CGW LAW CLIVE G WOOD FAMILY SOLICITORS
CGW Law can help as your Wills and Probate Solicitor.
Having a Will means that after your death your wishes as to how your estate and property will be distributed will be followed. If you do not have a Will then the Rules of Intestacy will apply and your estate and property will be distributed in accordance with those rules regardless as to whether those rules are fair to you and your family or what you might have wanted.
For very moderate fixed cost Clive Wood of CGW Law can prepare a Will for you and provide sensible and practical advice to minimise the potential Inheritance Tax burden on your estate after your death.
With modern technology and computer software a Will can be prepared during a single meeting which can take place in your home or office or even over the telephone. Your wishes as to the appointment of executors, as to specific gifts or money gifts and as to the rights of your surviving partner or spouse or children to remain living in your property after your death can be discussed and provision made in your Will which is prepared in modern English which you will be able to understand without a Law Degree!
Clive Wood of CGW Law is not a Financial Adviser and sometimes it is sensible for such independent legal advice to be obtained prior to your Will being prepared. Clive will work with your Financial Adviser to prepare a tax efficient and appropriate bespoke Will which meets all your needs and wishes.
Dealing with the administration of the estate of someone who has died can be complicated and CGW Law is here to help. Some clients just need some general advice and assistance. Other clients want the whole process dealt with for them. At a time of emotional sadness and loss the whole process can seem frightening and overwhelming and we at CGW Law can help to deal with the practical and legal issues that arise.
It is difficult to estimate costs for dealing with the administration of an estate without information as to the extent of assets and liabilities and other complications. Costs to deal with a straightforward application for probate are likely to be in the region of £1000/£1500 plus VAt and disbursements.
Our Charges
CGW Law charges only for the work done with no additional percentage of fees based on the value of assets in the estate. Our charges are transparent and an estimate of likely fees can usually be provided at an early stage.
All charges are subject to VAT at 20% and disbursements such as Probate Registry application fees are additionally payable.
The basis of costs charged is on recorded time based upon an hourly rate (currently £180 per hour) applied to work done on the file in dealing with correspondence, taking instructions and preparing documentation etc. A Costs Informarion Sheet detailing how our charges are calculated will be provided at the outset.
In our experience the costs for dealing with a straightforward estate where there is no Inheritance Tax payable up to the stage of obtaining the grant are likely to be in the range of £750-£1500 plus VAT and disbursements. Costs for dealing with more complex estates where Inheritance Tax is payable are likely to exceed £2500/£3000 plus VAT and disbursements.
The timescales for obtaining a grant are difficult to predict any can vary significantly however from the date when the application is submitted it can take up to 8 weeks for an application to be processed by HMCTS Probate and occasionally even longer.
Our charges do not include costs for dealing with the sale of property or any litigation that may arise but only cover the application for a grant. Further costs will be incurred if assistance is required to deal with the practical administration with the level of costs reflecting the amount of actual further work required. An estimate of costs will be provided for any further or dditional work.
CGW Law - a Wills and Probate service that works for you.