{ "dataset": "willsum", "generated_at": "2026-09-28T10:58:27Z", "disclaimer": "WillSum is an information site. We are not a law firm, a will writer, a probate practitioner or a tax adviser. We do not draft anyone's will and we do not conduct anyone's probate. Figures are from official sources and firms' own published prices; check the source before you rely on them.", "count": 84, "metrics": [ { "id": "bank_barclays_release_limit", "name": "Barclays, the balance above which a grant is needed", "category": "bank_release_limit", "nation": null, "value_num": 50000, "display": "More than £50,000 across the person's sole accounts", "unit": "pounds, total held in sole-name accounts with this bank", "period_start": "2026-09-28", "period_end": null, "period_kind": "page_undated", "scale_kind": null, "bands": null, "spans": null, "primary": null, "deadline": null, "eligibility": null, "source_url": "https://www.barclays.co.uk/what-to-do-when-someone-dies/", "source_org": "Barclays", "period_start_source": null, "period_start_quote": null, "checked_at": "2026-09-28", "recheck_by": "2026-12-28", "history": [], "public_note": "Barclays counts everything in the person's sole name with Barclays together, not account by account.", "next": null, "url": "https://willsum.co.uk/api/bank_barclays_release_limit.json" }, { "id": "bank_halifax_release_limit", "name": "Halifax, no published line", "category": "bank_release_limit", "nation": null, "value_num": null, "display": "No figure published on its bereavement page", "unit": "policy position, no single figure", "period_start": "2026-09-28", "period_end": null, "period_kind": "page_undated", "scale_kind": null, "bands": null, "spans": null, "primary": null, "deadline": null, "eligibility": null, "source_url": "https://www.halifax.co.uk/helpcentre/support-and-wellbeing/life-events/bereavement.html", "source_org": "Halifax", "period_start_source": null, "period_start_quote": null, "checked_at": "2026-09-28", "recheck_by": "2026-12-28", "history": [], "public_note": "Halifax publishes no figure. Its page says the answer depends on what the person held with it, and asks you to ring its bereavement team if you are not sure.", "next": null, "url": "https://willsum.co.uk/api/bank_halifax_release_limit.json" }, { "id": "bank_hsbc_release_limit_no_will", "name": "HSBC UK, the balance above which letters of administration are needed, where there is no will", "category": "bank_release_limit", "nation": null, "value_num": 25000, "display": "£25,000 where there is no will", "unit": "pounds, amount limit for UK residents", "period_start": "2026-09-28", "period_end": null, "period_kind": "page_undated", "scale_kind": null, "bands": null, "spans": null, "primary": null, "deadline": null, "eligibility": null, "source_url": "https://www.hsbc.co.uk/help/life-events/bereavement/what-to-do-when-someone-dies/", "source_org": "HSBC UK", "period_start_source": null, "period_start_quote": null, "checked_at": "2026-09-28", "recheck_by": "2026-12-28", "history": [], "public_note": "Where there is no will, HSBC's line is half the one it sets where there is a will.", "next": null, "url": "https://willsum.co.uk/api/bank_hsbc_release_limit_no_will.json" }, { "id": "bank_hsbc_release_limit_will", "name": "HSBC UK, the balance above which a grant of probate is needed, where there is a will", "category": "bank_release_limit", "nation": null, "value_num": 50000, "display": "£50,000 where there is a will", "unit": "pounds, amount limit for UK residents", "period_start": "2026-09-28", "period_end": null, "period_kind": "page_undated", "scale_kind": null, "bands": null, "spans": null, "primary": null, "deadline": null, "eligibility": null, "source_url": "https://www.hsbc.co.uk/help/life-events/bereavement/what-to-do-when-someone-dies/", "source_org": "HSBC UK", "period_start_source": null, "period_start_quote": null, "checked_at": "2026-09-28", "recheck_by": "2026-12-28", "history": [], "public_note": "HSBC is the one bank we read that sets a different line depending on whether there is a will, and it says plainly that it may still ask for a grant below either line.", "next": null, "url": "https://willsum.co.uk/api/bank_hsbc_release_limit_will.json" }, { "id": "bank_lloyds_release_limit", "name": "Lloyds Bank, no published line", "category": "bank_release_limit", "nation": null, "value_num": null, "display": "No figure published on its bereavement page", "unit": "policy position, no single figure", "period_start": "2026-09-28", "period_end": null, "period_kind": "page_undated", "scale_kind": null, "bands": null, "spans": null, "primary": null, "deadline": null, "eligibility": null, "source_url": "https://www.lloydsbank.com/help-guidance/support-and-wellbeing/life-events/bereavement.html", "source_org": "Lloyds Bank", "period_start_source": null, "period_start_quote": null, "checked_at": "2026-09-28", "recheck_by": "2026-12-28", "history": [], "public_note": "Lloyds publishes no figure. It says it will tell you whether a grant is needed, and that the answer depends on what the person held with it.", "next": null, "url": "https://willsum.co.uk/api/bank_lloyds_release_limit.json" }, { "id": "bank_nationwide_release_limit", "name": "Nationwide Building Society, no published line", "category": "bank_release_limit", "nation": null, "value_num": null, "display": "No figure published on its bereavement page", "unit": "policy position, no single figure", "period_start": "2026-09-28", "period_end": null, "period_kind": "page_undated", "scale_kind": null, "bands": null, "spans": null, "primary": null, "deadline": null, "eligibility": null, "source_url": "https://www.nationwide.co.uk/help/challenging-times/bereavement/estate-wills-and-probate", "source_org": "Nationwide Building Society", "period_start_source": null, "period_start_quote": null, "checked_at": "2026-09-28", "recheck_by": "2026-12-28", "history": [], "public_note": "Nationwide publishes no figure on its estate and probate page. Figures for it that appear in guides elsewhere are not on that page.", "next": null, "url": "https://willsum.co.uk/api/bank_nationwide_release_limit.json" }, { "id": "bank_santander_release_limit", "name": "Santander UK, the balance above which a grant is needed", "category": "bank_release_limit", "nation": null, "value_num": 50000, "display": "More than £50,000 across accounts in the person's sole name", "unit": "pounds, total held in sole-name accounts with this bank", "period_start": "2026-09-28", "period_end": null, "period_kind": "page_undated", "scale_kind": null, "bands": null, "spans": null, "primary": null, "deadline": null, "eligibility": null, "source_url": "https://www.santander.co.uk/personal/support/customer-support/bereavement", "source_org": "Santander UK", "period_start_source": null, "period_start_quote": null, "checked_at": "2026-09-28", "recheck_by": "2026-12-28", "history": [], "public_note": "Santander also asks for a grant, whatever the balance, if the person had a Santander mortgage in their sole name or held one jointly as tenants in common.", "next": null, "url": "https://willsum.co.uk/api/bank_santander_release_limit.json" }, { "id": "bank_skipton_release_limit", "name": "Skipton Building Society, the balance at which a grant is needed", "category": "bank_release_limit", "nation": null, "value_num": 50000, "display": "£50,000 or more held with Skipton", "unit": "pounds, total held with this building society", "period_start": "2026-09-28", "period_end": null, "period_kind": "page_undated", "scale_kind": null, "bands": null, "spans": null, "primary": null, "deadline": null, "eligibility": null, "source_url": "https://www.skipton.co.uk/help-and-support/extra-support/bereavement", "source_org": "Skipton Building Society", "period_start_source": null, "period_start_quote": null, "checked_at": "2026-09-28", "recheck_by": "2026-12-28", "history": [], "public_note": "Skipton says it plainly: if a grant is being taken out for anything else in the estate, it will want to see it too, whatever the balance.", "next": null, "url": "https://willsum.co.uk/api/bank_skipton_release_limit.json" }, { "id": "bank_starling_release_limit", "name": "Starling Bank, the balance above which a grant is needed", "category": "bank_release_limit", "nation": null, "value_num": 30000, "display": "More than £30,000 in the account", "unit": "pounds, account balance", "period_start": "2026-09-28", "period_end": null, "period_kind": "page_undated", "scale_kind": null, "bands": null, "spans": null, "primary": null, "deadline": null, "eligibility": null, "source_url": "https://www.starlingbank.com/faq/customer-support/bereavement/", "source_org": "Starling Bank", "period_start_source": null, "period_start_quote": null, "checked_at": "2026-09-28", "recheck_by": "2026-12-28", "history": [], "public_note": "Starling's line is lower than most of the others here, and it is set on the account balance.", "next": null, "url": "https://willsum.co.uk/api/bank_starling_release_limit.json" }, { "id": "bank_virgin_money_release_limit", "name": "Virgin Money, the balance at which a grant is needed", "category": "bank_release_limit", "nation": null, "value_num": 50000, "display": "£50,000 or more across its Virgin Money accounts", "unit": "pounds, total held with this bank", "period_start": "2026-09-28", "period_end": null, "period_kind": "page_undated", "scale_kind": null, "bands": null, "spans": null, "primary": null, "deadline": null, "eligibility": null, "source_url": "https://uk.virginmoney.com/service/bereavement/", "source_org": "Virgin Money", "period_start_source": null, "period_start_quote": null, "checked_at": "2026-09-28", "recheck_by": "2026-12-28", "history": [], "public_note": "Below its line, Virgin Money sends you a form to fill in instead of asking for a grant.", "next": null, "url": "https://willsum.co.uk/api/bank_virgin_money_release_limit.json" }, { "id": "bank_ybs_release_limit", "name": "Yorkshire Building Society, the balance above which a grant is needed", "category": "bank_release_limit", "nation": null, "value_num": 50000, "display": "Over £50,000 in savings accounts", "unit": "pounds, savings balances held with this building society", "period_start": "2026-09-28", "period_end": null, "period_kind": "page_undated", "scale_kind": null, "bands": null, "spans": null, "primary": null, "deadline": null, "eligibility": null, "source_url": "https://ybs.co.uk/savings/help/bereavement/savings/index.html", "source_org": "Yorkshire Building Society", "period_start_source": null, "period_start_quote": null, "checked_at": "2026-09-28", "recheck_by": "2026-12-28", "history": [], "public_note": "Yorkshire Building Society uses one closure form either side of its line, and adds the grant above it.", "next": null, "url": "https://willsum.co.uk/api/bank_ybs_release_limit.json" }, { "id": "confirmation_certificate_later_scotland", "name": "First certificate of confirmation ordered after lodging, Scotland", "category": "statutory_fee", "nation": "Scotland", "value_num": 23, "display": "£23 for the first certificate ordered afterwards, including the search fee", "unit": "pounds, first certificate ordered subsequently", "period_start": "2026-04-01", "period_end": null, "period_kind": "data", "scale_kind": null, "bands": null, "spans": null, "primary": null, "deadline": null, "eligibility": null, "source_url": "https://www.scotcourts.gov.uk/taking-action/court-fees/sheriff-court-fees/", "source_org": "Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service", "period_start_source": null, "period_start_quote": null, "checked_at": "2026-09-24", "recheck_by": "2027-03-01", "history": [], "public_note": "Going back for a certificate later costs £23 rather than £10, because the court has to search for the file first. Count the organisations before you lodge, not after.", "next": null, "url": "https://willsum.co.uk/api/confirmation_certificate_later_scotland.json" }, { "id": "confirmation_certificate_scotland", "name": "Certificate of confirmation ordered when lodging the inventory, Scotland", "category": "statutory_fee", "nation": "Scotland", "value_num": 10, "display": "£10 for each certificate ordered when you lodge the inventory", "unit": "pounds per certificate", "period_start": "2026-04-01", "period_end": null, "period_kind": "data", "scale_kind": null, "bands": null, "spans": null, "primary": null, "deadline": null, "eligibility": null, "source_url": "https://www.scotcourts.gov.uk/taking-action/court-fees/sheriff-court-fees/", "source_org": "Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service", "period_start_source": null, "period_start_quote": null, "checked_at": "2026-09-24", "recheck_by": "2027-03-01", "history": [], "public_note": "Certificates of confirmation do the job in Scotland that copies of the grant do south of the border: one for each bank, each insurer, each registrar. Ordered with the inventory they are £10 each.", "next": null, "url": "https://willsum.co.uk/api/confirmation_certificate_scotland.json" }, { "id": "confirmation_fee_scotland", "name": "Confirmation fee, Scotland", "category": "statutory_fee", "nation": "Scotland", "value_num": [ 0, 705 ], "display": "Nothing up to £50,000, then £351, then £705 once the estate passes £250,000", "unit": "pounds, one fee for receiving and examining the inventory, by the value of the