Private Client Services
At White & Co, we specialise in a range of Private Client services including the preparation of Wills and Codicils, all aspects of Probate and Administration of Estates on death, advice, preparation and registration of Lasting Powers of Attorney and applications to the Court of Protection.
We also specialise in advising elderly clients and in the event you are unable to make it to the office we can offer home visits.
We are able to offer fixed fees for the majority of our services or can provide a quote tailored to your individual requirements as we recognise that everyone’s needs are different.
It is important for everyone, regardless of age, to have a Will in place to ensure that those who you wish to benefit from your estate following your death do so. We offer single Wills or mirror Wills for you and your spouse or partner. We can also advise and assist you in relation to mutual Wills.
It is also important that you review your Will on a regular basis, particularly after any major events in your life have occurred to ensure that it continues to represent your wishes.
Once such important event is when you separate from a partner and/or go through the divorce process. A Decree Absolute affects your Will and so you need to make sure your Will is still valid following divorce.
Also if you simply wish to make a small amendment to your Will, we can assist with this by way of a Codicil to your existing Will. Our costs are as follows:
Single Will – from £275 plus VAT
Mirror Wills – from £495 plus VAT
Codicils – from £150 plus VAT
Mirror Codicils – from £275 plus VAT
Home Visits – £125 plus VAT (within a 5 mile radius).
We can also offer advice in relation to Inheritance Tax implications and the inclusion of trusts.
If you live further than this, please contact us for a tailored quote.
Personal attention is especially needed at times of bereavement. Following a person’s death if they have left an estate worth more than £5,000 it is usually necessary to apply for a Grant of Probate or Letters of Administration (depending on the circumstances) to collect in the estate and distribute it.
We can assist you with this or look after all aspects of this for you including obtaining the document from the Probate Registry, complete all the relevant Inheritance Tax Forms and obtaining the necessary document to enable the estate to be administered. Whatever the size or complexity of the estate, we are able to deal with the legal aspects professionally and sympathetically.
We typically charge between £895 – £1700 plus VAT and disbursements for an application for a Grant of Probate or Letters of Administration only.
Our hourly costs are as follows:
Alison White – £285
Solicitor of the Courts of England & Wales – admitted December 1989
Carla Kennedy – £285
Solicitor of the Courts of England & Wales – admitted October 2007
Laura Curzon – £265
Solicitor of the Courts of England & Wales – admitted August 2022
Legal Executive – £255
Trainee Solicitor – £185
Junior Executive /Assistant/Paralegal – £185
Contact us for further information.
Lasting Powers of Attorney
It is important for everyone to consider the benefits of appointing an Attorney to deal with your financial and health and welfare affairs should you become incapacitated through accident or illness. This can be done by creating a Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) which is a deed appointing a chosen person or persons, who you trust, to look after you and your finances in the event that you are rendered incapable.
Court of Protection
Many people give little thought to such matters and we understand that it is not something one wants to have to think about. The problems faced by close relatives and/or friends when no Power of Attorney has been made are significant. It is not possible to prepare a Lasting Power of Attorney if the donor the person wishing to prepare the Lasting Power of Attorney) has lost mental capacity. If someone has lost mental capacity and not prepared a Lasting Power of Attorney, it causes huge difficulties for the family members in managing that person’s financial affairs and in making decisions about their health and welfare. In this situation, the family members would need to apply to the Court of Protection to be appointed as a Deputy to make decisions. White & Co can assist throughout this process. In addition, there may be circumstances in which a professional Deputy is preferred instead. We are able to help with this too and act as the Deputy.
At White & Co, we understand that if there is a dispute about a loved one’s Will, it can be very distressing. You may be in a situation where a family member has passed away leaving a Will that disinherits you or a relative or where the financial provisions made are inadequate for those left behind. Or you may be in a situation where another family member is contesting a Will and you do not agree.
It is also possible for a Will to be contested if there are concerns about the validity of a will on grounds such as lack of mental capacity or undue influence by another party.
White & Co will offer you clear and concise advise on the following –
- Contesting a will
- Contesting an estate where a loved one has died intestate (without having prepared a Will)
- Inheritance Act claims
- Removal of Executors