Wills are an important document and necessary to ensure that your estate, after your death, is dealt with in the way you would have wanted. Producing a Will is a service many organisations offer. However, by providing proper advice about the content and implications of dealing with things in a certain way professional regulated bodies such as Bates Wells & Braithwaite Solicitors can ensure that your aims are achieved.

Making a Will at any age can be seen as a daunting process, but Glenn, Emily and Rebecca will do their best to make the process as simple and worry free as possible.

If you already have a Will and wish to discuss updates or amendments this may be possible via the use of a Codicil rather than a full new Will, this is something that Bates Wells & Braithwaite can advise on and prepare for you if needed.

What will happen?

We will meet with you face to face to discuss your circumstances and wishes, provide you with advice to suit your needs, including advice on Inheritance Tax if required.

A draft document is then prepared and sent to you for approval along with a detailed letter explaining the clauses used (in plain English).

We will then oversee the signing and witnessing of the final document

As people live longer, the chances of an individual reaching a point where they are unable to handle their own affairs increase. It is therefore important that you sign and register a Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA), giving another person or persons power to deal with your finances in the event that you become physically or mentally unable to do so. You can also make a Lasting Power of Attorney appointing someone to make decisions regarding your health and welfare. Both of these documents need to be completed whilst you (the Donor) still have the mental capacity to do so.

At Bates Wells & Braithwaite, we can explain exactly how to make, register and use Lasting Powers of Attorney. We can also advise on the appointment of suitable Attorneys and (usually) act as your Certificate Provider for the document – that is, sign to confirm that, in our opinion, you have the necessary capacity.

What will happen?

We will meet with you to discuss Lasting Powers of Attorney in general and help you decide which document(s) you require. We will also explain the duties and responsibilities of an Attorney, to help you ensure that you are appointing suitable people.

When you sign the document, we will witness your signature and then send the LPA to your Attorneys for them to sign.

We will then arrange for the LPA to be registered by the Office of the Public Guardian and when this has been done, provide you with the necessary certified copies for your use.

Additional Services

We will store your original Lasting Power of Attorney in our strong room free of charge and provide further certified copies if required in the future (there may be a small charge for additional certified copies).

The Directors of Bates Wells & Braithwaite are prepared to be appointed as your Attorney, if there is no-one else whom you feel is appropriate. In these circumstances, we are precluded from acting as your Certificate Provider and someone else will need to be named in that role – if required, we can provide examples of the type of people who may be suitable to fulfil this role.

We can also deal with the registration of Enduring Powers of Attorney

Fees

Single LPA document – £485+ VAT
Double LPA documents – £720+ VAT
2 x double LPA documents – £1200 + VAT

Essentially each LPA beyond the first is priced at half the price of the first (rounded)

Prices of other combinations and registration of Enduring Powers of Attorney can be confirmed on request.

The Office of the Public Guardian charge a fee for Registration of Lasting Powers of Attorney.  This fee is currently £82.00 per document (e.g. having both a Property and Financial Affairs and a Health and Welfare Lasting Power of Attorney will attract a fee of £164.00).  This fee is in addition to Bates Wells & Braithwaite’s fees outlined above.

There are some exemptions and remissions that may apply to this fee and you will be able to discuss whether you qualify before your documents are submitted.

Certain things in life are inevitable and unfortunately one of those things is death. Dealing with the loss of a loved one can be hard enough anyway but it is at this time that we are often forced into learning a whole new system of dealing with deceased’s assets and liabilities which often includes applying for a Grant of Probate (or Letter of Administration if there is no Will).

Guidance

Following a death we can hold a meeting with you to discuss various options and ways forward. Our aim is for you to understand the process and work involved so you can make an informed decision about how you would like to proceed.

We can also help you plan for what work is essential and what is not so you can focus on those matters that really concern you in the early days following a death such as the funeral.

If the deceased held a Will with this firm, or following the meeting we receive instructions for further work then this meeting is usually free of charge although if it is not, you will be advised before the meeting and costs will be capped at £220 + VAT.

Grant of Probate

We can help you in obtaining a Grant of Probate. This work is usually done as a fixed fee for “simple” cases – smaller estates where an IHT400 is not required to be completed we charge £1100+ VAT.  If it is not appropriate to charge a fixed fee you will be advised appropriately and an hourly rate of £220 per hour plus VAT will apply.

