Probate · Fixed fee, with VAT
Grant only probate with the full inheritance tax account
Aaron prepares the full inheritance tax account (form IHT400), obtains the grant, and you manage the estate yourself. A fixed fee agreed in writing before any work starts.
- Who it is for
- One person or a couple
- Typical timescale
- HMRC's code first, then usually within 12 weeks of the application (HMCTS)
- Who does the work
- Aaron Johnson, Consultant Solicitor and TEP, personally. No hand-offs.
What it costs
The fee, and the costs that are not the fee.
Third-party costs, called disbursements, are paid to the court, the Office of the Public Guardian, HM Land Registry or another body. They are passed on at cost and shown here so there is nothing to discover later.
See every fee on one page.
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Fee | £2,160inc. VAT(£1,800 + VAT) |
| Third-party costs, paid at cost | |
| Probate application feenone if the estate is £5,000 or less | £526 |
| Extra copies of the granteach, ordered with the application; £16 each afterwards | £2typical, can vary |
Trust wills, probate, and trust and estate administration carry a small onboarding fee for the matter and an identity check for each person. Standard wills and powers of attorney do not. It is confirmed before any work starts. For this service it is £24 inc. VAT (£20 + VAT) for the matter and £7.50 inc. VAT (£6.25 + VAT) for each person.
What happens, in order
From first call to finish.
- How long it takes
- HMRC's code first, then usually within 12 weeks of the application (HMCTS)
Aaron does each step himself. If a step takes longer than expected, that is his cost, not yours.
Free 15-minute call
Aaron confirms that a full IHT400 account is needed, explains what HMRC will ask for and gives you a fixed fee.
Instructions and valuations
You gather the date-of-death figures, the original will and the death certificate. Aaron opens the file and runs the identity checks.
The IHT400 account
Aaron prepares the full inheritance tax account and its schedules, claims the reliefs and allowances that apply, and calculates any tax due.
Submission to HMRC
Aaron submits the account to HMRC. Any tax due is arranged, and HMRC issues the code the probate registry needs before an application can be made.
Application
Aaron prepares the legal statement of truth and submits the application to the probate registry.
The grant
Aaron checks the grant and hands it to you with the copies you need, so you can administer the estate yourself.
Included and not included
What the fee covers, and what it does not.
Published under the SRA Transparency Rules. Anything outside the fee is quoted separately before it is done.
- Included
- The full IHT400 account and schedules, the reliefs and allowances claimed, tax calculated and the account submitted to HMRC, then the application and the grant.
- Not included
- Collecting in and distributing, paying the tax for you, relief claims needing valuations, deeds of variation and disputes.
What is included: Aaron, a solicitor, handling the matter himself. Reviewing the will and death certificate. Preparing the full inheritance tax account (form IHT400) and the schedules that apply, including claims for the transferable nil-rate band and the residence nil-rate band. Calculating any inheritance tax due and submitting the account to HMRC. Preparing the legal statement of truth and submitting the application to the probate registry. Sending you the grant and the copies you asked for.
What is not included: Collecting in assets or distributing funds. Paying the inheritance tax to HMRC for you (Aaron explains how it is paid). Business or agricultural property relief claims that need valuations or accountants. Deeds of variation, trust registration, Section 27 notices, and any dispute between executors or beneficiaries. Each is quoted separately if you need it.
When this applies: An estate that is not an excepted estate: usually one where more than the nil-rate band passes to people other than a spouse, civil partner or charity. Any nil-rate band transferred from a late spouse or civil partner raises that limit, up to twice the band. This applies even if the residence nil-rate band means no tax is due. It also applies to an estate over £3,000,000, or one with gifts, trust assets or foreign assets over HMRC's limits. If the estate turns out to be excepted after all, the standard grant only fee applies instead, and it is lower.
Aaron’s promise
What you can hold him to.
Aaron handles your matter from start to finish
The fee is fixed and confirmed before work starts
The IHT400 is prepared by Aaron, not passed to an accountant
Home visits across Bridlington and East Yorkshire
A free 15-minute call, with no obligation
In more detail
This is general information about the law of England and Wales, not legal advice. Each case is assessed on its own merits.
The grant, where a full tax account is needed
Some estates cannot use the simple probate application. Where the estate is not an excepted estate, HMRC needs the full inheritance tax account (form IHT400) before the probate application can be made. That usually means more than the nil-rate band passes to people other than a spouse, civil partner or charity. Any nil-rate band transferred from a late spouse or civil partner raises that limit, up to twice the band. The account is needed even where the residence nil-rate band means no tax is due. An estate over £3,000,000 also needs it. So does one with gifts, trust assets or foreign assets over HMRC's limits, or a gift the deceased kept a benefit from.
Aaron prepares the account, claims every allowance and relief the estate is entitled to, calculates any tax due and submits it to HMRC, then makes the probate application. You collect in the assets and distribute the estate yourself. If you would rather Aaron did all of it, full estate administration is the alternative.
Other probate fees.
About probate- Grant only probate
One person or a couple · Usually within 12 weeks of the application (HMCTS)
Reviewing the will and death certificate, the estate figures and any transferred nil-rate band reported in the probate application, the legal statement, the application, and the grant handed to you.
