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.
Probate complete service - fixed fee
We take full responsibility for getting the grant of probate and dealing with the legal, tax, property and estate administration affairs; for a fixed fee. There are no upfront costs to pay.
If someone has died and you need help with probate, contact us:
Our service includes getting the Grant of Probate, but also dealing with the Legal, Tax (excluding VAT), Property and Estate Administration affairs. We can also conduct a free face-to-face visit, either in the comfort of your own home or via an online video call, where we will discuss your details in full and then provide a fixed fee cost.
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.
Benefits of our probate complete service
Probate complete service includes:
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Free initial face to face meeting with a local Probate Consultant at home or another location of your choice in England or Wales.
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We take full responsibility for getting the Grant of Probate and dealing with the legal, tax (excluding VAT), property and estate administration affairs.
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We deal with HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) on your behalf.
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We offer a fixed probate quote upfront so you know the exact cost from the outset. A clear breakdown of our fees is provided and there are no hidden costs. Our probate fees are not charged on an hourly basis.
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High quality probate advice and our ongoing probate training and research ensures that we can provide clear and comprehensive advice, guidance and support.
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We can pay the cost of a Co-op Funeralcare funeral and reimburse any deposit paid, providing the estate owns sufficient assets which can be sold in due course to repay our costs.
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Our Probate Advisors, who take the initial details, work closely with our Probate Consultants, sharing the relevant information. Then a dedicated Probate Case Manager will deal with your probate case from start to finish, so there is always a single point of contact for you.
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Ongoing support from your designated Case Manager who will provide you with their contact details, be easy to contact and keep you informed from start to finish.
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Co-op Legal Services has insurance covering all of our work plus we have protection of Client Money under the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS).
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As part of the world’s largest consumer co-operative, we value above all else openness, honesty, social responsibility and caring for others. Co-op Legal Services is the largest provider of Probate and Estate administration services in England and Wales and are focused on providing an excellent service to mirror the values of the Co-op Group.
Probate fixed fee service includes the following matters
Legal
- 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 arranging Early Distribution Insurance
- Assessing variations to the distribution of the Estate (drafting the Deed of Variation is at an additional cost)
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 or Residence 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 Estate Accounts.
- Distributing the Estate to the Beneficiaries and Trustees of any Trusts created by the Will or Rules of 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)
- Setting up a Royal Mail redirect to ourselves during the administration so we can manage all the affairs of the Estate.
For an additional fee, we can also deal with the following:
- Transferring ownership of registered property from the deceased to the beneficiaries.
- Appointing a specialist Conveyancer to register any unregistered land at HM Land Registry, if required.
If there is a property to be sold, then, for an additional fee, we can deal with the following:
- 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.
- We will notify you in writing of any additional fees relating to our property services before we start work on them.
Complete probate and estate administration service
With Co-op Legal Services 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.
In order to carry out our Probate and Estate Management 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 Probate quote that we provide before any work starts.
Why choose us for probate?
Co-op Legal Services is the largest provider of Probate and Estate Administration services in England and Wales, trusted to deal with over £1.3 billion in Estates annually.
Our Probate team includes over 170 staff of specialist Probate Solicitors, Lawyers, Case Managers, Advisors and our national network of Probate Consultants; all of whom only deal with Probate.
For more details see 10 Benefits of using our Probate Complete Service.
At Co-op Legal Services we aim to keep the Probate process as straightforward as possible to minimise the burden on you.
Co-op Legal Services has over 600 staff working in different businesses with offices in Manchester, Bristol, Stratford-upon-Avon, Sheffield and London.