estate", "period_start": "2026-04-01", "period_end": null, "period_kind": "data", "scale_kind": "fee_scale", "bands": [ { "band": "Not exceeding £50,000", "from_value": 0, "to_value": 50000, "fee": 0 }, { "band": "£50,000.01 up to £250,000", "from_value": 50000.01, "to_value": 250000, "fee": 351 }, { "band": "Exceeding £250,000", "from_value": 250000.01, "to_value": null, "fee": 705 } ], "spans": null, "primary": null, "deadline": null, "eligibility": null, "source_url": "https://www.scotcourts.gov.uk/taking-action/court-fees/sheriff-court-fees/", "source_org": "Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service", "period_start_source": null, "period_start_quote": null, "checked_at": "2026-09-24", "recheck_by": "2027-03-01", "history": [], "public_note": "Scotland charges on a scale, so the size of the estate does change the court fee, unlike England and Wales where everyone over five thousand pounds pays the same. Even at the top the fee is £705, which is still a fraction of what a percentage-of-the-estate bill would come to on the same estate.", "next": null, "url": "https://willsum.co.uk/api/confirmation_fee_scotland.json" }, { "id": "confirmation_no_fee_exemption_small_estate_scotland", "name": "No fee exemption on a small estate confirmation, Scotland", "category": "statutory_fee", "nation": "Scotland", "value_num": null, "display": "There is no fee exemption on a small estate, and certificate fees are payable in every case", "unit": "policy position, no single figure", "period_start": "2026-04-01", "period_end": null, "period_kind": "data", "scale_kind": null, "bands": null, "spans": null, "primary": null, "deadline": null, "eligibility": null, "source_url": "https://www.scotcourts.gov.uk/taking-action/dealing-with-a-deceaseds-estate-in-scotland/small-estates/", "source_org": "Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service", "period_start_source": null, "period_start_quote": null, "checked_at": "2026-09-24", "recheck_by": "2027-03-01", "history": [], "public_note": "The English help-with-fees scheme does not reach a Scottish small estate. There is no court fee to exempt you from in the first place, but the certificates still have to be paid for.", "next": null, "url": "https://willsum.co.uk/api/confirmation_no_fee_exemption_small_estate_scotland.json" }, { "id": "confirmation_small_estate_threshold_scotland", "name": "Small estate threshold, Scotland", "category": "statutory_fee", "nation": "Scotland", "value_num": 36000, "display": "£36,000 or less is a small estate, and the sheriff clerk will help you fill in the forms", "unit": "pounds, total value of the deceased's money and property", "period_start": "2016-03-04", "period_end": null, "period_kind": "data", "scale_kind": null, "bands": null, "spans": null, "primary": null, "deadline": null, "eligibility": null, "source_url": "https://www.scotcourts.gov.uk/taking-action/dealing-with-a-deceaseds-estate-in-scotland/small-estates/", "source_org": "Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service", "period_start_source": null, "period_start_quote": null, "checked_at": "2026-09-24", "recheck_by": "2027-03-01", "history": [], "public_note": "Scotland has something England does not: a court official who will sit down and fill in the form with you, free, if the estate is £36,000 or less. Make an appointment at the sheriff clerk's office. It also spares you a bond of caution, which is an insurance policy you would otherwise have to buy.", "next": null, "url": "https://willsum.co.uk/api/confirmation_small_estate_threshold_scotland.json" }, { "id": "firm_ashtons_administration", "name": "Ashtons Legal, full estate administration", "category": "firm_row", "nation": null, "value_num": [ 2500, 3500 ], "display": "£2,500 to £3,500 plus VAT", "unit": "pounds before VAT, excepted estate with no full Inheritance Tax account", "period_start": "2026-09-24", "period_end": null, "period_kind": "page_undated", "scale_kind": null, "bands": null, "spans": null, "primary": null, "deadline": null, "eligibility": null, "source_url": "https://www.ashtonslegal.co.uk/pricing/probate-pricing/", "source_org": "Ashtons Legal", "period_start_source": null, "period_start_quote": null, "checked_at": "2026-09-24", "recheck_by": "2026-10-24", "history": [], "public_note": "Two and a half to three and a half thousand plus VAT for an estate with no Inheritance Tax account to file. Their bands are set by the tax work the estate needs, not by what the estate is worth, which is the right way round.", "firm": "Ashtons Legal", "regulator": "SRA, number not stated on the page", "transaction": "Probate, full estate administration", "service_level": "Excepted estate, no full Inheritance Tax account required", "price_point": "not stated, typical range", "fee_basis": "range", "quote": "Where the estate is an excepted estate, and a full Inheritance Tax account is not required, our typical fees range from £2,500 – £3,500 plus VAT.", "vat_treatment": "plus VAT", "court_fee_stated": 300, "court_fee_source": "probate_fee_england_wales", "court_fee_matches": false, "court_fee_shortfall": 226, "next": null, "url": "https://willsum.co.uk/api/firm_ashtons_administration.json" }, { "id": "firm_bindmans_administration", "name": "Bindmans, full estate administration", "category": "firm_row", "nation": null, "value_num": 2500, "display": "£2,500 plus VAT", "unit": "pounds before VAT, estate not needing a full Inheritance Tax account", "period_start": "2026-09-24", "period_end": null, "period_kind": "page_undated", "scale_kind": null, "bands": null, "spans": null, "primary": null, "deadline": null, "eligibility": null, "source_url": "https://bindmans.com/finance/sra-transparency-rules/our-fees-for-probate-and-estate-administration", "source_org": "Bindmans", "period_start_source": null, "period_start_quote": null, "checked_at": "2026-09-24", "recheck_by": "2026-10-24", "history": [], "public_note": "Two and a half thousand plus VAT, and that is also their floor. Their page is detailed and clearly written, and it still carries a court fee from before 2024 and a power of attorney fee that is ten pounds light. Detail is not the same thing as freshness.", "firm": "Bindmans", "regulator": "SRA, number not stated on the page", "transaction": "Probate, full estate administration", "service_level": "Estate where a simplified account would previously have been required", "price_point": "not stated, one price for the service", "fee_basis": "fixed", "quote": "Where a simplified estate form would previously have been required (IHT205): £2,500 plus VAT", "vat_treatment": "plus VAT", "court_fee_stated": 273, "court_fee_source": "probate_fee_england_wales", "court_fee_matches": false, "court_fee_shortfall": 253, "next": null, "url": "https://willsum.co.uk/api/firm_bindmans_administration.json" }, { "id": "firm_bindmans_lpa_single", "name": "Bindmans, single lasting power of attorney", "category": "firm_row", "nation": null, "value_num": 500, "display": "£500 plus VAT", "unit": "pounds before VAT for drafting one LPA, registration fee separate", "period_start": "2026-09-24", "period_end": null, "period_kind": "page_undated", "scale_kind": null, "bands": null, "spans": null, "primary": null, "deadline": null, "eligibility": null, "source_url": "https://bindmans.com/finance/sra-transparency-rules/our-fees-for-probate-and-estate-administration", "source_org": "Bindmans", "period_start_source": null, "period_start_quote": null, "checked_at": "2026-09-24", "recheck_by": "2026-10-24", "history": [], "public_note": "Five hundred plus VAT for one, and their page adds a registration fee of £82, which has not been the fee since it rose to £92. Four LPAs priced off that page leaves you forty pounds light before you start.", "firm": "Bindmans", "regulator": "SRA, number not stated on the page", "transaction": "Lasting power of attorney, one for one person", "service_level": "One LPA drafted, court fee separate", "price_point": "not stated, one price", "fee_basis": "fixed", "quote": "One LPA for single person: £500 plus VAT", "vat_treatment": "plus VAT, court fee shown separately", "court_fee_stated": 82, "court_fee_source": "lpa_registration_fee_england_wales", "court_fee_matches": false, "court_fee_shortfall": 10, "next": null, "url": "https://willsum.co.uk/api/firm_bindmans_lpa_single.json" }, { "id": "firm_bindmans_single_will", "name": "Bindmans, single will", "category": "firm_row", "nation": null, "value_num": 500, "display": "£500 plus VAT", "unit": "pounds before VAT, one single will", "period_start": "2026-09-24", "period_end": null, "period_kind": "page_undated", "scale_kind": null, "bands": null, "spans": null, "primary": null, "deadline": null, "eligibility": null, "source_url": "https://bindmans.com/finance/sra-transparency-rules/our-fees-for-probate-and-estate-administration", "source_org": "Bindmans", "period_start_source": null, "period_start_quote": null, "checked_at": "2026-09-24", "recheck_by": "2026-10-24", "history": [], "public_note": "Five hundred plus VAT, and a consultation fee of £250 plus VAT if you walk away afterwards, which they say plainly rather than burying. The price is at the top of what we found. The honesty about the consultation is at the top too.", "firm": "Bindmans", "regulator": "SRA, number not stated on the page", "transaction": "Will, single", "service_level": "Single will, fixed fee covering the consultation", "price_point": "not stated, one price", "fee_basis": "fixed", "quote": "Single Will: £500 plus VAT", "vat_treatment": "plus VAT", "court_fee_stated": null, "court_fee_source": null, "court_fee_matches": null, "court_fee_shortfall": null, "next": null, "url": "https://willsum.co.uk/api/firm_bindmans_single_will.json" }, { "id": "firm_clarke_willmott_administration", "name": "Clarke Willmott, full estate administration", "category": "firm_row", "nation": null, "value_num": [ 4500, 7500 ], "display": "£4,500 to £7,500 before VAT", "unit": "pounds before VAT, straightforward estate", "period_start": "2026-09-24", "period_end": null, "period_kind": "page_undated", "scale_kind": null, "bands": null, "spans": null, "primary": null, "deadline": null, "eligibility": null, "source_url": "https://www.clarkewillmott.com/crystal-clear-price-promise/residential-conveyancing/", "source_org": "Clarke Willmott", "period_start_source": null, "period_start_quote": null, "checked_at": "2026-09-24", "recheck_by": "2026-10-24", "history": [], "public_note": "Four and a half to seven and a half thousand before VAT for a straightforward estate. This firm says in its own words that it prices the work and not the value of the estate. Hold that sentence up against the firms on this page charging a percentage.", "firm": "Clarke Willmott", "regulator": "SRA, number not stated on the page", "transaction": "Probate, full estate administration", "service_level": "Straightforward estate, solicitor's fees only", "price_point": "not stated, a guide range", "fee_basis": "range", "quote": "£4,500 to £7,500", "vat_treatment": "VAT shown separately on the same page, at £900 to £1,500 on this band", "court_fee_stated": 526, "court_fee_source": "probate_fee_england_wales", "court_fee_matches": true, "court_fee_shortfall": 0.0, "next": null, "url": "https://willsum.co.uk/api/firm_clarke_willmott_administration.json" }, { "id": "firm_full_administration_table", "name": "Full estate administration fees, from firms' own published prices", "category": "firm_table", "nation": null, "value_num": [ 780, 15000 ], "display": "£780 to £15,000 before VAT to administer an estate, across the firms we read", "unit": "pounds before VAT for full estate administration, across named firms' own published prices", "period_start": "2026-09-24", "period_end": null, "period_kind": "page_undated", "scale_kind": null, "bands": null, "spans": [ "firm_swinburne_maddison_administration", "firm_woolliscrofts_administration", "firm_ashtons_administration", "firm_clarke_willmott_administration", "firm_lanyon_bowdler_administration", "firm_bindmans_administration", "firm_owens_administration", "firm_needle_administration" ], "primary": null, "deadline": null, "eligibility": null, "source_url": "https://www.swinburnemaddison.co.uk/probate-pricing/", "source_org": "Firms' own published price pages, each listed separately", "period_start_source": null, "period_start_quote": null, "checked_at": "2026-09-24", "recheck_by": "2026-10-24", "history": [], "public_note": "Full administration means the firm does the lot. What firms publish for that ranges from under a thousand pounds to fifteen thousand, and the ones at the top are not doing a different job from the ones at the bottom. Read the basis beside every figure, because a fixed fee, a range and an hourly estimate are three different promises.", "next": null, "url": "https://willsum.co.uk/api/firm_full_administration_table.json" }, { "id": "firm_grant_only_table", "name": "Grant-only probate fees, from firms' own published prices", "category": "firm_table", "nation": null, "value_num": [ 900, 1950 ], "display": "£900 to £1,950 before VAT to get the grant, across the firms we read", "unit": "pounds before VAT for obtaining the grant only, across named firms' own published prices", "period_start": "2026-09-24", "period_end": null, "period_kind": "page_undated", "scale_kind": null, "bands": null, "spans": [ "firm_woolliscrofts_grant_only", "firm_ohara_grant_only", "firm_slater_heelis_grant_only", "firm_needle_grant_only" ], "primary": null, "deadline": null, "eligibility": null, "source_url": "https://woolliscroftssolicitors.co.uk/probate-wills-power-of-attorney/pricing/", "source_org": "Firms' own published price pages, each listed separately", "period_start_source": null, "period_start_quote": null, "checked_at": "2026-09-24", "recheck_by": "2026-10-24", "history": [], "public_note": "Getting the grant is one job, and these firms all publish what they charge for it. The spread is better than two to one before anyone adds VAT. Every one of them is doing the same piece of paperwork, and the court charges the same fee whichever of them sends it in.", "next": null, "url": "https://willsum.co.uk/api/firm_grant_only_table.json" }, { "id": "firm_hugh_james_percentage", "name": "Hugh James, estate administration charged as a percentage", "category": "firm_row", "nation": null, "value_num": 2.75, "display": "2.75% of the gross value of the estate, with a minimum of £3,000", "unit": "percent of the gross probate value of the estate", "period_start": "2026-09-24", "period_end": null, "period_kind": "page_undated", "scale_kind": null, "bands": null, "spans": null, "primary": null, "deadline": null, "eligibility": null, "source_url": "https://www.hughjames.com/about/our-prices/estate-administration-pricing/", "source_org": "Hugh James", "period_start_source": null, "period_start_quote": null, "checked_at": "2026-09-24", "recheck_by": "2026-10-24", "history": [], "public_note": "Two and three quarter per cent of the estate, with a floor of three thousand pounds. Their own published examples run from about £4,350 on a £75,000 estate to about £40,350 on a £1.2 million one. The court charges £526 for the grant in both cases. Nothing about the paperwork got nine times harder.", "firm": "Hugh James", "regulator": "SRA, number not stated on the page", "transaction": "Probate, full estate administration", "service_level": "Full estate administration", "price_point": "any estate, priced on its gross probate value", "fee_basis": "percent_of_estate", "quote": "We charge a fixed fee of 2.75% of the gross probate value of the estate but with a minimum fee of £3,000.", "vat_treatment": "plus VAT, currently at 20%", "court_fee_stated": 526, "court_fee_source": "probate_fee_england_wales", "court_fee_matches": true, "court_fee_shortfall": 0.0, "next": null, "url": "https://willsum.co.uk/api/firm_hugh_james_percentage.json" }, { "id": "firm_lanyon_bowdler_administration", "name": "Lanyon Bowdler, full estate administration", "category": "firm_row", "nation": null, "value_num": [ 6000, 10000 ], "display": "£6,000 to £10,000 plus VAT", "unit": "pounds before VAT, low complexity estate administration", "period_start": "2026-09-24", "period_end": null, "period_kind": "page_undated", "scale_kind": null, "bands": null, "spans": null, "primary": null, "deadline": null, "eligibility": null, "source_url": "https://www.lblaw.co.uk/about-us/pricing-service-information/probate-administration-of-estates/", "source_org": "Lanyon Bowdler", "period_start_source": null, "period_start_quote": null, "checked_at": "2026-09-24", "recheck_by": "2026-10-24", "history": [], "public_note": "Six to ten thousand plus VAT for what this firm calls a low complexity estate. Their published hourly rates run from £210 to £730, so which person in the building does the work matters more here than at most firms.", "firm": "Lanyon Bowdler", "regulator": "SRA, number not stated on the page", "transaction": "Probate, full estate administration", "service_level": "Low complexity case", "price_point": "not stated, charged on hourly rates", "fee_basis": "range", "quote": "A low complexity case will cost between £6,000 to £10,000 plus VAT (£7,200 to £12,000 with VAT).", "vat_treatment": "plus VAT, and the page also gives the VAT-inclusive figure", "court_fee_stated": 300, "court_fee_source": "probate_fee_england_wales", "court_fee_matches": false, "court_fee_shortfall": 226, "next": null, "url": "https://willsum.co.uk/api/firm_lanyon_bowdler_administration.json" }, { "id": "firm_needle_administration", "name": "Needle Partners, full estate administration", "category": "firm_row", "nation": null, "value_num": 4950, "display": "£4,950 plus VAT on an estate up to £500,000", "unit": "pounds before VAT, fixed fee on an estate up to £500,000", "period_start": "2026-09-24", "period_end": null, "period_kind": "page_undated", "scale_kind": null, "bands": null, "spans": null, "primary": null, "deadline": null, "eligibility": null, "source_url": "https://www.needlepartners.com/sra-transparency-wills-and-probate", "source_org": "Needle Partners", "period_start_source": null, "period_start_quote": null, "checked_at": "2026-09-24", "recheck_by": "2026-10-24", "history": [], "public_note": "Just under five thousand plus VAT for an estate up to half a million. Their own hourly alternative on the same page works out at fifteen to twenty hours, so the fixed fee is about fourteen hours of work. That is a useful way to read any fixed fee: divide it by the hourly rate and see what you get.", "firm": "Needle Partners", "regulator": "SRA, number not stated on the page", "transaction": "Probate, full estate administration", "service_level": "Fixed fee option, estates up to £500,000, valid will", "price_point": "estates up to £500,000", "fee_basis": "fixed", "quote": "OPTION 1 – ESTATES UP TO £500,000 | Fixed fee: £4,950 (plus 20% VAT)", "vat_treatment": "plus 20% VAT", "court_fee_stated": 526, "court_fee_source": "probate_fee_england_wales", "court_fee_matches": true, "court_fee_shortfall": 0.0, "next": null, "url": "https://willsum.co.uk/api/firm_needle_administration.json" }, { "id": "firm_needle_grant_only", "name": "Needle Partners, grant only", "category": "firm_row", "nation": null, "value_num": 950, "display": "from £950", "unit": "pounds, lowest published tier for obtaining the grant", "period_start": "2026-09-24", "period_end": null, "period_kind": "page_undated", "scale_kind": null, "bands": null, "spans": null, "primary": null, "deadline": null, "eligibility": null, "source_url": "https://www.needlepartners.com/sra-transparency-wills-and-probate", "source_org": "Needle Partners", "period_start_source": null, "period_start_quote": null, "checked_at": "2026-09-24", "recheck_by": "2026-10-24", "history": [], "public_note": "From nine hundred and fifty pounds for the grant. Their page prints the court fee twice, once correctly at £526 and once at the old £300, a few paragraphs apart. If a firm that publishes carefully can carry two different court fees on one page, check the fee yourself before you take anyone's total on trust.", "firm": "Needle Partners", "regulator": "SRA, number not stated on the page", "transaction": "Probate, grant only", "service_level": "Obtaining the grant, lowest of three published tiers", "price_point": "not stated, a floor rather than a price", "fee_basis": "from", "quote": "From £950", "vat_treatment": "not stated beside this figure", "court_fee_stated": [ 526, 300 ], "court_fee_source": "probate_fee_england_wales", "court_fee_matches": false, "court_fee_shortfall": 226, "next": null, "url": "https://willsum.co.uk/api/firm_needle_grant_only.json" }, { "id": "firm_needle_lpa_single", "name": "Needle Partners, single lasting power of attorney", "category": "firm_row", "nation": null, "value_num": 400, "display": "£400", "unit": "pounds for drafting one LPA, registration fee separate", "period_start": "2026-09-24", "period_end": null, "period_kind": "page_undated", "scale_kind": null, "bands": null, "spans": null, "primary": null, "deadline": null, "eligibility": null, "source_url": "https://www.needlepartners.com/sra-transparency-wills-and-probate", "source_org": "Needle Partners", "period_start_source": null, "period_start_quote": null, "checked_at": "2026-09-24", "recheck_by": "2026-10-24", "history": [], "public_note": "Four hundred pounds to draft one, with the registration fee on top, and their page is one of the very few that tells you the registration fee depends on your income. It does. Most pages do not say so.", "firm": "Needle Partners", "regulator": "SRA, number not stated on the page", "transaction": "Lasting power of attorney, one of either type", "service_level": "One LPA drafted, court fee separate", "price_point": "not stated, one price", "fee_basis": "fixed", "quote": "Lasting Power of Attorney (single, finance or care), £400", "vat_treatment": "not stated beside this figure, court fee shown separately", "court_fee_stated": null, "court_fee_source": null, "court_fee_matches": null, "court_fee_shortfall": null, "next": null, "url": "https://willsum.co.uk/api/firm_needle_lpa_single.json" }, { "id": "firm_needle_single_will", "name": "Needle Partners, single will", "category": "firm_row", "nation": null, "value_num": 250, "display": "from £250", "unit": "pounds, one standard single will", "period_start": "2026-09-24", "period_end": null, "period_kind": "page_undated", "scale_kind": null, "bands": null, "spans": null, "primary": null, "deadline": null, "eligibility": null, "source_url": "https://www.needlepartners.com/sra-transparency-wills-and-probate", "source_org": "Needle Partners", "period_start_source": null, "period_start_quote": null, "checked_at": "2026-09-24", "recheck_by": "2026-10-24", "history": [], "public_note": "From two hundred and fifty pounds, published as a fixed charge with the reason given: so that a will is within reach. Nobody made them put that on the internet.", "firm": "Needle Partners", "regulator": "SRA, number not stated on the page", "transaction": "Will, single", "service_level": "Standard will, fixed charge", "price_point": "not stated, a floor", "fee_basis": "from", "quote": "From £250", "vat_treatment": "not stated beside this figure", "court_fee_stated": null, "court_fee_source": null, "court_fee_matches": null, "court_fee_shortfall": null, "next": null, "url": "https://willsum.co.uk/api/firm_needle_single_will.json" }, { "id": "firm_ohara_grant_only", "name": "O'Hara Solicitors, grant only", "category": "firm_row", "nation": null, "value_num": 950, "display": "£950 plus VAT", "unit": "pounds before VAT, grant only on a non-taxable estate", "period_start": "2026-09-24", "period_end": null, "period_kind": "page_undated", "scale_kind": null, "bands": null, "spans": null, "primary": null, "deadline": null, "eligibility": null, "source_url": "https://oharasolicitors.co.uk/sra-transparency-pricing/", "source_org": "O'Hara Solicitors", "period_start_source": null, "period_start_quote": null, "checked_at": "2026-09-24", "recheck_by": "2026-10-24", "history": [], "public_note": "Nine hundred and fifty plus VAT for the grant on an estate with no Inheritance Tax to pay. Their own page still prints a court fee that was superseded in 2024, so add the difference yourself before you compare their total to anyone else's.", "firm": "O'Hara Solicitors", "regulator": "SRA, number not stated on the page", "transaction": "Probate, grant only", "service_level": "Grant of probate only, non-taxable estates", "price_point": "non-inheritance taxable estates", "fee_basis": "fixed", "quote": "Applying and obtaining the Grant Of Probate only for non-inheritance taxable estates is a set fixed fee of £950 + VAT.", "vat_treatment": "plus VAT", "court_fee_stated": 273, "court_fee_source": "probate_fee_england_wales", "court_fee_matches": false, "court_fee_shortfall": 253, "next": null, "url": "https://willsum.co.uk/api/firm_ohara_grant_only.json" }, { "id": "firm_ohara_lpa_financial", "name": "O'Hara Solicitors, financial lasting power of attorney", "category": "firm_row", "nation": null, "value_num": 400, "display": "£400 plus VAT", "unit": "pounds before VAT for drafting one LPA, registration fee separate", "period_start": "2026-09-24", "period_end": null, "period_kind": "page_undated", "scale_kind": null, "bands": null, "spans": null, "primary": null, "deadline": null, "eligibility": null, "source_url": "https://oharasolicitors.co.uk/sra-transparency-pricing/", "source_org": "O'Hara Solicitors", "period_start_source": null, "period_start_quote": null, "checked_at": "2026-09-24", "recheck_by": "2026-10-24", "history": [], "public_note": "Four hundred plus VAT to have one drawn up, and ninety two pounds to the Office of the Public Guardian to register it. The drafting is nearly five times the registration. You can do the drafting yourself on the government's own service, and the registration fee is the same either way.", "firm": "O'Hara Solicitors", "regulator": "SRA, number not stated on the page", "transaction": "Lasting power of attorney, property and financial affairs", "service_level": "One LPA drafted, court fee separate", "price_point": "not stated, one price", "fee_basis": "fixed", "quote": "Financial LPA, £400 +VAT", "vat_treatment": "plus VAT, court fee shown separately", "court_fee_stated": null, "court_fee_source": null, "court_fee_matches": null, "court_fee_shortfall": null, "next": null, "url": "https://willsum.co.uk/api/firm_ohara_lpa_financial.json" }, { "id": "firm_ohara_percentage", "name": "O'Hara Solicitors, estate administration charged as a percentage", "category": "firm_row", "nation": null, "value_num": 