Valued Estates

Valued Estates Fixed Price Probate & Estate Administration.

Clear, professional advice and a fully-informed administration process serving families across the South and East of England.

What happens if you lose capacity during your lifetime? Having a Will is a must – but a Will only takes effect after you...
01/06/2026

What happens if you lose capacity during your lifetime? Having a Will is a must – but a Will only takes effect after you pass away!

Planning for the future doesn’t JUST mean securing your assets after death.

🫶 It’s also about making sure your family has the appropriate legal control and clarity to protect you and your loved ones, if you are no longer able to make decisions by yourself.

✅In the UK, a Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) allows you to prepare for the unexpected.

It means that if, at any point in your life, a medical emergency or a long-term health condition causes you to lose the ability to make decisions independently, you have already decided who you would like to act on your behalf (your Attorney/s).

Most of us don’t think about making an LPA until it’s critical. But, by then, it may not be legally valid!

A solicitor (and any health professionals looking after you) must deem that you have the mental capacity to make an LPA.

🙅‍♀️ Without an LPA in place, your family may have to go through a very long and stressful legal process, just to be able to help you with your affairs when it’s needed most.

There are two kinds of LPA:

⚕️Health and Welfare
🏦Property and Financial Affairs

You might need a Health and Welfare LPA to enable a trusted individual (your attorney) to make decisions about your daily routine and living arrangements, as well as any medical care or life-sustaining treatment.

You might need a Property and Financial Affairs LPA so your attorney can make decisions about how your money and property is handled, such as your day-to-day finances and the sale of your home.

Under the guidance of our in-house Solicitor, Valued Estates offers professional drafting of both kinds of LPA for a fixed price, as well as Will-writing services.

🧑‍🤝‍🧑Wills and LPAs for couples🧑‍🤝‍🧑

If you and your partner have been meaning to write your Wills, why not prepare your Lasting Power of Attorney too with our Fixed Fee Wills and LPA Bundle?

Included:
📜2x Simple Wills
👉4x LPAs

📞If you have any questions about how an LPA works or want to learn more about our fixed fee Wills and LPA service, feel free to speak to us on 01920 449700, and book a free consultation.

https://valuedestates.com/wills-and-lpa/valued-estates-lpa-fees/

Heartfelt thanks to the family who provided us with this kind feedback recently💛We have been doing this for a long time....
28/05/2026

Heartfelt thanks to the family who provided us with this kind feedback recently💛

We have been doing this for a long time. It's not lost on us that while we're going through the motions with financial institutions and handling property affairs, families are on their own journeys of coming to terms with a loss. It means handling the administrative side of things respectfully and making sure our clients are kept updated with every step.

Depending on the time it takes to fully close an estate, we can be working alongside loved ones for a significant period, and it's incredibly rewarding to see how we have made a difference during a difficult time. Well done to Georgie for complete management and administration of this estate.

You’ve booked to meet us for a probate and estate consultation? First of all, thank you! 🙏We appreciate that it’s a chal...
26/05/2026

You’ve booked to meet us for a probate and estate consultation? First of all, thank you! 🙏

We appreciate that it’s a challenging time emotionally, so to invite us to your home or to come to our offices and talk to us about your loved one’s life and financial affairs is a big deal. ❤️‍🩹

Many of the families we meet have quite a lot of their loved one’s paperwork to get through, which can make preparation feel quite daunting!

We’ll always make sure your questions are answered and help you to prepare as far as possible.

📨 When booking your appointment, our Administrators will send you details of:

👨‍💼The name of your probate consultant
📆The time, date and location of your appointment
🖇️A list of documents that are helpful to have with you

🗂️ Not everything on the list will apply to your circumstances, but here are just some of the things we may need to see or can handle on your behalf:

📜The original Will
🗃️Birth, death and marriage certificates
🕊️Funeral invoice
🪪Passport, driving license, vehicle and insurance documents
♿Blue Badge
🏡Property deeds
🧾Mortgage details and home insurance
🏦Bank statements, savings paperwork and NS&I Premium Bonds
💰Pension policies
⚽Season Tickets & Memberships
⚡️Utility Bills
🏘️Council Tax bills

As an executor, next-of-kin and/or beneficiary to the estate, we’ll also need to ask you for some identification of your own.