Plus Probate application fee £526. Extra copies of the grant about £2.
£1,140inc. VAT(£950 + VAT) - Estate administration
One person or a couple · 6 to 9 months
Valuations, the excepted estate's figures in the probate application, the grant, collecting in the assets, paying debts and tax, final accounts and distribution, for an estate of cash and investments with a valid will.
Plus Probate application fee £526. Extra copies of the grant about £2. Bankruptcy searches £7.20. Section 27 statutory notices about £250.
What the starting price assumes, and what raises it
- What the starting price assumes
- Up to 4 beneficiaries.
- Up to 6 bank, building society or NS&I accounts.
- Up to 3 shareholdings or investment holdings. A portfolio run by one manager counts as one.
- All the assets in the UK.
- A valid will.
- What raises the quote
- More beneficiaries, accounts or holdings than the starting price assumes, or shares to be sold rather than transferred.
- A property, or no will. The estate then moves to the property or no will tier.
- The full IHT400 account. The estate then moves to the IHT400 tier.
- Assets outside the UK.
- A business or a farm.
- A trust in the will, or a trust the estate creates.
- Lifetime gifts to trace and value.
- A beneficiary who is under 18, lives abroad or cannot be traced.
- An insolvent estate, where the debts are more than the assets.
- An HMRC enquiry.
- A dispute or a claim against the estate. A deed of variation is its own item, at its own fee.
Each is agreed with you in writing before the extra work starts, as a revised fixed fee. Never an hourly rate.
from£3,600inc. VAT(£3,000 + VAT)agreed as a fixed fee before any work starts - Estate administration, with a property or no will
One person or a couple · 9 to 14 months
Everything in estate administration, plus managing and selling or transferring the property or the share, or an intestacy.
Plus Probate application fee £526. Extra copies of the grant about £2. Bankruptcy searches £7.20. Section 27 statutory notices about £250. Land Registry official copies £7.
What the starting price assumes, and what raises it
- What the starting price assumes
- No more than one property in England and Wales, in the sole name or a share as tenants in common.
- Up to 4 beneficiaries.
- Up to 6 bank, building society or NS&I accounts.
- Up to 3 shareholdings or investment holdings. A portfolio run by one manager counts as one.
- All the assets in the UK.
- A valid will, or no will.
- An excepted estate, with no full IHT400 account.
- What raises the quote
- More beneficiaries, accounts or holdings than the starting price assumes, or shares to be sold rather than transferred.
- Each additional property.
- A property that has to be let, cleared or managed for a long time.
- The full IHT400 account. The estate then moves to the IHT400 tier.
- Assets outside the UK.
- A business or a farm.
- A trust in the will, or a trust the estate creates.
- Lifetime gifts to trace and value.
- A beneficiary who is under 18, lives abroad or cannot be traced.
- An insolvent estate, where the debts are more than the assets.
- An HMRC enquiry.
- A dispute or a claim against the estate. A deed of variation is its own item, at its own fee.
Each is agreed with you in writing before the extra work starts, as a revised fixed fee. Never an hourly rate.
from£6,000inc. VAT(£5,000 + VAT)agreed as a fixed fee before any work starts - Estate administration, with the full IHT400 account
One person or a couple · 9 to 14 months
Everything in estate administration with a property where it applies, plus the full IHT400 account and schedules, the reliefs and allowances claimed, the tax calculated and paid from the estate (including instalments on a property), HMRC correspondence and clearance.
Plus Probate application fee £526. Extra copies of the grant about £2. Bankruptcy searches £7.20. Section 27 statutory notices about £250. Land Registry official copies £7.
What the starting price assumes, and what raises it
- What the starting price assumes
- The full IHT400 account, whether or not tax is due.
- No more than one property, in England and Wales.
- Up to 4 beneficiaries.
- Up to 6 bank, building society or NS&I accounts.
- Up to 3 shareholdings or investment holdings. A portfolio run by one manager counts as one.
- All the assets in the UK.
- A valid will.
- What raises the quote
- More beneficiaries, accounts or holdings than the starting price assumes, or shares to be sold rather than transferred.
- Each additional property.
- A property that has to be let, cleared or managed for a long time.
- No will.
- Assets outside the UK.
- A business or a farm.
- A trust in the will, or a trust the estate creates.
- Lifetime gifts to trace and value for the IHT400 account.
- A beneficiary who is under 18, lives abroad or cannot be traced.
- An insolvent estate, where the debts are more than the assets.
- An HMRC enquiry.
- A dispute or a claim against the estate. A deed of variation is its own item, at its own fee.
Each is agreed with you in writing before the extra work starts, as a revised fixed fee. Never an hourly rate.
from£9,600inc. VAT(£8,000 + VAT)agreed as a fixed fee before any work starts
Next step
Ready when you are.
Sixty seconds of questions that end on your plan and a fixed fee, with VAT.
Or call 01262 310 850, Monday to Friday, 9am to 5.30pm.
Appointments are usually available within a few working days, including Tuesday and Thursday evenings, and home visits across East and North Yorkshire.