3, "display": "3% of the value of the estate, or a flat £5,000 at or below £165,000", "unit": "percent of the value of the estate", "period_start": "2026-09-24", "period_end": null, "period_kind": "page_undated", "scale_kind": null, "bands": null, "spans": null, "primary": null, "deadline": null, "eligibility": null, "source_url": "https://oharasolicitors.co.uk/sra-transparency-pricing/", "source_org": "O'Hara Solicitors", "period_start_source": null, "period_start_quote": null, "checked_at": "2026-09-24", "recheck_by": "2026-10-24", "history": [], "public_note": "Three per cent of the estate, and below £165,000 a flat five thousand plus VAT instead. The flat fee is not a discount for a small estate. On a modest estate it is a larger share of it than the percentage would have been, and the same firm will get the grant alone for £950 plus VAT.", "firm": "O'Hara Solicitors", "regulator": "SRA, number not stated on the page", "transaction": "Probate, full estate administration", "service_level": "Probate and administration of the estate", "price_point": "any estate, with a flat fee at or below £165,000", "fee_basis": "percent_of_estate", "quote": "We usually charge an average rate of 3% on the value of the estate plus VAT. If the estate is £165,000 or below, a flat fee of £5000 plus VAT will be charged.", "vat_treatment": "plus VAT", "court_fee_stated": 273, "court_fee_source": "probate_fee_england_wales", "court_fee_matches": false, "court_fee_shortfall": 253, "next": null, "url": "https://willsum.co.uk/api/firm_ohara_percentage.json" }, { "id": "firm_ohara_single_will", "name": "O'Hara Solicitors, single will", "category": "firm_row", "nation": null, "value_num": 425, "display": "£425 plus VAT", "unit": "pounds before VAT, one single will", "period_start": "2026-09-24", "period_end": null, "period_kind": "page_undated", "scale_kind": null, "bands": null, "spans": null, "primary": null, "deadline": null, "eligibility": null, "source_url": "https://oharasolicitors.co.uk/sra-transparency-pricing/", "source_org": "O'Hara Solicitors", "period_start_source": null, "period_start_quote": null, "checked_at": "2026-09-24", "recheck_by": "2026-10-24", "history": [], "public_note": "Four hundred and twenty five plus VAT for one will, which is five hundred and ten with it. The same page lists a pair for £600 plus VAT, so the second will costs a hundred and seventy five.", "firm": "O'Hara Solicitors", "regulator": "SRA, number not stated on the page", "transaction": "Will, single", "service_level": "Single will", "price_point": "not stated, one price", "fee_basis": "fixed", "quote": "Single, £425 + VAT", "vat_treatment": "plus VAT", "court_fee_stated": null, "court_fee_source": null, "court_fee_matches": null, "court_fee_shortfall": null, "next": null, "url": "https://willsum.co.uk/api/firm_ohara_single_will.json" }, { "id": "firm_owens_administration", "name": "Owens Solicitors, full estate administration", "category": "firm_row", "nation": null, "value_num": 3500, "display": "£3,500 plus VAT on an estate of £145,000 to £250,000", "unit": "pounds before VAT, worked example at a stated estate value", "period_start": "2026-09-24", "period_end": null, "period_kind": "page_undated", "scale_kind": null, "bands": null, "spans": null, "primary": null, "deadline": null, "eligibility": null, "source_url": "https://owensolicitors.com/wills-probate-law-fees/", "source_org": "Owens Solicitors", "period_start_source": null, "period_start_quote": null, "checked_at": "2026-09-24", "recheck_by": "2026-10-24", "history": [], "public_note": "Three and a half thousand plus VAT on an estate between £145,000 and £250,000, rising to fifteen thousand on an estate of £500,000 to £750,000. A fixed fee that is set by the size of the estate is a percentage wearing a different hat. Their page also quotes a court fee that was superseded in 2014.", "firm": "Owens Solicitors", "regulator": "SRA, number not stated on the page", "transaction": "Probate, full estate administration", "service_level": "Worked example at a stated estate value", "price_point": "estate value £145,000 to £250,000", "fee_basis": "worked_example", "quote": "Estate value £145,000 – £250,000 | Our fixed fee Probate quotation for this Estate would be £3,500 (+ VAT and disbursements)", "vat_treatment": "plus VAT and disbursements", "court_fee_stated": 155, "court_fee_source": "probate_fee_england_wales", "court_fee_matches": false, "court_fee_shortfall": 371, "next": null, "url": "https://willsum.co.uk/api/firm_owens_administration.json" }, { "id": "firm_owens_single_will", "name": "Owens Solicitors, single will", "category": "firm_row", "nation": null, "value_num": 250, "display": "from £250 plus VAT", "unit": "pounds before VAT, one standard single will", "period_start": "2026-09-24", "period_end": null, "period_kind": "page_undated", "scale_kind": null, "bands": null, "spans": null, "primary": null, "deadline": null, "eligibility": null, "source_url": "https://owensolicitors.com/wills-probate-law-fees/", "source_org": "Owens Solicitors", "period_start_source": null, "period_start_quote": null, "checked_at": "2026-09-24", "recheck_by": "2026-10-24", "history": [], "public_note": "From two hundred and fifty plus VAT, so three hundred with it. Worth saying out loud, because the same firm charges three and a half thousand plus VAT to administer an estate of £145,000, and the will is the document that makes that estate straightforward in the first place.", "firm": "Owens Solicitors", "regulator": "SRA, number not stated on the page", "transaction": "Will, single", "service_level": "Standard will", "price_point": "not stated, a floor", "fee_basis": "from", "quote": "Our Fees start from £250 +Vat for standard Wills", "vat_treatment": "plus VAT", "court_fee_stated": null, "court_fee_source": null, "court_fee_matches": null, "court_fee_shortfall": null, "next": null, "url": "https://willsum.co.uk/api/firm_owens_single_will.json" }, { "id": "firm_single_will_table", "name": "Single will prices, from firms' own published prices", "category": "firm_table", "nation": null, "value_num": [ 240, 500 ], "display": "£240 to £500 for a single straightforward will, across the firms we read", "unit": "pounds for one straightforward will, across named firms' own published prices, VAT treatment varies by row", "period_start": "2026-09-24", "period_end": null, "period_kind": "page_undated", "scale_kind": null, "bands": null, "spans": [ "firm_stewart_bennett_single_will", "firm_needle_single_will", "firm_owens_single_will", "firm_ohara_single_will", "firm_bindmans_single_will" ], "primary": null, "deadline": null, "eligibility": null, "source_url": "https://www.stewartbennett.com/price-transparency-guide", "source_org": "Firms' own published price pages, each listed separately", "period_start_source": null, "period_start_quote": null, "checked_at": "2026-09-24", "recheck_by": "2026-10-24", "history": [], "public_note": "A straightforward single will, from firms that publish what they charge. Their VAT treatment is not the same from one to the next, so read the basis before you read the number. Nobody is required to publish these prices at all, which is worth remembering when a firm will not tell you one.", "next": null, "url": "https://willsum.co.uk/api/firm_single_will_table.json" }, { "id": "firm_slater_heelis_grant_only", "name": "Slater Heelis, grant only", "category": "firm_row", "nation": null, "value_num": 1950, "display": "from £1,950 plus VAT", "unit": "pounds before VAT, minimum charge for grant only", "period_start": "2026-09-24", "period_end": null, "period_kind": "page_undated", "scale_kind": null, "bands": null, "spans": null, "primary": null, "deadline": null, "eligibility": null, "source_url": "https://www.slaterheelis.co.uk/our-fees/probate/", "source_org": "Slater Heelis", "period_start_source": null, "period_start_quote": null, "checked_at": "2026-09-24", "recheck_by": "2026-10-24", "history": [], "public_note": "A minimum of £1,950 plus VAT, and the minimum assumes you have already worked out the figures for the application yourself. That is most of the difficult part of a grant-only job, so read the condition as carefully as the price.", "firm": "Slater Heelis", "regulator": "SRA, number not stated on the page", "transaction": "Probate, grant only", "service_level": "Grant only, non-taxable estate, figures supplied by the client", "price_point": "not stated, a minimum rather than a price", "fee_basis": "minimum", "quote": "There will be a minimum charge of £1,950 plus VAT in addition to disbursements", "vat_treatment": "plus VAT", "court_fee_stated": 300, "court_fee_source": "probate_fee_england_wales", "court_fee_matches": false, "court_fee_shortfall": 226, "next": null, "url": "https://willsum.co.uk/api/firm_slater_heelis_grant_only.json" }, { "id": "firm_stewart_bennett_single_will", "name": "Stewart & Bennett, single will", "category": "firm_row", "nation": null, "value_num": 240, "display": "£240 including VAT", "unit": "pounds including VAT, one single will", "period_start": "2026-09-24", "period_end": null, "period_kind": "page_undated", "scale_kind": null, "bands": null, "spans": null, "primary": null, "deadline": null, "eligibility": null, "source_url": "https://www.stewartbennett.com/price-transparency-guide", "source_org": "Stewart & Bennett", "period_start_source": null, "period_start_quote": null, "checked_at": "2026-09-24", "recheck_by": "2026-10-24", "history": [], "public_note": "Two hundred and forty pounds, VAT included, for a single will. That is a real published price from a Scottish firm and it is less than half what the dearest firm on this page charges before VAT.", "firm": "Stewart & Bennett", "regulator": "Law Society of Scotland regulated, not stated on the page", "transaction": "Will, single", "service_level": "Single will for the estate of one person", "price_point": "not stated, one price", "fee_basis": "fixed", "quote": "Single Will (for the estate of one person) £240 inclusive of VAT", "vat_treatment": "inclusive of VAT", "court_fee_stated": null, "court_fee_source": null, "court_fee_matches": null, "court_fee_shortfall": null, "next": null, "url": "https://willsum.co.uk/api/firm_stewart_bennett_single_will.json" }, { "id": "firm_swinburne_maddison_administration", "name": "Swinburne Maddison, full estate administration", "category": "firm_row", "nation": null, "value_num": [ 780, 15000 ], "display": "£780 to £15,000 plus VAT", "unit": "pounds before VAT, full administration of a non-taxable estate", "period_start": "2026-09-24", "period_end": null, "period_kind": "page_undated", "scale_kind": null, "bands": null, "spans": null, "primary": null, "deadline": null, "eligibility": null, "source_url": "https://www.swinburnemaddison.co.uk/probate-pricing/", "source_org": "Swinburne Maddison", "period_start_source": null, "period_start_quote": null, "checked_at": "2026-09-24", "recheck_by": "2026-10-24", "history": [], "public_note": "Four hours to sixty, and a price that follows the hours. This firm publishes the range of work rather than a single reassuring number, and that is the most honest thing on any pricing page we read. It is also the clearest proof that the size of an estate is not what makes the job long.", "firm": "Swinburne Maddison", "regulator": "SRA, number not stated on the page", "transaction": "Probate, full estate administration", "service_level": "Estates where no Inheritance Tax is payable", "price_point": "not stated, charged on time spent", "fee_basis": "hourly", "quote": "Ordinarily, estate administrations in which no Inheritance Tax is payable incur between 4 and 60 hours of time, with usual charges for time incurred therefore falling between £780 and £15,000 plus VAT (at the current rate of 20%).", "vat_treatment": "plus VAT at the current rate of 20%", "court_fee_stated": 300, "court_fee_source": "probate_fee_england_wales", "court_fee_matches": false, "court_fee_shortfall": 226, "next": null, "url": "https://willsum.co.uk/api/firm_swinburne_maddison_administration.json" }, { "id": "firm_woolliscrofts_administration", "name": "Woolliscrofts Solicitors, full estate administration", "category": "firm_row", "nation": null, "value_num": [ 2900, 3400 ], "display": "£2,900 to £3,400 plus VAT", "unit": "pounds before VAT, lowest published administration tier", "period_start": "2026-09-24", "period_end": null, "period_kind": "page_undated", "scale_kind": null, "bands": null, "spans": null, "primary": null, "deadline": null, "eligibility": null, "source_url": "https://woolliscroftssolicitors.co.uk/probate-wills-power-of-attorney/pricing/", "source_org": "Woolliscrofts Solicitors", "period_start_source": null, "period_start_quote": null, "checked_at": "2026-09-24", "recheck_by": "2026-10-24", "history": [], "public_note": "Two thousand nine hundred to three thousand four hundred plus VAT for the whole job at the straightforward end, against nine hundred for the grant alone from the same firm. The difference is what you are paying somebody else to do rather than doing yourself.", "firm": "Woolliscrofts Solicitors", "regulator": "SRA, regulator named on the page, number not stated", "transaction": "Probate, full estate administration", "service_level": "Lowest of three published complexity tiers", "price_point": "not stated, charged on time