Are we due to see you for a consultation soon?

If there is anything you need to clarify before we meet, our administrators are available to speak to on 01920 449700.

That’s our direct telephone number. Calling us is stress-free – we don’t have a switchboard. 😌

If we can help someone you know with understanding an application for probate or you would like a dedicated case manager to deal with the estate paperwork in full, please share.

Visit our website to get started with a digital copy of our FREE Guide to Probate and Estate Administration. Linked below: 🔗

🎂🎈 Celebrating our company Director, Alec Smith, on his birthday today! 🎂🎈For 12 years, Alec was our sole Probate Consul...
19/05/2026

🎂🎈 Celebrating our company Director, Alec Smith, on his birthday today! 🎂🎈

For 12 years, Alec was our sole Probate Consultant out on the road; visiting families, picking up documents and catching up with Funeral Directors and Registry Offices.

These are all things he very much enjoyed. Eventually, though, the diary became so stacked full that he finally had to enlist some help...!

Alec wanted a simpler solution for families going through bereavement. His knowledge and experience formed the foundations of the fixed-fee price model Valued Estates has perfected, and we're still proud to offer it to the hundreds of families we speak to today.

Since then, we've not only grown into a close-knit team of expert probate administrators, but we also have the privilege of being trusted with fixed-fee estate planning for many families who approach us in preparation for the future.

Between them, Grahame and Mike run a tight ship with their Probate and Wills consultations! But Alec is still very pleased to meet families and make visits to our industry friends on the road wherever he can.

Happy Birthday, Alec! 🥳

Considering professional help with probate but worried about hidden fees?💸We often speak to families who say they need h...
18/05/2026

Considering professional help with probate but worried about hidden fees?💸

We often speak to families who say they need help to close an estate, due to the work involved - but they worry about accumulating costs.

Estate Administration is not only about probate. So, with tax forms for HMRC, property sales, complex responsibilities and deadlines to meet, it’s only natural to worry about mounting legal costs😵‍💫

Depending on which professional route you take, fees are normally charged in one of three ways:

🧮Percentage-based fee

📈Hourly rate

💯Fixed Fee

Percentage based fees and hourly rates are common among traditional Solicitor firms, who may have a high number of private clients to handle all at once. They may demand ad-hoc administration charges to cover the time spent on the case (time on phone calls, postage, in-person consultations etc).

Fixed Fee estate administration involves a set figure that is based purely on the work required. The estate value doesn’t matter!

When we meet families for their free consultation, we take the time to assess how much work is required to close the estate entirely. We then provide a no-obligation quote for a fixed fee.

This fixed fee covers any telephone time and postage – no matter how far the letter needs to travel! 📨

We also outline the necessary administrative disbursements (out-of-pocket expenses) to expect in the process, like Anti-Money Laundering checks and conveyancing solicitor fees, for example.

What many families don’t realise is that disbursements do not need to be paid up front! These can be paid from the estate funds. So can expenses for the funeral, which is normally one of the first debts to be settled, for additional peace of mind. 🕊️

There is no legal requirement to use a professional service for probate and estate administration, but it is important to consider how the service is charged when deciding which professional route is the most suitable and convenient for you.

Have you, a friend or relative ever been confused by probate costs? Probate isn’t something we really think about until we need it, so be sure to save and share this post to anyone who may find it helpful.❤️‍🩹

15/05/2026

You should have all the information to hand before deciding how to approach a probate application. We come to your consultation fully prepared with your very own appointment pack, and our consultations are completely free. There are no strings attached, so you can take our advice away and review the options in your own time.

