Probate Blog

How does it work? Individuals, or those advising them, call Final Duties on 0800 731 8722 and complete a probate questionnaire. Final Duties then puts out these details to tender for competitive quotations from specialist probate solicitors. There is no obligation to accept this free of charge quote.

Can you fix probate fees at any time? Yes. Provided the fees are paid before death, the charges will not count for inheritance tax calculations. But most will do this after retirement when the shape of their estate is unlikely to change to any great extent.

What happens to pre-existing wills? The plan costs includes preparing a new will or reviewing an existing will. This will be necessary if an existing will names a bank or other fee-charging organisation as executor. Bequests and other wishes will not be changed.

Why has no one come up with this before? No legal firm has felt able to shoulder the risk of an unknown amount of work at an unknown future time. Final Duties has devised a contract with lawyers that overcomes this problem.

What happens if affairs become more complex after the fixed fee agreement with Final Duties is contracted? Final Duties looks at factors such as the number (rather than value) of assets, liabilities, beneficiaries and trusts when offering an initial quotation. If these change substantially, Final Duties will add on for the extra work. But any such costs can be added to the pre-paid price, taking these fees out of inheritance tax.

How secure is the fixed price fee? Final Duties lodges the amount paid with an independent trust in much the same way as pre-paid funeral fees (where partner Funeral Planning Services has 20 years of experience). The work will be carried out irrespective of whether Final Duties still exists at the time of the probate.

Will individuals know which lawyer will handle their affairs after their death? No. But lawyers will be chosen from a panel selected from the top 500 firms. Using bigger firms ensures there is always an expert probate solicitor available at the time of need.

Does Final Duties use will-writing or other "para-legal" firms? No. It only contracts with solicitors. Pre-payment money is held in the solicitor's client account and is fully protected by the Law Society compensation fund.

Is this suitable for everyone? It is suitable for most people if they can afford the fees now. It is unsuitable for estates where the assets are likely to change significantly, probably not a good idea for those who have not yet retired (unless they have been diagnosed with a terminal illness), for estates where assets such as the family home are jointly held, or for small estates (probate is not needed if the will is worth under £5,000).

Will you be able to pay by instalments? Yes, the fees can be spread over 12 months but the plan does not become active until the final instalment has been paid.

Why shouldn't families do it themselves and save all the probate fees? Leaving aside fixed fees including that for swearing an oath, you can take a DIY approach to probate. This can, however, put pressure on certain family members who may find they lack the time or the legal ability to do this. In any case, Final Duties' ability to lower costs far below the banks and will-writers makes DIY comparatively less attractive. How much does prepayment cost? It is based on the amount of work rather than the value of the estate, unlike the percentages that banks and will writers quote.

People with wills can keep thousands more out of the clutches of the taxman and the banks ‐ and protect their families against inflation at the same time thanks to a unique pre-payment probate plan, to be launched on Tuesday November 10.

The Final Duties pre-payment probate plan fixed fees beforehand, preventing organisations charging three to four times the going rate for the work. The new plan will revolutionise the costs of probate – the legal process that distributes assets in a will ‐ and prevent families being held to ransom at a time of mourning.

Banks and some other firms can take advantage of the deceased's family and friends being unlikely (or unable) to shop around for the best deal.

The ground-breaking fixed price probate plan, devised by Final Duties, the UK's first and only probate broker, in partnership with Funeral Planning Services protects what is left in wills in three ways.

It beats the taxman. As the Final Duties plan is paid for before the death, the money has already been spent and can't be counted for inheritance tax bills. Unlike funeral charges, probate fees (when incurred after death) cannot be deducted from the value of the estate.

It beats inflation. Once fixed and paid for, there will normally be no extra charges (see notes to editors) no matter how prices rise. Services such as legal work have tended to go up faster than overall inflation.

It beats the banks Final Duties' specialises in shopping around for the best probate deal. So estates will generally pay a fraction of the fees banks and will-writing firms impose (see notes to editors for examples) ‐ the fixed price quoted will take these savings into account.

The Final Duties pre-payment plan can be taken out at any time although most will do this after retirement. The fees will be held by an independent trust which guarantees that the services will be provided when needed. There will be no additional charges unless the estate becomes substantially more complex.

"Every year, over 100,000 people now fix funeral costs with pre-payment plans. This gives substantial comfort to their families who know there will be no need to find funds at a time of grief but is also a guarantee against price inflation. Now, the Final Duties pre-payment probate plan means families will preserve more of the estate, paying less and keeping the fees out of the Inheritance Tax net while also protecting the estate against legal costs inflation," says Adam Walker, managing director of Final Duties, the first ever probate broker.

"We can generally quote probate fees at a fraction of the 4% of the value of the estate (plus VAT) banks and many will-writers typically demand. But because pre-payment avoids Inheritance Tax, the real savings are even greater – a £5,000 pre-payment plan is effectively £3,000 once the tax saving is counted. Consumers should be wary if legal, financial and other advisers don’t offer pre-payment probate as an option," Walker adds.