If you have to apply for probate, there will be probate fees to pay, regardless of whether or not you use a probate solicitor.
Probate Registry fees
If you are the Executor or Administrator of an estate and probate is needed, you will need to apply to the Probate Registry for a Grant of Probate. This is a document that gives you the legal authority to deal with a deceased person’s assets, such as their money, property and personal possessions.
When you apply for a Grant of Probate, you will have to send a number of documents to the Probate Registry, along with a fee. Currently in England and Wales the fee is £215 if you apply for a Grant of Probate as an individual, or £155 if a probate solicitor or licensed probate practitioner applies on your behalf.
This is a set fee, so it does not matter how valuable the estate is or the age of the deceased. There were plans to introduce new Probate Registry fees based on a sliding scale. This means they would vary according to the total value of the estate. However, these new rules were abandoned in April 2017.
Probate solicitor fees
If you are using a probate solicitor, there will be additional fees to pay. This will depend entirely on the probate solicitor you are using. Some will charge a fixed fee, some will charge an hourly rate, and others will charge a percentage of the total value of the estate.
Alternatively, some probate solicitors can carry out specified work for a specified cost. One example is that you can ask a probate solicitor to review your Grant of Probate application before it is sent to the Probate Registry. This will allow you to iron out any mistakes, speeding up the process.
It is important that you verify what the legal fees are before instructing a probate solicitor to help you. If you are not happy with the legal fees being quoted, you can always shop around and compare other probate providers.
Who pays for probate fees?
The probate process does involve a number of other costs, and this might have you wondering who, exactly, has to stump up the cash for these fees.
Typically, the Probate Registry fees, legal fees and other costs can be taken out of the estate. However, this can pose difficulties, as often you cannot access the funds in the 
estate until you have obtained a Grant of Probate. This results in something of a catch-22 situation.
Therefore it might be necessary for the Executor or Administrator to cover the cost in the short-term. They can then be reimbursed later down the line, once a Grant of Probate has been issued.
Probate solicitors near you
Obtaining probate and administering an estate can be a long and complicated process. If you are worried about dealing with this alone, you can always ask a probate solicitor to act on your behalf.
We will connect you with probate solicitors near you, so you can enquire as to how they can help, and the fees involved. We offer this service at absolutely no cost to you.
To get started, simply fill in the online enquiry form, or contact us for more information.