Inheritance Tax Fees

BobHolm

Hi I wonder if anyone can help. My Father has recently passed away but made a new Will two weeks ago. We have met with the solicitors and they are quoting £3,000 Fee and 1% of his estate as executors. Is this appropriate? Also he had money in his name in the UK, although the vast majority was in bonds my Mothers name after the sale of property in the UK and then in Portugal. They also have a villa and car in Portugal. Will all of this be classed as his estate and subsequently liable to 1% to be taken by the solicitors? Many thanks in advance to anyone who can help.

MoneyTown

I'm no expert but have been an executor and it wasn't too difficult.

Perhaps shop around if possible, for other solicitor's prices ?

dzug1

BobHolm wrote: »

Hi I wonder if anyone can help. My Father has recently passed away but made a new Will two weeks ago. We have met with the solicitors and they are quoting £3,000 Fee and 1% of his estate as executors. Is this appropriate? Also he had money in his name in the UK, although the vast majority was in bonds my Mothers name after the sale of property in the UK and then in Portugal. They also have a villa and car in Portugal. Will all of this be classed as his estate and subsequently liable to 1% to be taken by the solicitors? Many thanks in advance to anyone who can help.

Yes all his estate will attract the fee. What was already your mother's when he died won't.

The estate in Portugal MAY need to be done separately - I don't know Portuguese requirements but some countries would require separate probate.

As moneytown says, it isn't that difficult to DIY, certainly for the UK assets.

If the will appointed the solicitors as executors you are stuck with them I'm afraid. You may be able to negotiate the price downwards by offering to do most of the clerical work yourselves.

localhero

Hi BobHolm,

The 1% itself in percentage terms is reasonable in comparison with what other solicitors might charge and certainly cheaper than what a bank would charge. That said, it's possible that there will be an hourly rate as well as it is most unusual for solicitors to quote a fixed fee, so I would check what you've been quoted carefully.

I would agree that the UK aspect anyway, you should be able to handle yourself, though the foreign aspect you are likely to require professional help - as the bureacracy can be very difficult to wade through. This is I think something for a solicitor that specialises in Portuguese law, rather than your average high street firm and so you will need to choose carefully. The Law Society 'find a solicitor' link will be of no use, though I can recommend that you call Contact Law on 020 8971 8370 who will be able to put you in touch with several firms who will be able to assist. (I have no connection with the firm myself, other than the fact I refer my own clients to them who have foreign property).

I don't know what the law is in Portugal, but I know there are often strict rules of succession in Europe - in particular Spain and France, and so if I was drawing up the Will for your father, I would have recommended that he has a separate Will drawn up dealing with his foreign property in accordance with the laws in that country. I would therefore recommend that you check there isn't another Will in existence before doing anything else.

BobHolm

Hi, all many thanks for the advice. We do have solicitors in Portugal who are also named as executors, thus my Mother is going to get another hit there..

Changing all wills in the family as we speak, thanks again.

DRS1

Surely if the Portugese property is covered by a separate will and dealt with by Portugese solicitors you can agree with the English solicitors that their 1% should not cover that property. Their fee ought to apply to the property they have to deal with.

Of course they may need to know about the Portugese property for any inheritance tax returns they do, depending on your father's domicile. And it will make things more complicated than a straight UK estate, which could be used to justify a higher fee!