When a bereavement occurs, the team at Liles Morris can supply detailed knowledge on administering the probate, and can advise you on the best course of action to take.
We will sympathetically deal with the division of any assets in accordance with the deceased’s Will, and relieve you of matters surrounding estate administration.
Liles Morris can also help you to apply for probate and obtain probate valuations; prepare HMRC accounts; settle any debts the deceased may have incurred; pay legacies or transfer property; and prepare estate accounts.
As with all our services we offer a complementary initial meeting. This meeting is carried out at no cost to you. This meeting can be carried out in person, over the phone or online.
During our initial meeting we will gather the information we need to provide you with an accurate description of the work we need to carry out and an estimate of our fees
Services
Grant application and support with Inheritance Tax Forms
Most of our probate work is covered by this service. Once you have gathered together a list of the Estate’s assets and liabilities we would support you by completing the detailed IHT forms and calculation of the tax. We would then submit the grant application.
Grant application only
Completion of the online probate application using information provided by you.
Inheritance Tax Forms Only
Completion of the necessary Inheritance Tax (IHT) forms for submitting to HMRC.
Full Service
Administration of the estate from the initial stages of funeral arrangements, securing and ascertaining property, through IHT form to probate application and estate administration.
Accreditation
We are licenced for probate with the Institute of Chartered Accountants of England & Wales (ICAEW).
Our firm number is C002292737
As part of the licencing arrangements, we are subject to reviews by the ICAEW. We undertake ongoing professional development training and hold Professional Indemnity Insurance (PII).
Fees
The majority of our probate work is charged out on an hourly basis that is dependent on the level of staff member required. After the initial meeting, we are able to give a good estimate of the fees expected and, in some cases, can give a fixed fee on smaller estate matters.
Any additional charges will be advised and recharged at the applicable cost. In most cases these are the fee for the grant application (£155) and copies of the grant (£1.50/copy).
Timescales
The process of ascertaining the assets, liabilities and valuations on an estate can take some months and clearly the more complex the estate the more time is involved.
Once all the necessary IHT forms have been prepared for HMRC there must be three weeks from sending the forms to HMRC before a probate application can be submitted.
Currently the Probate Office is taking 5 – 8 weeks to process applications
Compensation scheme and Legal Ombudsman
In the unlikely event that we cannot meet our liabilities to you, you may be able to seek a grant from ICAEW’s Compensation Scheme. Generally, applications for a grant must be made to ICAEW within 12 months of the time you become aware, or reasonably ought to have been aware of the loss. Further information about the scheme and the circumstances in which grants may be made is available on ICAEW’s website: www.icaew.com/probate
If you would like to talk to us about how we can improve our service to you, or if you are unhappy with the service you are receiving, please let us know by telephoning Alison Sanderson. We will consider carefully any complaint that you may make about our probate services as soon as we receive it and will do all we can to resolve the issue. We will acknowledge your complaint within five business days of its receipt and endeavour to deal with it within 8 weeks. Any complaint should be submitted to us by letter.
If we do not deal with it within this timescale or you are unhappy with our response we give you, you may of course take the matter up with our professional body the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales and the Legal Ombudsman. Complaints to the Legal Ombudsman should be made within six years of the act or omission or within three years of you becoming aware of the issue, and in either case within six months of our written response to your complaint to us. The contact details for the Legal Ombudsman are:
Letter: The Legal Ombudsman,PO Box 6806, Wolverhampton WV1 9WJ,
Email: enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk
Telephone: 0300 555 0333
Please contact us for more information.