spent", "fee_basis": "range", "quote": "Estimated legal fees: £2,900 – £3,400 plus VAT.", "vat_treatment": "plus VAT", "court_fee_stated": 526, "court_fee_source": "probate_fee_england_wales", "court_fee_matches": true, "court_fee_shortfall": 0.0, "next": null, "url": "https://willsum.co.uk/api/firm_woolliscrofts_administration.json" }, { "id": "firm_woolliscrofts_grant_only", "name": "Woolliscrofts Solicitors, grant only", "category": "firm_row", "nation": null, "value_num": 900, "display": "£900 plus VAT", "unit": "pounds before VAT, grant only", "period_start": "2026-09-24", "period_end": null, "period_kind": "page_undated", "scale_kind": null, "bands": null, "spans": null, "primary": null, "deadline": null, "eligibility": null, "source_url": "https://woolliscroftssolicitors.co.uk/probate-wills-power-of-attorney/pricing/", "source_org": "Woolliscrofts Solicitors", "period_start_source": null, "period_start_quote": null, "checked_at": "2026-09-24", "recheck_by": "2026-10-24", "history": [], "public_note": "Nine hundred pounds plus VAT to prepare and submit the application, with the court fee on top and named separately. Their page is also the only one we read that says when it last checked the court fee, which tells you something about the rest.", "firm": "Woolliscrofts Solicitors", "regulator": "SRA, regulator named on the page, number not stated", "transaction": "Probate, grant only", "service_level": "Firm obtains the grant, you administer the estate", "price_point": "not stated, one price for the service", "fee_basis": "fixed", "quote": "Legal fees: £900 plus VAT (£1,080 including VAT)", "vat_treatment": "plus VAT, and the page also gives the VAT-inclusive figure", "court_fee_stated": 526, "court_fee_source": "probate_fee_england_wales", "court_fee_matches": true, "court_fee_shortfall": 0.0, "next": null, "url": "https://willsum.co.uk/api/firm_woolliscrofts_grant_only.json" }, { "id": "free_wills_month_age", "name": "Free Wills Month minimum age", "category": "free_route", "nation": "United Kingdom", "value_num": 55, "display": "Free for anyone aged 55 or over, in selected locations", "unit": "years of age, minimum", "period_start": "2026-10-01", "period_end": null, "period_kind": "page_undated", "scale_kind": null, "bands": null, "spans": null, "primary": null, "deadline": null, "eligibility": "Members of the public aged 55 and over, in the locations taking part, while the campaign is running. It covers a simple will, written or updated. The charities taking part pay the solicitor, and you are not obliged to leave any of them anything, although the whole point of the scheme is that some people will choose to. If you are under 55 or outside the areas covered, this route is not open to you.", "source_url": "https://freewillsmonth.org.uk/", "source_org": "Free Wills Month", "period_start_source": null, "period_start_quote": null, "checked_at": "2026-09-24", "recheck_by": "2026-10-01", "history": [], "public_note": "Free, if you are 55 or over and in one of the areas taking part. Charities pay the solicitor, because some people who write a will this way choose to leave them something. You are not obliged to, and they say so themselves. Knowing who is paying does not make it a worse deal. It makes it an understandable one.", "next": null, "url": "https://willsum.co.uk/api/free_wills_month_age.json" }, { "id": "iht_charity_rate_threshold", "name": "Share of the net estate that must go to charity for the reduced rate", "category": "inheritance_tax", "nation": "United Kingdom", "value_num": 10, "display": "10% or more of the net value of the estate", "unit": "percent of the net estate left to charity", "period_start": "2012-04-06", "period_end": null, "period_kind": "data", "scale_kind": null, "bands": null, "spans": null, "primary": null, "deadline": null, "eligibility": null, "source_url": "https://www.gov.uk/inheritance-tax", "source_org": "HMRC", "period_start_source": null, "period_start_quote": null, "checked_at": "2026-09-24", "recheck_by": "2026-12-01", "history": [], "public_note": "Ten per cent of the net estate, which is the estate after debts, not before them.", "next": null, "url": "https://willsum.co.uk/api/iht_charity_rate_threshold.json" }, { "id": "iht_combined_threshold_with_home", "name": "Combined Inheritance Tax threshold where a home passes to direct descendants", "category": "inheritance_tax", "nation": "United Kingdom", "value_num": 500000, "display": "£500,000 in total, where a home passes to children or grandchildren", "unit": "pounds per estate, both thresholds together", "period_start": "2020-04-06", "period_end": null, "period_kind": "data", "scale_kind": null, "bands": null, "spans": null, "primary": null, "deadline": null, "eligibility": null, "source_url": "https://www.gov.uk/inheritance-tax", "source_org": "HMRC", "period_start_source": null, "period_start_quote": null, "checked_at": "2026-09-24", "recheck_by": "2026-12-01", "history": [], "public_note": "Half a million, for a homeowner leaving the home to their own children or grandchildren, on an estate under two million. Every one of those conditions is doing work, and a couple who each qualify can end up with twice this between them.", "next": null, "url": "https://willsum.co.uk/api/iht_combined_threshold_with_home.json" }, { "id": "iht_gift_seven_year_rule", "name": "The seven year rule on gifts", "category": "inheritance_tax", "nation": "United Kingdom", "value_num": 7, "display": "7 years between the gift and the death", "unit": "years", "period_start": "1986-03-18", "period_end": null, "period_kind": "data", "scale_kind": null, "bands": null, "spans": null, "primary": null, "deadline": null, "eligibility": null, "source_url": "https://www.gov.uk/inheritance-tax", "source_org": "HMRC", "period_start_source": null, "period_start_quote": null, "checked_at": "2026-09-24", "recheck_by": "2026-12-01", "history": [], "public_note": "Give something away and live seven more years and it is normally out of the estate. Die inside seven years and it may be pulled back in. The house you signed over to the children is the case that catches families, especially if you carried on living in it.", "next": null, "url": "https://willsum.co.uk/api/iht_gift_seven_year_rule.json" }, { "id": "iht_gift_with_reservation", "name": "Gifts with reservation of benefit", "category": "inheritance_tax", "nation": "United Kingdom", "value_num": null, "display": "A home you give away but carry on living in is still counted as yours", "unit": "policy position, no single figure", "period_start": "1986-03-18", "period_end": null, "period_kind": "data", "scale_kind": null, "bands": null, "spans": null, "primary": null, "deadline": null, "eligibility": null, "source_url": "https://www.gov.uk/inheritance-tax/passing-on-home", "source_org": "HMRC", "period_start_source": null, "period_start_quote": null, "checked_at": "2026-09-24", "recheck_by": "2026-12-01", "history": [], "public_note": "Signing the house over to the children and staying in it does not take it out of the estate. It is a gift with reservation, and the seven year rule does not rescue it. Pay a market rent or move out, or accept that it is still counted.", "next": null, "url": "https://willsum.co.uk/api/iht_gift_with_reservation.json" }, { "id": "iht_nil_rate_band", "name": "Inheritance Tax nil rate band", "category": "inheritance_tax", "nation": "United Kingdom", "value_num": 325000, "display": "£325,000, the threshold below which there is normally no Inheritance Tax", "unit": "pounds per estate", "period_start": "2009-04-06", "period_end": "2031-04-05", "period_kind": "data", "scale_kind": null, "bands": null, "spans": null, "primary": null, "deadline": null, "eligibility": null, "source_url": "https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/rates-and-allowances-inheritance-tax-thresholds-and-interest-rates/inheritance-tax-thresholds-and-interest-rates", "source_org": "HMRC", "period_start_source": null, "period_start_quote": null, "checked_at": "2026-09-24", "recheck_by": "2026-12-01", "history": [ { "period": "6 April 2008 to 5 April 2009", "value_num": 312000, "display": "£312,000" }, { "period": "6 April 2007 to 5 April 2008", "value_num": 300000, "display": "£300,000" } ], "public_note": "Three hundred and twenty five thousand pounds. The threshold has not moved since April 2009 and HMRC's own table now runs it to April 2031, so by the time it changes it will have stood still for twenty two years. Everything above it is normally taxed. Everything below it normally is not.", "next": null, "url": "https://willsum.co.uk/api/iht_nil_rate_band.json" }, { "id": "iht_reduced_charity_rate", "name": "Reduced Inheritance Tax rate where 10% goes to charity", "category": "inheritance_tax", "nation": "United Kingdom", "value_num": 36, "display": "36% instead of 40%, if you leave at least 10% of the net estate to charity", "unit": "percent of the value above the threshold", "period_start": "2012-04-06", "period_end": null, "period_kind": "data", "scale_kind": null, "bands": null, "spans": null, "primary": null, "deadline": null, "eligibility": null, "source_url": "https://www.gov.uk/inheritance-tax", "source_org": "HMRC", "period_start_source": null, "period_start_quote": null, "checked_at": "2026-09-24", "recheck_by": "2026-12-01", "history": [], "public_note": "Leave a tenth of the net estate to charity and the rate on what is taxed drops from 40% to 36%. It is not a trick and it is not free money: a charity is genuinely getting the tenth. It does mean the charity costs the family less than the headline suggests.", "next": null, "url": "https://willsum.co.uk/api/iht_reduced_charity_rate.json" }, { "id": "iht_residence_nil_rate_band", "name": "Inheritance Tax residence nil rate band", "category": "inheritance_tax", "nation": "United Kingdom", "value_num": 175000, "display": "£175,000 more, if you leave your home to your children or grandchildren", "unit": "pounds per estate, additional threshold", "period_start": "2020-04-06", "period_end": "2030-04-05", "period_kind": "data", "scale_kind": null, "bands": null, "spans": null, "primary": null, "deadline": null, "eligibility": null, "source_url": "https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/rates-and-allowances-inheritance-tax-thresholds-and-interest-rates/inheritance-tax-thresholds-and-interest-rates", "source_org": "HMRC", "period_start_source": null, "period_start_quote": null, "checked_at": "2026-09-24", "recheck_by": "2026-12-01", "history": [ { "period": "6 April 2019 to 5 April 2020", "value_num": 150000, "display": "£150,000" }, { "period": "6 April 2018 to 5 April 2019", "value_num": 125000, "display": "£125,000" }, { "period": "6 April 2017 to 5 April 2018", "value_num": 100000, "display": "£100,000" } ], "public_note": "There is a second threshold on top, worth up to £175,000, and it only applies if you own a home and leave it to your children, stepchildren, adopted or foster children or grandchildren. Leave it to a sibling, a niece or a friend and it does not apply at all.", "next": null, "url": "https://willsum.co.uk/api/iht_residence_nil_rate_band.json" }, { "id": "iht_rnrb_taper_rate", "name": "Rate at which the residence nil rate band tapers", "category": "inheritance_tax", "nation": "United Kingdom", "value_num": null, "display": "£1 of the extra threshold lost for every £2 the estate is over £2 million", "unit": "policy position, a ratio rather than a single figure", "period_start": "2017-04-06", "period_end": null, "period_kind": "data", "scale_kind": null, "bands": null, "spans": null, "primary": null, "deadline": null, "eligibility": null, "source_url": "https://www.gov.uk/guidance/inheritance-tax-residence-nil-rate-band", "source_org": "HMRC", "period_start_source": null, "period_start_quote": null, "checked_at": "2026-09-24", "recheck_by": "2026-12-01", "history": [], "public_note": "A pound of the extra threshold for every two pounds the estate is over two million. It is a slope, not a cliff, and it runs out well before most people expect.", "next": null, "url": "https://willsum.co.uk/api/iht_rnrb_taper_rate.json" }, { "id": "iht_rnrb_taper_threshold", "name": "Estate value at which the residence nil rate band starts to taper away", "category": "inheritance_tax", "nation": "United Kingdom", "value_num": 2000000, "display": "£2 million, above which the extra threshold starts to disappear", "unit": "pounds, total value of the estate", "period_start": "2017-04-06", "period_end": null, "period_kind": "data", "scale_kind": null, "bands": null, "spans": null, "primary": null, "deadline": null, "eligibility": null, "source_url": "https://www.gov.uk/guidance/inheritance-tax-residence-nil-rate-band", "source_org": "HMRC", "period_start_source": null, "period_start_quote": null, "checked_at": "2026-09-24", "recheck_by": "2026-12-01", "history": [], "public_note": "Above two million the extra home threshold starts to vanish, and the two million is measured before reliefs and before anything passing to a spouse. An estate with no tax to pay can still be over the line.", "next": null, "url": "https://willsum.co.uk/api/iht_rnrb_taper_threshold.json" }, { "id": "iht_standard_rate", "name": "Standard Inheritance Tax rate", "category": "inheritance_tax", "nation": "United Kingdom", "value_num": 40, "display": "40% on the