- 6 bank accounts
- Valid Will
- 4 Beneficiaries / Personal Representatives
- Estate value £240,000
Our fixed fee Probate quotation for this Estate would be £4,308 (+ VAT and disbursements)
Example Estate 3 – Complex Estate
- 1 property
- 8 bank / financial institution accounts
- No Will (Intestate)
- 4 Beneficiaries
- Estate value £730,000
Our fixed fee Probate quotation for this Estate would be £10,237 (+ VAT and disbursements)
Example Estate 4 – High Value Estate
- 2 x properties
- 12 Bank/ financial institutions accounts
- Valid Will
- 4 Beneficiaries
- Estate value £2.5 million
Our fixed fee Probate quotation for this Estate would be £19,765 (+ VAT and disbursements)
When Co-op Legal Services has provided you with a written Fixed Fee Probate quote for the agreed work, that price will not change unless the original information we are given is shown to be incorrect or circumstances change.
Probate can be complicated because it often involves legal, financial, tax and property matters, but the good news is that we can explain the Probate process to you avoiding legal jargon wherever possible.
In order to provide you with a written fixed cost Probate quote, we will need to know a variety of details about the deceased person's Estate. Please don't worry if you don't have all the details when you call us because we will help you.
Complete probate and estate administration service
Our Probate Complete Service is our full Probate and Estate Administration service for people who would rather instruct our Probate Lawyers and experts to deal with all the legal and financial work.
Benefits of our Probate Complete Service include:
- Award winning Probate service from the Probate Provider of the Year 2018
- A local Probate Consultant can visit you at home or another location of your choice (in England or Wales)
- No upfront fee is charged for our Complete Probate service. Our fixed fee can be paid from the Estate during the administration process*
- We can take responsibility for any Estate assets that need to be sold or transferred as part of the Estate Administration
- We can settle the cost of a Co-op Funeralcare funeral** and reimburse any deposit paid, as soon as you have instructed us to represent you.
* Providing that the Estate owns assets that can be liquidated.
** Not including independent co-operative societies including Central England, East of England, Midcounties, Tamworth, Southern, Chelmsford Star, Scotmid, Heart of England, Channel Islands, Lincolnshire and Clydebank.
In order to carry out our Probate and Estate Administration services more often than not we have to appoint third party organisations to provide specialist services. The costs of these services are disbursements of the Estate and will be charged in addition to the fixed fee. All fees and disbursement costs that are able to be identified will be detailed on the written quote that we provide before any work starts.
Once we have provided you with a written quote for the agreed work to be done, that price will not change unless the original information we are given is shown to be incorrect or circumstances change.
Legal, tax, property and estate administration affairs
Administrating an estate involves a lot of work. The executor is responsible for ensuring that the estate assets, finances and other affairs are dealt with in compliance with the law. If this isn't done correctly, the Executor can be held personally liable and may have to use their own money to rectify any financial errors.
With our Complete Probate Service we provide full service taking responsibility for getting the Grant of Probate and dealing with the legal, tax (excluding VAT), property and Estate administration affairs.
Our Complete Probate Service includes a face to face conversation with one of our experienced Probate Consultants, who can meet you wherever is most convenient for you (in England or Wales). The Probate Consultant will talk you through the Probate and Estate Administration process, explaining each step without using legal jargon wherever possible.
Legal affairs
- Preparing the necessary documentation for the Grant of Probate application
- Carrying out all necessary checks to ensure the validity of any Will in existence
- When there is no valid Will, applying the Rules of Intestacy to the Estate of the deceased to identify the Personal Representatives and beneficiaries and to establish the entitlement of the beneficiaries
- Applying to the Probate Registry and obtaining the Grant of Probate
- Ensuring the accurate distribution of the Estate
- Placing all statutory adverts to establish whether there are any claims against the Estate (or taking out the relevant insurance)
- Assessing variations to the distribution of the Estate (but not drafting the Deed of Variation)
Tax
- Completing the following tax forms for HMRC:
- The Income Tax return from 6th April to the date of death
- The appropriate Inheritance Tax form, either an IHT 205 or IHT 400
- The Capital Gains Tax return, if required
- Conducting all correspondence with HMRC relevant to completing the above tax forms
- Taking any corrective action required by HMRC during the Estate administration process
- Claiming any relevant tax reliefs or exemptions applicable to the Estate Calculating any Inheritance Tax, Income Tax and Capital Gains Tax that is owed.
- Ensuring payment of any outstanding tax from the Estate
- Calculating and arranging for the transfer of any Nil Rate Band allowance if available, in order to reduce Inheritance Tax
Estate Administration
- Identifying and corresponding with the Personal Representatives and beneficiaries of the Estate throughout the Estate administration process Identifying and corresponding with all financial institutions and organisations relevant to the Estate throughout the Estate administration process
- Identifying, verifying and valuing all assets based in England and Wales Gathering all the assets of the Estate
- Transferring all jointly held assets into sole name, including property held as joint tenants
- Paying any debts and liabilities from the Estate
- Preparing the accounts of the Estate
- Distributing the Estate to the beneficiaries and the Trustess of any - Trusts created by the Will or intestacy
Property
If there is a property in the Estate, our Fixed Fee Probate Service includes where necessary:
- Ensuring that any existing buildings and contents insurer is fully aware of the change in circumstances and making sure that appropriate insurance is in place (where insurance is not in place we can arrange cover at an additional cost)
- Appointing the Royal Mail to re-direct post to us during the period of administration in order to manage all the affairs of the Estate
- Appointing a specialist Conveyancer to register any unregistered land at HM Land Registry, if required
If there is a property to be sold our Fixed Fee Probate Service also includes:
- Appointing an Estate Agent for the marketing and sale of the property
- Appointing and managing a specialist Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) provider in obtaining an EPC for the property where appropriate. An EPC is a legal requirement for the marketing and sale of a property
- Appointing and managing a specialist Conveyancer for the transfer of ownership of the property
Additional services and disbursements
There are additional services and disbursements you might need during the administration of the Estate, which are not included in the fixed fee quotation, in particular:
- Transferring ownership of registered property from the deceased to the beneficiaries is at an additional cost
- Where there is a property to be sold, we will appoint an Estate Agent, EPC provider and Conveyancer on your behalf, but the provider will charge an additional fee for their services
Our probate team
Our Probate team includes specialist Probate Lawyers and over 200 trained Probate Consultants, Case Managers and Advisors who are trusted to deal with over £1.3 billion million in Estates annually. Our teams are all supervised by specialist practitioners with at least 10 years' experience in dealing with Probate and Estate Administration, and many are either Solicitors, Chartered Legal Executives or qualified Trust and Estate Practitioners.
Many of our Probate Lawyers and Probate Case Managers are members of the Society of Trusts and Estate Practitioners (STEP). All STEP members are subject to an extensive Code of Professional Conduct, requiring them at all times to act with integrity and in a manner that inspires the confidence, respect and trust of their clients and of the wider community.
Key probate team members and supervisors.
Probate Lawyers and Local Probate Consultants are available in England and Wales only for customers using our Probate Complete Service.
Co-op Legal Services has over 600 staff working in different businesses with offices in Manchester, Bristol, Stratford-upon-Avon, Sheffield and London.
