Probate and estate prices
Our fees, the likely outside costs, who does the work and how long it takes. For estates in England and Wales where the assets are in the UK and nothing is disputed.
Our fees
Fixed fees, never an hourly rate. Every price includes VAT.
- Estate Organiser
Software from Ailex Ltd. You do the work yourself; no legal advice is included.
£195
including £32.50 VAT
- Grant application
Fifty Six Law prepares and submits the application. With a full IHT400 inheritance tax account it is £1,750 (including £291.67 VAT).
From £850
including £141.67 VAT
- Full estate administration
Fifty Six Law deals with the estate from start to finish. From £3,250 (including £541.67 VAT) with one UK property. The fixed fee rises with the value of the estate.
From £1,950
including £325 VAT, for a straightforward estate without property
What moves the price of full administration
- The gross value of the estate
- Whether there is a property
- A full inheritance tax account (IHT400)
- Inheritance tax to pay
- A trust to set up or deal with
- Assets outside the UK
- A missing beneficiary or asset to trace
- More than two banks or other financial organisations
- More than one property
- Dealing with the sale of a property
- More than four beneficiaries
- No valid will, so the intestacy rules apply
- Tax returns for earlier tax years
How we charge
The Estate Organiser and the grant application are fixed fees, paid before the work starts. For full administration we work out a fixed fee from one published fee guide, using the gross value of the estate, whether there is a property and anything that takes it beyond a straightforward estate. We confirm it in writing before any chargeable work begins, and nothing more is charged without your agreement. Outside costs are paid at cost, on top.
Full administration: worked examples
Fixed fees from our fee guide, including VAT, plus outside costs. The gross value is everything the person owned, before debts.
| Gross estate | Fixed fee |
|---|---|
| £150,000 estate with a property | £3,400including £566.67 VAT |
| £300,000 estate without property | £5,850including £975 VAT |
| £500,000 estate with a property | £7,500including £1,250 VAT |
| £1,000,000 estate with a property | £11,650including £1,941.67 VAT |
| £730,000 estate with a property and a full inheritance tax account | From £13,450written fixed quote |
A straightforward estate
The “from” prices and the examples assume:
- There is a valid will
- Up to two banks or other financial organisations
- No inheritance tax account and no inheritance tax to pay
- No dispute and nothing contested
- Up to four beneficiaries, all traced
- Everything is in the UK
An estate above the inheritance tax threshold fits only where no full inheritance tax account is needed, for example where it passes to a spouse or civil partner.
Larger or complex estates
Larger or complex estates are priced by written fixed quote. Where there is a full inheritance tax account (IHT400), inheritance tax to pay, a trust to set up or deal with, assets outside the UK or a missing beneficiary or asset to trace, we review the estate and send a written fixed quote before any chargeable work. It starts from the guide price for the estate’s value, as in the last example, and the quote lists each reason it is higher.
What full administration includes
- A written fixed-fee quote before chargeable work begins
- The GetWill Estate workspace, progress record and secure documents
- Identifying and corresponding with the agreed UK asset and debt holders
- The appropriate grant application and inheritance-tax forms within the agreed scope
- Collecting the agreed estate assets and paying agreed debts and tax from available estate funds
- Estate accounts and distribution to the verified beneficiaries
Who does the work
Your estate is handled by Fifty Six Law’s probate team. The work is carried out by qualified solicitors or staff they supervise, under the supervision of solicitors qualified for over 20 years, with experience in contentious and non-contentious probate, trusts and estates. The firm is led by a managing partner with 20 years’ experience as a solicitor.
Outside costs
Paid to the court or another provider, at cost. These are the usual ones.
Probate Registry application fee
No fee where the estate is £5,000 or less.
£526
No VAT
Extra copies of the grant
Ordered with the application. Copies ordered later currently cost £16 each.
£2 each
No VAT
The Gazette deceased estates notice
Standard online notice inviting creditors to claim: £96.55 plus £19.31 VAT. Optional forwarding and local newspaper notices cost extra.
£115.86
Includes £19.31 VAT
Bankruptcy search
A search against each beneficiary before they are paid, made online with HM Land Registry.
£6 per name
No VAT
HM Land Registry, where there is property
Registering a property in a beneficiary’s name online, depending on its value. A copy of the title register costs £7.
£20 to £140
No VAT
Valuations
A surveyor’s valuation of an ordinary home for probate, where one is needed, usually costs £250 to £600 plus VAT. A large or unusual property, or a valuer for jewellery, art or collections, costs more. We tell you the cost before anything is ordered.
£300 to £720
Includes VAT at 20%
VAT
Our fees include VAT at 20%. The probate application fee, copies of the grant and HM Land Registry fees have no VAT. The Gazette notice carries VAT, and most valuers add VAT to their fee.
Sources: GOV.UK, Applying for probate: fees; The Gazette, Place a notice: pricing; GOV.UK (HM Land Registry), Land Registry portal: how to make a bankruptcy search; GOV.UK (HM Land Registry), HM Land Registry: Registration Services fees; GOV.UK (HM Land Registry), Get information about property and land: search the register. Checked October 2026.
Key stages and timescales
For full administration of a straightforward estate. It commonly takes 6 to 12 months from start to finish.
Gather the information and fix the fee
We list the assets, debts and beneficiaries and confirm your fixed fee in writing, usually within 5 working days of receiving the core information.
Values, tax and the grant
Once values are confirmed and any inheritance tax is dealt with, we apply for the grant. Probate grants were issued in about 5 weeks on average after the application was submitted; GOV.UK says you will usually get probate within 12 weeks. This stage commonly takes 2 to 5 months in all.
Source: Ministry of Justice, Family Court Statistics Quarterly: April to June 2026; GOV.UK, Applying for probate: apply for probate.
Collect the assets and pay the debts
We close accounts, collect the money and pay debts and tax. A notice in The Gazette gives creditors at least two months to come forward.
Accounts and distribution
We prepare the estate accounts for approval and pay the beneficiaries. Final distribution often waits until six months after the grant, the usual time limit for a claim against the estate.
Source: legislation.gov.uk, Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975, section 4.
Not included, unless we quote for it
- A full IHT400 inheritance tax account with the £850 grant application (it is £1,750 with one; full administration includes one where it is needed)
- Disputes, claims against the estate or contested probate
- Assets or property outside the UK
- Selling a property (conveyancing), estate agent fees and clearing a property
- Income tax or capital gains tax returns for the estate while it is being administered
- Running a trust set up by the will, or specialist tax advice
Prices checked 15 October 2026. Legal services are provided by Fifty Six Law Ltd, authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority, SRA number 8009306.