part of the estate above the threshold", "unit": "percent of the value above the threshold", "period_start": "1988-03-15", "period_end": null, "period_kind": "data", "scale_kind": null, "bands": null, "spans": null, "primary": null, "deadline": null, "eligibility": null, "source_url": "https://www.gov.uk/inheritance-tax", "source_org": "HMRC", "period_start_source": null, "period_start_quote": null, "checked_at": "2026-09-24", "recheck_by": "2026-12-01", "history": [], "public_note": "Forty per cent, and only on the slice above the threshold. An estate of £500,000 with a £325,000 threshold is not a £200,000 tax bill. It is 40% of £175,000. Anybody who tells you the whole estate is taxed is either guessing or selling you something.", "next": null, "url": "https://willsum.co.uk/api/iht_standard_rate.json" }, { "id": "iht_transferable_nil_rate_band", "name": "Transfer of an unused threshold between spouses and civil partners", "category": "inheritance_tax", "nation": "United Kingdom", "value_num": null, "display": "Anything you do not use passes to your husband, wife or civil partner", "unit": "policy position, no single figure", "period_start": "2007-10-09", "period_end": null, "period_kind": "data", "scale_kind": null, "bands": null, "spans": null, "primary": null, "deadline": null, "eligibility": null, "source_url": "https://www.gov.uk/inheritance-tax", "source_org": "HMRC", "period_start_source": null, "period_start_quote": null, "checked_at": "2026-09-24", "recheck_by": "2026-12-01", "history": [], "public_note": "Married couples and civil partners do not lose the unused part of a threshold. It passes to the survivor. Unmarried couples, however long together, do not get this, and that is the single most expensive thing most people do not know about Inheritance Tax.", "next": null, "url": "https://willsum.co.uk/api/iht_transferable_nil_rate_band.json" }, { "id": "lpa_both_types_england_wales", "name": "Cost of registering both types of LPA for one person, England and Wales", "category": "statutory_fee", "nation": "England and Wales", "value_num": 184, "display": "£184 in total for one person to register both types of LPA", "unit": "pounds, two LPAs for one person", "period_start": "2025-11-17", "period_end": null, "period_kind": "data", "scale_kind": null, "bands": null, "spans": null, "primary": null, "deadline": null, "eligibility": null, "source_url": "https://www.gov.uk/power-of-attorney/register", "source_org": "Office of the Public Guardian", "period_start_source": "https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/applying-for-a-reduced-fee-for-your-power-of-attorney", "period_start_quote": "17 November 2025 The fee to apply for a power of attorney has increased from £82 to £92.", "checked_at": "2026-09-24", "recheck_by": "2026-12-24", "history": [], "public_note": "There are two kinds of lasting power of attorney, one for money and property and one for health and care, and they are registered separately. One person wanting both pays £184. A couple wanting both each is four registrations, and that is before anybody has drafted anything.", "next": null, "url": "https://willsum.co.uk/api/lpa_both_types_england_wales.json" }, { "id": "lpa_exemption_benefits_england_wales", "name": "The means-tested benefits that give a full LPA fee exemption, England and Wales", "category": "statutory_fee", "nation": "England and Wales", "value_num": null, "display": "No fee at all, for a donor on one of the means-tested benefits the form lists", "unit": "policy position, no single figure", "period_start": "2026-04-20", "period_end": null, "period_kind": "page_date", "scale_kind": null, "bands": null, "spans": null, "primary": null, "deadline": null, "eligibility": null, "source_url": "https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/69e640838c9f882ae5997f8e/20260420-lpa120-get-help-with-paying-lpa-fees.pdf", "source_org": "Office of the Public Guardian", "period_start_source": null, "period_start_quote": null, "checked_at": "2026-09-28", "recheck_by": "2026-12-28", "history": [], "public_note": "The benefits on the form are the Guarantee Credit part of Pension Credit, income-based Employment and Support Allowance, income-based Jobseeker's Allowance, Income Support, Housing Benefit, Council Tax Benefit, Local Housing Allowance, and Working Tax Credit where it comes with Child Tax Credit or a disability or severe disability element. The Office of the Public Guardian wants a letter from the benefit provider showing the amount, for the right financial year, sent with the application.", "next": null, "url": "https://willsum.co.uk/api/lpa_exemption_benefits_england_wales.json" }, { "id": "lpa_exemption_damages_limit_england_wales", "name": "Personal injury damages that rule out the LPA fee exemption, England and Wales", "category": "statutory_fee", "nation": "England and Wales", "value_num": 16000, "display": "More than £16,000 in personal injury damages, ignored in the benefit assessment, means a fee is due", "unit": "pounds of personal injury damages awarded to the donor", "period_start": "2026-04-20", "period_end": null, "period_kind": "page_date", "scale_kind": null, "bands": null, "spans": null, "primary": null, "deadline": null, "eligibility": null, "source_url": "https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/69e640838c9f882ae5997f8e/20260420-lpa120-get-help-with-paying-lpa-fees.pdf", "source_org": "Office of the Public Guardian", "period_start_source": null, "period_start_quote": null, "checked_at": "2026-09-28", "recheck_by": "2026-12-28", "history": [], "public_note": "The one catch in the exemption. A donor on a qualifying benefit who was awarded more than £16,000 in personal injury damages, including for criminal or medical negligence, and had that ignored when the benefit was worked out, pays a fee after all.", "next": null, "url": "https://willsum.co.uk/api/lpa_exemption_damages_limit_england_wales.json" }, { "id": "lpa_fee_reduction_threshold_england_wales", "name": "Income threshold for an LPA fee reduction, England and Wales", "category": "statutory_fee", "nation": "England and Wales", "value_num": 12000, "display": "£12,000 a year, the income below which you can apply for a reduction", "unit": "pounds of annual income", "period_start": "2026-04-01", "period_end": null, "period_kind": "data", "scale_kind": null, "bands": null, "spans": null, "primary": null, "deadline": null, "eligibility": null, "source_url": "https://www.gov.uk/power-of-attorney/register", "source_org": "Office of the Public Guardian", "period_start_source": null, "period_start_quote": null, "checked_at": "2026-09-24", "recheck_by": "2026-12-24", "history": [], "public_note": "Earn less than twelve thousand a year and you can ask for the registration fee to be cut. On some benefits it can be waived. It is on the government's own page, one paragraph below the fee, and almost nothing written about lasting powers of attorney mentions it.", "next": null, "url": "https://willsum.co.uk/api/lpa_fee_reduction_threshold_england_wales.json" }, { "id": "lpa_hardship_application_england_wales", "name": "Hardship application for the LPA fee, England and Wales", "category": "statutory_fee", "nation": "England and Wales", "value_num": null, "display": "If neither applies but paying would cause hardship, you can write and ask for a reduction", "unit": "policy position, no single figure", "period_start": "2026-04-20", "period_end": null, "period_kind": "page_date", "scale_kind": null, "bands": null, "spans": null, "primary": null, "deadline": null, "eligibility": null, "source_url": "https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/69e640838c9f882ae5997f8e/20260420-lpa120-get-help-with-paying-lpa-fees.pdf", "source_org": "Office of the Public Guardian", "period_start_source": null, "period_start_quote": null, "checked_at": "2026-09-28", "recheck_by": "2026-12-28", "history": [], "public_note": "There is a third route. A donor who misses both lines but would struggle to pay can send a letter asking for a reduction, with the application and the form, and the Office of the Public Guardian will ask for what it needs. The form states no amount for it.", "next": null, "url": "https://willsum.co.uk/api/lpa_hardship_application_england_wales.json" }, { "id": "lpa_registration_fee_england_wales", "name": "LPA registration fee, England and Wales", "category": "statutory_fee", "nation": "England and Wales", "value_num": 92, "display": "£92 to register one lasting power of attorney", "unit": "pounds per LPA registered", "period_start": "2025-11-17", "period_end": null, "period_kind": "data", "scale_kind": null, "bands": null, "spans": null, "primary": null, "deadline": null, "eligibility": null, "source_url": "https://www.gov.uk/power-of-attorney/register", "source_org": "Office of the Public Guardian", "period_start_source": "https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/applying-for-a-reduced-fee-for-your-power-of-attorney", "period_start_quote": "17 November 2025 The fee to apply for a power of attorney has increased from £82 to £92.", "checked_at": "2026-09-24", "recheck_by": "2026-12-24", "history": [], "public_note": "Ninety-two pounds registers one lasting power of attorney. Not one person, one LPA. That distinction is where the real bill hides, and the government's own page says so in the very next sentence.", "next": null, "url": "https://willsum.co.uk/api/lpa_registration_fee_england_wales.json" }, { "id": "lpa_remission_fee_england_wales", "name": "LPA registration fee with a remission, England and Wales", "category": "statutory_fee", "nation": "England and Wales", "value_num": 46, "display": "£46 to register one LPA or EPA with a 50% remission", "unit": "pounds per power of attorney registered", "period_start": "2026-04-20", "period_end": null, "period_kind": "page_date", "scale_kind": null, "bands": null, "spans": null, "primary": null, "deadline": null, "eligibility": null, "source_url": "https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/69e640838c9f882ae5997f8e/20260420-lpa120-get-help-with-paying-lpa-fees.pdf", "source_org": "Office of the Public Guardian", "period_start_source": null, "period_start_quote": null, "checked_at": "2026-09-28", "recheck_by": "2026-12-28", "history": [], "public_note": "A remission halves the fee. You pay £46 instead of the full fee, for each power of attorney.", "next": null, "url": "https://willsum.co.uk/api/lpa_remission_fee_england_wales.json" }, { "id": "lpa_remission_income_line_form_england_wales", "name": "Income line for a 50% remission, as the LPA120 form words it, England and Wales", "category": "statutory_fee", "nation": "England and Wales", "value_num": 12000, "display": "£12,000 or less a year before tax, the donor's income, on the form itself", "unit": "pounds of the donor's annual income before tax", "period_start": "2026-04-20", "period_end": null, "period_kind": "page_date", "scale_kind": null, "bands": null, "spans": null, "primary": null, "deadline": null, "eligibility": null, "source_url": "https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/69e640838c9f882ae5997f8e/20260420-lpa120-get-help-with-paying-lpa-fees.pdf", "source_org": "Office of the Public Guardian", "period_start_source": null, "period_start_quote": null, "checked_at": "2026-09-28", "recheck_by": "2026-12-28", "history": [], "public_note": "It is the donor's income that counts, meaning the person making the power of attorney, before tax, and it includes pensions, non-means-tested benefits such as Attendance Allowance and PIP, savings interest and rent. The form wants proof for the right financial year, which runs from April to March, and it will not take bank statements alone.", "next": null, "url": "https://willsum.co.uk/api/lpa_remission_income_line_form_england_wales.json" }, { "id": "lpa_remission_repeat_fee_england_wales", "name": "Repeat LPA application fee with a remission, England and Wales", "category": "statutory_fee", "nation": "England and Wales", "value_num": 23, "display": "£23 for a repeat application with a remission, where OPG agrees to one", "unit": "pounds per repeat application", "period_start": "2026-04-20", "period_end": null, "period_kind": "page_date", "scale_kind": null, "bands": null, "spans": null, "primary": null, "deadline": null, "eligibility": null, "source_url": "https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/69e640838c9f882ae5997f8e/20260420-lpa120-get-help-with-paying-lpa-fees.pdf", "source_org": "Office of the Public Guardian", "period_start_source": null, "period_start_quote": null, "checked_at": "2026-09-28", "recheck_by": "2026-12-28", "history": [], "public_note": "The remission carries over to a corrected application, where the Office of the Public Guardian agrees to one: half the repeat fee.", "next": null, "url": "https://willsum.co.uk/api/lpa_remission_repeat_fee_england_wales.json" }, { "id": "lpa_remission_review_england_wales", "name": "Time to ask for a review of a refused fee exemption or remission, England and Wales", "category": "statutory_fee", "nation": "England and Wales", "value_num": 28, "display": "28 days from the decision letter to ask for a review, and an answer within 21 