Wills and Probate
The team in Highfin Solicitors that deals with Wills and Probate is Marian Clift and Colin Faragher.
All work is supervised by Marian Clift. Marian has extensive experience in all private client matters, including as the head of private client departments. Dealing with high net worth clients, Marian specialises in the preparation of Wills, Trusts, advising on probate, and Estate administration. Knowledgeable in non-domiciled intestate estates, and the re-sealing of overseas Grants.
Marian’s experience includes:
- Managing Wills and Probate, practised in confidentially supervising the administration of Estates
- Expertly drafting Wills for clients with a wide range of multifaceted requirements
- Skilled in administering, creating and dissolving Discretionary Trusts, and delivering advice on the mitigation of Inheritance Tax liability via the medium of Trusts
Colin Faragher works closely with Marian Clift. Colin’s current experience includes working on cases where people have died without leaving a will as well as matters in which people have left wills.
In addition to the above as a director, Colin is responsible for formulating, leading and coordinating the implementation of business and marketing strategies to develop and maintain the expertise and client base of the firm within the business environment in a way which is commercially aware. Colin is also responsible for practical legal research and maintaining awareness of current developments in the law.
Colin’s qualifications and experience are given below.
Qualifications
- BA (Hons) Law (1981) Manchester Polytechnic (Manchester Metropolitan University)
- LL.M (1984) University of London
- Cert Ed (1990) Thames Polytechnic (University of Greenwich)
- PG Dip. Flexible and Distance Learning (1999) Thames Valley University (University of West London)
Publications
- Public Law Concentrate 7th Ed (2021) Oxford University Press
Membership of Professional Bodies
- Chartered Institute of Legal Executives (Grade ACILEX Paralegal)
Other Experience
- Senior lecturer in Public Law, Tort, Human Rights in the United Kingdom and the Law of Contract on LLB and Graduate Diploma courses in the School of Law and Criminology, at the University of West London from 22nd November 1989 to 28th August 2017.
Basis of costs
Charges depend on the complexity of the case and the amount of time spent on the case. In straightforward simple cases there is normally only a few bank accounts and beneficiaries and no competing claims on the estate. In more complex cases there are multiple bank accounts, more than one property, no will in place; such cases take longer to complete.
The table below gives the basis of our costs together with pricing on disbursements for services included. VAT is payable where indicated
Services Included
Our Fee
Writing a will:
£350 + VAT payable
Probate (Uncontested):
£1,500- £15,000 + VAT payable
Medium and Complex cases:
£250 per hour + 20% VAT payable
Disbursement – Advertising in London Gazette:
£99.00 + 20% VAT payable
Disbursement – Probate Application Fee:
£155.00 (No VAT payable)
Other disbursements such as Barrister fees (between £1,000 to £2,000 per hearing), expert witnesses (up to £2,000 per hearing), these fees attract VAT at 20%
What we will Do
We offer a comprehensive wills and probate service. The key stages of the will making process covered by our services are :
- Offering advice on making a will including tax and estate planning issues.
- Preparing a draft will in accordance with your instructions.
- Assisting with the process of executing a valid will.
- Providing advice and assistance on how a will can be revoked, amended and updated in the future.
We also offer advice, help and support throughout the key stages of the process of obtaining probate after someone has died. We:
- Take instructions, give advice, obtain the Will, if any, Death Certificate and relevant papers.
- If there is no will, obtain information about the deceased’s surviving family and relatives who may be entitled by law to inherit their estate.
- Assess the value of the estate looking taking into account all the assets and liabilities of the deceased.
- Assess liability (if any) to inheritance tax which must be done to obtain probate.
- Apply for probate using the appropriate form depending on whether or not the deceased made a will.
- Once the executors/administrators have been appointed Inform interested parties such as asset holders and all relevant organisations and instruct them to release funds and deal with the accounts accordingly.
- Collect any money owed to the deceased, distribute personal belongings, sell the deceased’s assets.
- Pay any debts owed by the estate.
- Assist the executors/administrators fulfil all their duties prior to winding up the estate.
- Assist the executors/administrators distribute any remaining assets.
We do not undertake contentious probate work.
How Long will it Take?
As soon as we receive the completed Wills Questionnaire from you we will draft a will based on your instructions within seven working days after which we will arrange a meeting with you to discuss and agree its contents. Once we have your agreement we will aim to draft the will according to your instructions and have it ready for execution within ten working days. Much, however, depends on the length and complexity of the will’s provisions.
The timescales for probate vary according to the size and complexity of the estate of the deceased. We aim to complete all the preliminary stages prior to applying for probate within six months of the date of death. The application for either a grant of representation or letters of administration normally takes between three to six weeks. In complex cases it can take up to eight weeks. Immediately after we have obtained probate, we will contact all interested parties. It may take up to three months gather all the assets together, depending on how quickly the interested parties take to get back to us. We will pay all the debts owed by the estate as soon as we receive adequate funds. The completion of the remaining stages will ultimately depend on the scope of the work and the number and timely response of all the beneficiaries.
Services not included
Highfin Solicitors does not accept work in disputed or contested wills and probate cases
Timescales
A simple uncontested Probate case can take up to a year.
Will drafting can be done within a week
