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
Free initial face to face meeting with a local probate consultant at home or another location of your choice in England or Wales.
We take full responsibility for getting the grant of probate and dealing with the legal, tax (excluding VAT), property and estate administration affairs.
We deal with HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) on your behalf.
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.
High quality probate advice and our ongoing probate training and research ensures that we can provide clear and comprehensive advice, guidance and support.
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.
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.
You'll receive ongoing support from your case manager, who will provide you with their contact details, be easy to contact and keep you informed from start to finish.
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).
As part of the world’s largest consumer co-operative, we value 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 is focused on providing an excellent service that aligns with the values of the Co-op Group.
What our probate fixed fee service includes
With our fixed fee probate service, we will take full responsibility for the probate and estate administration work, including:
Legal
- preparing the necessary documentation to apply for the grant of probate
- carrying out all necessary checks to ensure the validity of the will, if there is one
- if there is no valid will, applying the rules of intestacy, to identify the personal representatives as well as the beneficiaries and their entitlement
- 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 a Deed of Variation will incur 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 to complete 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
- paying 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, 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 held in England and Wales
- dealing with any shares owned by the estate, including dealing with shares owned in the wrong name or where the share certificate is missing
- gathering all the assets of the estate
- transferring all jointly held assets into the sole name of the surviving owner, including property held as joint tenants
- identifying all of the estate debts and liabilities, and settling these debts 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, we can take care of property matters as part of our fixed fee probate service. This includes:
- 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 (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.
To carry out our probate and estate management services, we may 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 expected fees and disbursement costs 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 specialist probate solicitors, lawyers, case managers, advisors and our national network of probate consultants; all of whom only deal with probate.
At Co-op Legal Services we aim to keep the probate process as straightforward as possible.