days", "unit": "days", "period_start": "2026-04-20", "period_end": null, "period_kind": "page_date", "scale_kind": null, "bands": null, "spans": null, "primary": null, "deadline": null, "eligibility": null, "source_url": "https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/69e640838c9f882ae5997f8e/20260420-lpa120-get-help-with-paying-lpa-fees.pdf", "source_org": "Office of the Public Guardian", "period_start_source": null, "period_start_quote": null, "checked_at": "2026-09-28", "recheck_by": "2026-12-28", "history": [], "public_note": "If the Office of the Public Guardian refuses and you think it is wrong, you can ask it to look again, in writing, with your reasons. You get one review per application.", "next": null, "url": "https://willsum.co.uk/api/lpa_remission_review_england_wales.json" }, { "id": "lpa_remission_timing_england_wales", "name": "When to apply for help with the LPA fee, England and Wales", "category": "statutory_fee", "nation": "England and Wales", "value_num": null, "display": "The LPA120 form goes in with the power of attorney, because OPG does not refund afterwards", "unit": "policy position, no single figure", "period_start": "2026-07-14", "period_end": null, "period_kind": "page_date", "scale_kind": null, "bands": null, "spans": null, "primary": null, "deadline": null, "eligibility": null, "source_url": "https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/applying-for-a-reduced-fee-for-your-power-of-attorney", "source_org": "Office of the Public Guardian", "period_start_source": null, "period_start_quote": null, "checked_at": "2026-09-28", "recheck_by": "2026-12-28", "history": [], "public_note": "Send the help-with-fees form and the evidence in the same envelope as the power of attorney. The Office of the Public Guardian says it does not give refunds afterwards, so paying in full first and claiming later does not work. It will take scanned or photographed copies of the evidence.", "next": null, "url": "https://willsum.co.uk/api/lpa_remission_timing_england_wales.json" }, { "id": "lpa_repeat_application_england_wales", "name": "Fee to apply again after a mistake on an LPA, England and Wales", "category": "statutory_fee", "nation": "England and Wales", "value_num": 46, "display": "£46 to correct a mistake and apply again within 3 months", "unit": "pounds per repeat application", "period_start": "2026-04-01", "period_end": null, "period_kind": "data", "scale_kind": null, "bands": null, "spans": null, "primary": null, "deadline": null, "eligibility": null, "source_url": "https://www.gov.uk/power-of-attorney/register", "source_org": "Office of the Public Guardian", "period_start_source": null, "period_start_quote": null, "checked_at": "2026-09-24", "recheck_by": "2026-12-24", "history": [], "public_note": "Get it wrong and the Office of the Public Guardian may let you fix it for half the fee, if you are back inside three months. May, not will. It depends on what the mistake was.", "next": null, "url": "https://willsum.co.uk/api/lpa_repeat_application_england_wales.json" }, { "id": "lpa_universal_credit_rule_england_wales", "name": "Universal Credit and the LPA fee, England and Wales", "category": "statutory_fee", "nation": "England and Wales", "value_num": null, "display": "A donor on Universal Credit is assessed for the half fee, never for the full exemption", "unit": "policy position, no single figure", "period_start": "2026-07-14", "period_end": null, "period_kind": "page_date", "scale_kind": null, "bands": null, "spans": null, "primary": null, "deadline": null, "eligibility": null, "source_url": "https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/applying-for-a-reduced-fee-for-your-power-of-attorney", "source_org": "Office of the Public Guardian", "period_start_source": null, "period_start_quote": null, "checked_at": "2026-09-28", "recheck_by": "2026-12-28", "history": [], "public_note": "Universal Credit is where some guides go wrong. On it, the donor can get the half fee if their income is at or below the line, but not the full exemption, and the form asks for twelve months of statements from the Department for Work and Pensions.", "next": null, "url": "https://willsum.co.uk/api/lpa_universal_credit_rule_england_wales.json" }, { "id": "opg_fee_exemption_benefits", "name": "LPA fee exemption on certain benefits", "category": "free_route", "nation": "England and Wales", "value_num": null, "display": "The registration fee can be waived altogether if you are on certain benefits", "unit": "policy position, no single figure", "period_start": "2026-09-24", "period_end": null, "period_kind": "page_undated", "scale_kind": null, "bands": null, "spans": null, "primary": null, "deadline": null, "eligibility": "People receiving certain means-tested benefits, Income Support among them. The Office of the Public Guardian's own application form carries the full list and the evidence it wants. A reduction, rather than a full exemption, is available on an income under £12,000 a year. Applying for either means posting the forms rather than using the online service.", "source_url": "https://www.gov.uk/power-of-attorney/register", "source_org": "Office of the Public Guardian", "period_start_source": null, "period_start_quote": null, "checked_at": "2026-09-24", "recheck_by": "2026-12-24", "history": [], "public_note": "On some benefits the registration fee goes away completely. On a low income it is reduced. It is one paragraph below the fee on the government's own page and it is missing from almost everything else written about lasting powers of attorney, including the pages of firms charging four hundred pounds to fill the form in.", "next": null, "url": "https://willsum.co.uk/api/opg_fee_exemption_benefits.json" }, { "id": "poa_duplicate_certificate_scotland", "name": "Duplicate or replacement certificate, Scotland", "category": "statutory_fee", "nation": "Scotland", "value_num": 32, "display": "£32 for a duplicate or replacement certificate", "unit": "pounds per certificate", "period_start": "2026-04-01", "period_end": "2027-03-31", "period_kind": "data", "scale_kind": null, "bands": null, "spans": null, "primary": null, "deadline": null, "eligibility": null, "source_url": "https://www.publicguardian-scotland.gov.uk/power-of-attorney/fees", "source_org": "Office of the Public Guardian (Scotland)", "period_start_source": null, "period_start_quote": null, "checked_at": "2026-09-24", "recheck_by": "2027-03-01", "history": [], "public_note": "Lost the certificate? £32, and only if the power of attorney was registered on paper rather than through the online service.", "next": null, "url": "https://willsum.co.uk/api/poa_duplicate_certificate_scotland.json" }, { "id": "poa_partial_revocation_scotland", "name": "Partial revocation of a power of attorney, Scotland", "category": "statutory_fee", "nation": "Scotland", "value_num": 32, "display": "£32 to register a partial revocation", "unit": "pounds per partial revocation", "period_start": "2026-04-01", "period_end": "2027-03-31", "period_kind": "data", "scale_kind": null, "bands": null, "spans": null, "primary": null, "deadline": null, "eligibility": null, "source_url": "https://www.publicguardian-scotland.gov.uk/power-of-attorney/fees", "source_org": "Office of the Public Guardian (Scotland)", "period_start_source": null, "period_start_quote": null, "checked_at": "2026-09-24", "recheck_by": "2027-03-01", "history": [], "public_note": "Taking one attorney out of a Scottish power of attorney, without tearing the whole thing up, costs £32 to register.", "next": null, "url": "https://willsum.co.uk/api/poa_partial_revocation_scotland.json" }, { "id": "poa_registration_fee_scotland", "name": "Power of attorney registration fee, Scotland", "category": "statutory_fee", "nation": "Scotland", "value_num": 99, "display": "£99 to register one power of attorney document, however many powers it confers", "unit": "pounds per document registered", "period_start": "2026-04-01", "period_end": "2027-03-31", "period_kind": "data", "scale_kind": null, "bands": null, "spans": null, "primary": null, "deadline": null, "eligibility": null, "source_url": "https://www.publicguardian-scotland.gov.uk/power-of-attorney/fees", "source_org": "Office of the Public Guardian (Scotland)", "period_start_source": null, "period_start_quote": null, "checked_at": "2026-09-24", "recheck_by": "2027-03-01", "history": [], "public_note": "Scotland registers one document, not one power. Ninety-nine pounds covers a document that can hand over money decisions and welfare decisions together. Somebody in England wanting the same cover registers two separate instruments and pays £184.", "next": null, "url": "https://willsum.co.uk/api/poa_registration_fee_scotland.json" }, { "id": "probate_copy_grant_at_application_england_wales", "name": "Extra copies of the grant ordered with the application, England and Wales", "category": "statutory_fee", "nation": "England and Wales", "value_num": 2, "display": "£2 for each extra copy, if you order them with the application", "unit": "pounds per copy", "period_start": "2026-04-01", "period_end": null, "period_kind": "data", "scale_kind": null, "bands": null, "spans": null, "primary": null, "deadline": null, "eligibility": null, "source_url": "https://www.gov.uk/applying-for-probate/fees", "source_org": "HM Courts and Tribunals Service", "period_start_source": null, "period_start_quote": null, "checked_at": "2026-09-24", "recheck_by": "2026-12-24", "history": [], "public_note": "Order the copies when you apply. Every bank, insurer and registrar wants to see the grant, and posting one original around the country in turn is how a straightforward estate takes eleven months.", "next": null, "url": "https://willsum.co.uk/api/probate_copy_grant_at_application_england_wales.json" }, { "id": "probate_copy_grant_later_england_wales", "name": "Extra copies of the grant ordered after the application, England and Wales", "category": "statutory_fee", "nation": "England and Wales", "value_num": 16, "display": "£16 for each copy ordered after you have applied", "unit": "pounds per copy", "period_start": "2026-04-01", "period_end": null, "period_kind": "data", "scale_kind": null, "bands": null, "spans": null, "primary": null, "deadline": null, "eligibility": null, "source_url": "https://www.gov.uk/applying-for-probate/fees", "source_org": "HM Courts and Tribunals Service", "period_start_source": null, "period_start_quote": null, "checked_at": "2026-09-24", "recheck_by": "2026-12-24", "history": [], "public_note": "The same sheet of paper costs two pounds on the day you apply and sixteen afterwards. Nothing about the document changes. Work out how many organisations need to see it before you send the form.", "next": null, "url": "https://willsum.co.uk/api/probate_copy_grant_later_england_wales.json" }, { "id": "probate_diy_route", "name": "Applying for probate yourself", "category": "free_route", "nation": "England and Wales", "value_num": null, "display": "You can apply for probate yourself, online or by post, with no solicitor involved", "unit": "policy position, no single figure", "period_start": "2026-09-24", "period_end": null, "period_kind": "page_undated", "scale_kind": null, "bands": null, "spans": null, "primary": null, "deadline": null, "eligibility": "In England and Wales, an executor named in the will, or the closest living relative if there is no will. You need the estate valued and any Inheritance Tax dealt with first. It is hardest where the estate is taxable, where the will is disputed, where assets sit abroad or where a trust is involved, and those are the cases where paying somebody is a reasonable decision rather than a defeat.", "source_url": "https://www.gov.uk/applying-for-probate", "source_org": "HM Courts and Tribunals Service", "period_start_source": null, "period_start_quote": null, "checked_at": "2026-09-24", "recheck_by": "2027-03-24", "history": [], "public_note": "You are allowed to do this yourself. The government runs the service, the form is the form, and the court charges the same fee whether a solicitor sends it or you do. It is not the right call for everybody, and nobody should feel got at for handing it to a firm. But it is a choice, and a lot of what is written about probate is written by people who would rather you did not know that.", "next": null, "url": "https://willsum.co.uk/api/probate_diy_route.json" }, { "id": "probate_fee_england_wales", "name": "Probate application fee, England and Wales", "category": "statutory_fee", "nation": "England and Wales", "value_num": [ 0, 526 ], "display": "£526 if the estate is over £5,000, and nothing at all if it is £5,000 or less", "unit": "pounds, one application fee, by the value of the estate", "period_start": "2026-04-01", "period_end": null, "period_kind": "data", "scale_kind": "fee_scale", "bands": [ { "band": "£5,000 or less", "from_value": 0, "to_value": 5000, "fee": 0 }, { "band": "Over £5,000", "from_value": 5001, "to_value": null, "fee": 526 } ], "spans": null, "primary": null, "deadline": null, "eligibility": null, "source_url": "https://www.gov.uk/applying-for-probate/fees", "source_org": "HM Courts and Tribunals Service", "period_start_source": null, "period_start_quote": null, "checked_at": "2026-09-24", "recheck_by": "2026-12-24", "history": [], "public_note": "In England and Wales the court charges one fee to grant probate, and it does not care how big the estate is beyond the first five thousand