Wills and Probate
Make Your Will – Book An Appointment With Scanlans Solicitors
The Sunderland Wills and Probate team at Scanlans Solicitors are experts in the field of Wills and Probate and have been dealing with this for many years. It is important for your own peace of mind that you make a Will so that your estate is distributed in accordance with your wishes. Call Scanlans Solicitors on 0191 5652565 and book your appointment today.
Fiona Donnelly is a Consultant Solicitor, she qualified in 1980 and has a wealth of experience dealing with Wills, Trusts, Powers of Attorney, Court of Protection and the Administration of Estates. She is assisted by Lynda Scanlan who has many years experience drafting wills and administering estates. They are supervised by Heather Bolton.
Wills
Making a will is a very important decision but with the proper legal help can be a simple process. At Scanlans Solicitors we aim to provide friendly and efficient advice to help you make sure that when you die, the persons you choose inherit your property, and avoid any potential problems or disputes in the future.
This will make administration easier, allow you to distribute your assets to your exact wishes, and help you plan effectively.
Probate
When someone dies it is an upsetting and stressful time, and the experienced team at Scanlans Solicitors offer a sympathetic caring and efficient service to help the family, executors and beneficiaries deal with the process of obtaining the Grant of Representation from the Probate Registry and with the proper distribution of the deceased’s assets.
Lasting Powers Of Attorney
If a person becomes ill or unable to make their own decisions, then it is essential that they have already legally appointed someone to make decisions on their behalf.
This legal document is a Lasting Power of Attorney.
At Scanlans Solicitors we offer advice and will help you through the complex procedures. We also offer a range of legal advice for the elderly.
Fees
Wills – excluding VAT at 20% |
Trust – excluding VAT at 20% |
Lasting Power of Attorney – excluding VAT at 20% |
Probate – excluding VAT at 20% |
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic Single Will £95.00 Basic Mirror Will (for couples) £180.00 Single Will with trust Provision £150.00. We will take instructions, forward a draft will for approval and once approved arrange for the signing of the Will. In the most sraightford of cases the Will can be completed within 2-4 weeks. We can expedite Wills in emergency situations. |
Basic Property Trust £400.00 plus VAT. Land Registry fees may be incurred based upon the value of the individual property and as set down by HM Land Registry. More complex trusts please call for a quotation. A standard Property Trust includes taking instuctions, drafting the Trust documentation and forwarding the same for approval, finalising documentation and arranging for signature of the documents and where applicable applying for registration a HM Land Registry. A standard property trust should be concluded within 3 months. Hourly Rates £150.00 per hour |
Lasting Power of Attorney £150.00 per person Lasting Power of Attorney to include registration £300.00 per person Plus OPG fee – currently £82.00 per person. On averge these will take 2-3 months to complete depending upon the number of attorneys appointed. The OPG take approximately 2 months to register the completed Power of Attorney Document. |
Basic Probate application for issue of grant only £500.00 Probate Registry Fees £155.00 plus £1.50 for each additional sealed copy of the grant of probate. This is usually one per asset. A bankruptcy search is £2.00 per person/beneficiary. The above fee does not include matters where an IHT400 form is required. Please note there will be additional charges for dealing with the sale or transfer of any property. For the administration of more complex estates subject to inheritance tax and/or a full account needs to be submitted to HMRC, then our fees will start from £850.00 plus VAT. The probate fee remains at £155.00 plus £1.50 per sealed copy. It may be necessary to advertise the death in which case there will be additional charges dependant upon the individaul adveristing costs for the area in which the deceased lived. This is to ensure the executors have no personal liabilty when distributing the estate. It is difficult to estimate how long a probate matter will take to complete as each estate is individual and shall be influenced by a number of factors some of which will be outside our control, including the extent of the assets and the number of beneficiaries. We would expect a straighforawad estate not subject to inheritance tax to take between 6 - 9 months to conclude. This does not include the sale of any property. Some disbursements may be subject to VAT. Hourly rates are charged at £150.00 per hour plus VAT. For complex cases costs could range from £2,000.00 to £7,000.00 plus VAt at 20%. This is a guide and we will provide you with an estimate of costs at the beginning of the case to allow you to make an informed choice. Our probate services include taking instructions, identifying the executors or administrators and beneficiaries, obtaining the relevant information as to the value of the assets in the estate including contacting the asset holders, collating the information and completing the probate application and relevant Inland Revenue Account, submit the application to the Probate Court and obtain the Grant of Probate. If subsequently instructed we would then proceed to deal with the closure of accounts, collect in the monies due to the estate, pay any liabilites, pay any legacies and distribute the estate to the residue beneficiaries, prepare an estate account. In more complex estates we may need to arrange payment of Inheritance Tax. Each estate is individual and it is difficult to provide exact costs as they are dependant upon the circumstances of the individual estate. Costs are therefore charged at an hourly rate £150 plus VAT. |
Office Opening Hours
- Mon - Fri
- -
- Sat - Sun
- Closed
Saturday - Remand Court Cover
24 hours for emergency advice and police interviews
Contact Information
Address
23 John Street, Sunderland. SR1 1JG