✅Clear advice

✅Simple explanations

✅No pressure

Want to discuss your estate administration needs with one of our expert consultants?

☎️ Speak to an administrator on 01920 449700

📩 Enquire on [email protected]

The wholehearted thanks we are fortunate to receive in our testimonials makes them one of our favourite kinds of post to...
13/05/2026

The wholehearted thanks we are fortunate to receive in our testimonials makes them one of our favourite kinds of post to share!💖

It was a pleasure to help this family with their loved one's estate and we wish them all the best going forward.✨

12/05/2026

Admin is a happy girly when it’s time to open a fresh box of Free Probate Guide cards😍 Funeral Directors and Register Offices: we’re glad you like the handy digital QR code. But don’t worry, our Guide to Probate & Estate Administration isn’t going anywhere…we’re still the number one free probate publication in print😉 if you need to restock your probate guides and cards ready to give to families, just let our administrators know on 01920 449700, or ask at [email protected] 👋

Death, dying and bereavement affects us all. Yet 27% of people find it hard to talk about death with family or friends, ...
07/05/2026

Death, dying and bereavement affects us all. Yet 27% of people find it hard to talk about death with family or friends, and 30% bottle their feelings up.* If we don’t talk about death and dying and bereavement, it can be harder to cope when we experience it - and even harder for our families to make critical decisions for us before and after we die, if we don't share what we would have wanted with them.

Led by Hospice UK, Dying Matters Awareness Week is a moment to encourage all communities to get talking in whatever way, shape or form works for them.

We talk a lot about the importance of legacy planning at Valued Estates and, as part of Dying Matters Awareness Week, Hospice UK has put together an incredibly helpful resource for 'Getting Organised Before You Die'. They have also produced an online Planning Ahead tool: a useful place to contemplate your preferences for future care and funerary plans. You can then save a copy to share and talk about with your family, or take them to your doctor or nurse.

You can even keep a copy of your written wishes alongside your Will, which will help your Funeral Director, Executor(s) or even an administration company like ourselves to ensure you receive a send-off that is exactly as you wished it to be.

Dying Matters is Hospice UK’s flagship campaign. It aims to create an open culture that talks about death. A space where people feel able to listen to and support anyone who may be planning for end-of-life or who may be looking after a dying individual.

Hospice UK and Dying Matters believe that everyone, no matter who they are, where they are or why they are ill, should receive the best possible care at the end of their life.

📖 Download 'Getting Organised Before You Die':https://hukstage-new-bucket.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/2023-04/GETTING%20ORGANISED_WEB.pdf?VersionId=XHpvLxUWu4f7_F0wcXsA102CxfZ4TEj6

✒️ Explore the online 'Planning Ahead' tool and more about end-of-life planning at Hospice UK: https://www.hospiceuk.org/information-and-support/your-guide-hospice-and-end-life-care/planning-ahead

* Research from polling commissioned by Celebration Day in 2025.

We're back in the office today following a restful Early May Bank Holiday😌 Last week, we received this surprise in the p...
05/05/2026

We're back in the office today following a restful Early May Bank Holiday😌 Last week, we received this surprise in the post for Leah. Leah has just finalised another estate and our very kind client generously sent along a gift card with their thanks! Thank you very much to our client for the lovely gesture - Leah is delighted to have been of help to you and your family. She is looking forward to choosing somewhere to enjoy her meal out!💫

Address

7 Church Barns, Ware Road, Widford
Ware
SG128RL

Opening Hours

Monday 8:45am - 5:30pm
Tuesday 8:45am - 5:30pm
Wednesday 8:45am - 5:30pm
Thursday 8:45am - 5:30pm
Friday 8:45am - 5pm

Website

https://www.instagram.com/valuedestates/, https://www.linkedin.com/company/valued-estates-lt

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Valued Estates posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Shortcuts

Share

Category