Losing a loved one can often be a difficult time. We at Ratcliffe & Bibby recognise this and offer friendly and understanding advice to enable clients to effectively negotiate through a rough period in their lives.

With many years experience we understand that some clients prefer to have more involvement in the administration on an estate whereas others will request that the solicitors deal with all aspects involved. We therefore offer a tailor made service to suit the needs of each individual client. We can either simply obtain a Grant of Representation on your behalf, or we can deal with the whole of the Administration of the Estate, including collection of assets, payment of liabilities, sorting inheritance tax issues and the final distribution of the assets to the beneficiaries of the estate.

We also recognise the need for fairness in charging for probate work and as such WE WILL NOT CHARGE A FIXED FEE BASED ON THE PERCENTAGE OF THE TOTAL VALUE OF THE ESTATE as is often the case with solicitors and third parties involved in such work. From experience such quotation practices can often mean taking an unfair advantage of clients. We aim to provide all of our clients with a quote from the outset of the matter. OUR FEES WILL BE SET ON THE COMPLEXITY OF YOUR ESTATE taking into account:

• The number of different assets to manage.
• Whether or not the estate is liable to Inheritance Tax.
• How many different legacies are payable.
• Whether any specialist advice (see below) may also be required.

Whilst administering the estate we will also look into all your options as clients and ensure that you are fully advised as to potential measures available to you to. For example minimising Inheritance Tax on your own estate by utilising deeds of variation or, setting up a trust to ring fence assets for your own children and grandchildren.

If you would like more information on the above issues please contact one of our team who would be happy to discuss the same with you and provide a fixed fee quote for any work required. Alternatively you can complete a simple form and one of our team of solicitors will contact you to discuss your requirements further.