pounds. A three hundred thousand pound estate and a three million pound estate pay exactly the same £526. Hold on to that when a firm quotes you a percentage of the estate for the same piece of paperwork.", "next": null, "url": "https://willsum.co.uk/api/probate_fee_england_wales.json" }, { "id": "probate_fee_northern_ireland", "name": "Grant fee, Northern Ireland", "category": "statutory_fee", "nation": "Northern Ireland", "value_num": 326, "display": "£326 where the estate is worth more than £10,000, and nothing at or below that", "unit": "pounds, one grant fee", "period_start": "2026-04-01", "period_end": "2027-03-31", "period_kind": "data", "scale_kind": null, "bands": null, "spans": null, "primary": null, "deadline": null, "eligibility": null, "source_url": "https://www.legislation.gov.uk/nisr/2026/35/made", "source_org": "Department of Justice (Northern Ireland)", "period_start_source": null, "period_start_quote": null, "checked_at": "2026-09-24", "recheck_by": "2027-02-01", "history": [ { "period": "1 October 2024 to 31 March 2026", "value_num": 310, "display": "£310 where the estate is worth more than £10,000" }, { "period": "1 November 2023 to 30 September 2024", "value_num": 284, "display": "£284 where the estate is worth more than £10,000" } ], "public_note": "Northern Ireland charges one grant fee whatever the estate is worth above ten thousand pounds, and the order that sets it has already written down next year's figure and the one after. Then there is a second fee, and it lands on exactly the people who are doing the work themselves.", "next": { "period_start": "2027-04-01", "period_end": "2028-03-31", "value_num": 333, "display": "£333 where the estate is worth more than £10,000, and nothing at or below that", "unit": "pounds, one grant fee", "recheck_by": "2028-02-01", "checked_at": "2026-09-24" }, "url": "https://willsum.co.uk/api/probate_fee_northern_ireland.json" }, { "id": "probate_fee_threshold_northern_ireland", "name": "Estate value threshold for the Northern Ireland grant fee", "category": "statutory_fee", "nation": "Northern Ireland", "value_num": 10000, "display": "£10,000, the assessed value below which no grant fee is charged at all", "unit": "pounds, assessed value of the estate", "period_start": "2026-04-01", "period_end": null, "period_kind": "data", "scale_kind": null, "bands": null, "spans": null, "primary": null, "deadline": null, "eligibility": null, "source_url": "https://www.legislation.gov.uk/nisr/2026/35/made", "source_org": "Department of Justice (Northern Ireland)", "period_start_source": null, "period_start_quote": null, "checked_at": "2026-09-24", "recheck_by": "2027-02-01", "history": [], "public_note": "Northern Ireland's free band is twice England's. An estate of ten thousand pounds or less pays no grant fee at all, where the English line sits at five thousand.", "next": null, "url": "https://willsum.co.uk/api/probate_fee_threshold_northern_ireland.json" }, { "id": "probate_help_with_fees_england_wales", "name": "Help with the probate fee, England and Wales", "category": "statutory_fee", "nation": "England and Wales", "value_num": null, "display": "You may pay a reduced fee or none at all on a low income or on certain benefits", "unit": "policy position, no single figure", "period_start": "2026-04-01", "period_end": null, "period_kind": "data", "scale_kind": null, "bands": null, "spans": null, "primary": null, "deadline": null, "eligibility": null, "source_url": "https://www.gov.uk/applying-for-probate/fees", "source_org": "HM Courts and Tribunals Service", "period_start_source": null, "period_start_quote": null, "checked_at": "2026-09-24", "recheck_by": "2026-12-24", "history": [], "public_note": "There is a scheme that cuts the court fee, or removes it, for people on a low income or on certain benefits. Almost nobody selling probate services mentions it. Apply before you pay if you are applying by post, because online you pay in full first and wait for the refund.", "next": null, "url": "https://willsum.co.uk/api/probate_help_with_fees_england_wales.json" }, { "id": "probate_may_not_be_needed", "name": "When probate is not needed at all", "category": "free_route", "nation": "United Kingdom", "value_num": null, "display": "You may not need probate at all, depending on what the person owned and how", "unit": "policy position, no single figure", "period_start": "2026-09-24", "period_end": null, "period_kind": "page_undated", "scale_kind": null, "bands": null, "spans": null, "primary": null, "deadline": null, "eligibility": "Anyone dealing with an estate where the person who died only had savings, or held shares, money, land or property jointly with somebody else who survives them. Joint tenancies and joint accounts normally pass to the survivor automatically. Each bank, insurer and building society sets its own limit, so the answer comes from ringing them, not from a guide.", "source_url": "https://www.gov.uk/applying-for-probate", "source_org": "HM Courts and Tribunals Service", "period_start_source": null, "period_start_quote": null, "checked_at": "2026-09-24", "recheck_by": "2027-03-24", "history": [], "public_note": "Before anything else: you might not need probate. If everything was held jointly, or there were only savings, it may pass to the survivor without a grant at all. Ring the bank and ask. It costs a phone call and it can save you the fee, the forms and the firm.", "next": null, "url": "https://willsum.co.uk/api/probate_may_not_be_needed.json" }, { "id": "probate_personal_application_fee_northern_ireland", "name": "Personal application fee, Northern Ireland", "category": "statutory_fee", "nation": "Northern Ireland", "value_num": 81, "display": "£81 on top, charged only if you apply yourself rather than through a solicitor", "unit": "pounds, charged in addition to the grant fee", "period_start": "2026-04-01", "period_end": "2027-03-31", "period_kind": "data", "scale_kind": null, "bands": null, "spans": null, "primary": null, "deadline": null, "eligibility": null, "source_url": "https://www.legislation.gov.uk/nisr/2026/35/made", "source_org": "Department of Justice (Northern Ireland)", "period_start_source": null, "period_start_quote": null, "checked_at": "2026-09-24", "recheck_by": "2027-02-01", "history": [ { "period": "1 October 2024 to 31 March 2026", "value_num": 77, "display": "£77 on top, charged only if you apply yourself" } ], "public_note": "Northern Ireland charges you extra for doing it yourself. The grant fee is the same either way, and then a personal applicant pays £81 on top. It is the only one of the three UK systems that works this way, and it is almost never mentioned in a guide written for the whole United Kingdom.", "next": { "period_start": "2027-04-01", "period_end": "2028-03-31", "value_num": 83, "display": "£83 on top, charged only if you apply yourself rather than through a solicitor", "unit": "pounds, charged in addition to the grant fee", "recheck_by": "2028-02-01", "checked_at": "2026-09-24" }, "url": "https://willsum.co.uk/api/probate_personal_application_fee_northern_ireland.json" }, { "id": "probate_second_application_england_wales", "name": "Fee for a second probate application, England and Wales", "category": "statutory_fee", "nation": "England and Wales", "value_num": 22, "display": "£22 to make a second application once probate has already been granted", "unit": "pounds per application", "period_start": "2026-04-01", "period_end": null, "period_kind": "data", "scale_kind": null, "bands": null, "spans": null, "primary": null, "deadline": null, "eligibility": null, "source_url": "https://www.gov.uk/applying-for-probate/fees", "source_org": "HM Courts and Tribunals Service", "period_start_source": null, "period_start_quote": null, "checked_at": "2026-09-24", "recheck_by": "2026-12-24", "history": [], "public_note": "An executor who stood back at the first application and later needs to step in pays £22, and pays it even on an estate small enough to have escaped the main fee altogether.", "next": null, "url": "https://willsum.co.uk/api/probate_second_application_england_wales.json" }, { "id": "will_aid_suggested_donation_mirror", "name": "Will Aid suggested donation, mirror wills", "category": "free_route", "nation": "United Kingdom", "value_num": 200, "display": "£200 suggested donation for a pair of basic mirror wills", "unit": "pounds, suggested voluntary donation for two wills", "period_start": "2026-11-01", "period_end": "2026-11-30", "period_kind": "page_undated", "scale_kind": null, "bands": null, "spans": null, "primary": null, "deadline": null, "eligibility": "A couple wanting two matching wills, in November, at a participating solicitor. Same conditions as a single will: basic wills only, a voluntary donation rather than a fee, and appointments are limited.", "source_url": "https://www.willaid.org.uk/", "source_org": "Will Aid", "period_start_source": null, "period_start_quote": null, "checked_at": "2026-09-24", "recheck_by": "2026-11-01", "history": [], "public_note": "Two hundred pounds for the pair, suggested, in November. That is a fraction of what a solicitor charges for a pair of mirror wills, and the money goes to charity, not the firm.", "next": null, "url": "https://willsum.co.uk/api/will_aid_suggested_donation_mirror.json" }, { "id": "will_aid_suggested_donation_single", "name": "Will Aid suggested donation, single will", "category": "free_route", "nation": "United Kingdom", "value_num": 120, "display": "£120 suggested donation for a single basic will, with the solicitor waiving their fee", "unit": "pounds, suggested voluntary donation", "period_start": "2026-11-01", "period_end": "2026-11-30", "period_kind": "page_undated", "scale_kind": null, "bands": null, "spans": null, "primary": null, "deadline": null, "eligibility": "Anyone, in November, at a participating solicitor. The solicitor waives their fee and you are invited to donate to Will Aid instead. It covers a basic will; anything complicated is likely to be quoted separately. Appointments go early because the scheme runs for one month a year.", "source_url": "https://www.willaid.org.uk/", "source_org": "Will Aid", "period_start_source": null, "period_start_quote": null, "checked_at": "2026-09-24", "recheck_by": "2026-11-01", "history": [], "public_note": "In November, solicitors up and down the country write a basic will and waive the fee, and you give what they suggest to charity instead. A hundred and twenty pounds for a single will. That is half the cheapest published price we found, and the money does not go to the solicitor.", "next": null, "url": "https://willsum.co.uk/api/will_aid_suggested_donation_single.json" }, { "id": "will_validity_requirement_ew", "name": "What makes a will valid, England and Wales", "category": "free_route", "nation": "England and Wales", "value_num": 2, "display": "2 witnesses, both over 18, both watching you sign, and neither of them inheriting anything", "unit": "witnesses required", "period_start": "2026-09-24", "period_end": null, "period_kind": "page_undated", "scale_kind": null, "bands": null, "spans": null, "primary": null, "deadline": null, "eligibility": "Everyone making a will in England or Wales. Like its Northern Ireland twin this is the requirement itself rather than a service, and it is here for the same reason: the commonest way a cheap will turns into an expensive problem is that it was signed wrongly and the family finds out years later.", "source_url": "https://www.gov.uk/make-will/make-sure-your-will-is-legal", "source_org": "GOV.UK", "period_start_source": null, "period_start_quote": null, "checked_at": "2026-09-24", "recheck_by": "2027-03-24", "history": [], "public_note": "Two witnesses, both over 18, both with a clear view of you signing, and neither of them, nor their husband or wife, left anything in the will. Get that wrong and the will can fail, and the people who find out are your family, years later, when nothing can be done about it.", "next": null, "url": "https://willsum.co.uk/api/will_validity_requirement_ew.json" }, { "id": "will_witnessing_requirement", "name": "What makes a will valid", "category": "free_route", "nation": "Northern Ireland", "value_num": 2, "display": "2 witnesses, both present with you when you sign, and neither of them inheriting anything", "unit": "witnesses required", "period_start": "2026-09-24", "period_end": null, "period_kind": "page_undated", "scale_kind": null, "bands": null, "spans": null, "primary": null, "deadline": null, "eligibility": "Everyone making a will. This is the requirement itself rather than a service, and it is here because the commonest way a cheap will turns into an expensive problem is that it was signed wrongly and the family finds out years later.", "source_url": "https://www.nidirect.gov.uk/articles/applying-probate", "source_org": "nidirect", "period_start_source": null, "period_start_quote": null, "checked_at": "2026-09-24", "recheck_by": "2027-03-24", "history": [], "public_note": "Two witnesses, both in the room with you at the same time, and neither of them standing to inherit anything. Get that wrong and the will can fail, and the people who find out are your family, years later, when nothing can be done about it. A video is not a will.", "next": null, "url": "https://willsum.co.uk/api/will_witnessing_requirement.json" } ] }