Making a Will
All information will be treated in the strictest confidence.
Our will preparation charges are:
- single will - £100.00 plus VAT
- joint will - £150.00 plus VAT
You can provide instructions by completing our online enquiry form below or by contacting Dawn Joughin. We will prepare the will and send you a draft for approval. Wills are prepared in accordance with the Laws of England & Wales.
You may need to make additional arrangements for any property based abroad. If any of the following apply, please contact us.
- you intend to make no provision for your former spouse / partner or a member of your immediate family
- the likely value of your estate exceeds £300,000
- one or more of your intended beneficiaries suffers mental incapacity or otherwise requires special provision
Administration of estates
What do solicitors do when they are instructed to deal with the administration of the estate of someone who has died? It is naturally distressing to most people when a relative or close friend dies and at Canter Levin & Berg we are particularly concerned to ensure that legal instructions to deal with estates are carried out sensitively, sympathetically, with a minimum of fuss and maximum efficiency. For further information or to make an appointment, please contact Dawn Joughin.
Usually at the first meeting we will take instructions as to what you would wish us to do in relation to obtaining the Grant of Probate or Grant of Letters of Administration and dealing with the administration of the estate.
In simpler estates (if no Inland Revenue account is required) we would probably be able to set up a subsequent meeting within the next couple of weeks to enable the oath to be sworn. The oath is then submitted to the Probate Registry In more complex estates it will not be possible to apply for the grant until an Inland Revenue account has been filed and any inheritance tax paid. The Inland Revenue account is very detailed and the Inland Revenue expect the fullest enquiries to have been made so that the account is accurate. Obviously, the time taken from initial instructions to completion of the Inland Revenue account will depend on how quickly the various institutions respond to our initial letters requesting information.
It takes approximately two to three weeks for the grant to be issued by the Probate Registry. Once the grant has been received it needs to be sent to every financial institution where the deceased had assets to enable encashment or transfer of those assets. When the estate is in funds we would then be in a position to pay the deceased's debts including the funeral account. Once all the taxes have been paid, assets dealt with, debts and any legacies have been paid then the estate can be finalised. If it is likely that the estate cannot be finished for some time (for example, because in income tax return is required) then an interim payment on account will be made to the residuary beneficiaries.
We will then prepare Estate Accounts to show you how all the monies have been accounted for. Once the Estate Accounts have been approved we can make the final distribution of the residuary estate.
Other services
We provide a comprehensive range of services in connection with the administration of estates and related matters.
If you would like further information about our services or if you wish to provide us with instructions, please do not hesitate to contact us on 0844 875 62 00. Alternatively, complete our online enquiry form
free online enquiry service
Fill in the enquiry form below and we will get back to you by e-mail or phone with our free initial assessment
The information which you submit will be treated in strict confidence. If you want more information about privacy and security, please click here.