Estate Administration Service | Wills & Probate

When someone dies leaving a Will, the Executor named in the document is responsible for administering the estate. When someone dies without a Will, strict legal rules determine who is entitled to administer the estate – in these circumstances, that person is known as an Administrator. Executors and Administrators are generically known as Personal Representatives.

Pinney Talfourd recognises that administering an estate often means dealing with complex and unfamiliar legal issues. It is important that Personal Representatives are fully aware of their legal obligations and the potential personal liability of not administrating an estate properly. If legal advice is required, it is important that it is taken as soon as possible.

The specialist probate team at Pinney Talfourd comprises a group of expert lawyers in offices across Essex and London who have a wealth of experience and expertise in advising Personal Representatives about their legal obligations. We provide three main services:

Grant extraction service – personal representatives instruct Pinney Talfourd to obtain a grant of probate or letters of administration. This is then handed to the personal representative who will continue with the rest of the estate administration themselves. Our probate solicitors offer this service on a fixed fee basis.
Online grant extraction service – This enables all aspects of your instructions (including taking your initial instructions) to be dealt with fully online.
Full estate administration service – Pinney Talfourd are regularly instructed to deal with an entire estate administration from start to finish on behalf of a Personal Representative. Fees for this service will depend on the amount of work that needs to be carried out – this will be different with each estate. All clients are given an estimate of costs at the beginning of their case and regular cost updates throughout.

In addition to legal fees a Personal Representative may also incur additional expenses. These commonly include:

Probate registry fees
Home buildings insurance
Genealogist fees
Beneficiary bankruptcy search fees
Estate agent commission when selling a property – Pinney Talfourd work closely with local estate agents and as such are able to secure preferential commission rates

All legal fees and related expenses are a liability of the estate rather than the Personal Representative and only become payable once the Personal Representative has gained access to estate funds.