For larger estates where an IHT400 is required (which is in all cases where Inheritance Tax might be due) we charge £250 + VAT per hour and estimate that between 8 and 12 hours of time will be required (on average).

We would advise you of any increased costs as soon as it became clear that any additional unusual work was required.

Please note that these fees are on the assumption that all figures and information required are provided to this firm without additional correspondence from the firm required.

For (virtually) all applications for a Grant of Probate there will be a fee payable to the Probate Registry – From May 2024 this fee is £300 with an additional fee of £1.50 for each additional copy of the Grant that may be required.

Administration of Estate

We can complete all the work in the estate on your behalf including:

Estate administration work is conducted at an hourly rate of £220 + VAT for simple matters or £250 + VAT for complicated matters.  If inheritance tax is due or an IHT400 has to be completed in an estate, the higher hourly rate will apply.

As an example, a medium sized estate (assets below the standard Inheritance Tax thresholds, including a property and a number of bank accounts and investments) usually costs between £2,500 and £5,000.

A larger estate (assets above the standard Inheritance Tax thresholds but below £2 million) costs would usually be between £5,000 and £10,000.

Please note the term “standard Inheritance Tax Thresholds” do not include the additional Residence Nil Rate Band.

Please note that the value of the estate is not necessarily an indicator of the work involved and small estates (in terms of value) can sometimes cost more to administer than large and vice versa depending on a number of factors including type of assets involved, where they might be held and number of beneficiaries.

An official costs estimate is provided once an overview of the work involved can be ascertained, which is typically when all assets and liabilities are known.

It is a commonly-held belief that it is not necessary to complete a Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) until it is needed – i.e. until someone loses the ability to deal with their own affairs. However, by that stage it is too late, as the individual will also have lost the ability (the necessary mental capacity) to sign an LPA.

If you have a relative who has lost mental capacity and you need to help them with their affairs, you will need to apply to the Court of Protection to be appointed as their Deputy. At Bates Wells & Braithwaite, we can assist you with making your application to the Court, issuing the necessary Notices to specified individuals and obtaining a Deputies Bond, so that you can assume your role.

What will happen?

We will meet with you to discuss the process and the cost of applying for a Court of Protection Deputyship Order, explain to you the information which will be required, and complete the necessary steps. We will also submit the request for a mental capacity assessment to your loved-one’s medical practitioner. We will then send all completed documents to the Court, together with your fee, and deal with any queries which the Court may have.

Finally, once the first Order is made, we will assist you in obtaining your Deputy’s Bond, which is the last step to receiving the final order.

Fees

We charge an hourly fee of £220 plus VAT for this work. The Court automatically allows for a charge of £1,204 plus VAT, provided there is no extra or unusual work involved (which is usually quite rare) and providing there is no extra or unforeseen work we will limit our fees to this level.  If there is extra work involved, the Court usually gives permission for Deputy’s to agree payment of a higher sum (if not agreed, costs will need to be assessed by the Court).  In the unlikely event that extra work is required a discussion on costs will be held at the earliest opportunity.

Various expenses may also be required such as (but not limited to) the following:

Please note, the above fees and fixed costs are correct as of the time this page was published and whilst we endeavour to keep this information up to date the actual costs and fees will be confirmed at the initial meeting.

Whilst Trusts in a general sense are not as useful as they may have once been, they can still have uses and depending on circumstances be the best way to achieve your aim.

We can advise on and assist with the setting up of various different trusts including but not limited to trusts created by a Will, Trusts for Disabled Beneficiaries, and Trusts for Bereaved Minors as well as other trust related work such as the appointment or retirement of Trustees.

We can discuss with you the tax implications of various trusts including Inheritance Tax consequences to your own estate for paying money into a trust as well as any on-going Inheritance tax liabilities of the trust itself, Capital Gains Tax and Income Tax*

We can also discuss the wider issues with regards setting up trusts such as Deliberate Deprivation of Capital or the consequences of giving assets away.

* Whilst we can advise on what taxes may apply and when, we may not be able to provide you with exact calculations and complete tax returns for you and may recommend you speak to an independent accountant for these aspects.

Fees

We charge an hourly rate of £220 + VAT.

If the matter is complicated or under time restraints we may charge £250 per hour + VAT.