WINCHESTER · PRIVATE CLIENT · SINCE 1926
A private client firm in Winchester. One solicitor from the first call to the last letter, and the fee agreed in writing before we start.
TALK TO SOMEONE
Margaret Ashcombe, Senior Partner
PROBATE AND CONTESTED ESTATES · 31 YEARS
001 · WHY US
Most firms open with their expertise. We open with your week.
You are dealing with something awful. What you need first is to know what happens next.
Our expertise
Award-winning team
Decades of excellence
Most firms
Credentials first, an hourly rate, and no answer to the only question you came with.
What to do first
Fixed fee in writing
One solicitor throughout
Ashcombe
The timeline first, what has a deadline and what does not, and the fee in writing before we start.
003 · WHEN SOMEONE DIES
Probate takes nine to twelve months. Almost nobody is told that.
01
Day one
Register the death and tell us. That is genuinely all that has to happen. Nothing about the estate has a deadline this week.
02
The first week
The funeral, and the accounts that have to be frozen. We write to the banks so you do not have to explain it five times.
03
The first month
We gather the valuations and prepare the tax account. This is the part that takes longest and the part nobody warns you about.
04
Months two to six
Inheritance tax settled, the property listed or transferred, the small accounts closed one by one.
05
Months nine to twelve
Probate is granted, the estate is distributed and the file closes.
004 · HOW WE HELP
We work by what has happened to you, not by what it is called in law.
01
Probate and estates
Someone has died and you are the one holding the paperwork. We take the estate from the death certificate to the final distribution, and the fee is quoted in writing before we start.
02
Wills and trusts
You want it written down properly, once, so nobody has to guess. Straightforward wills, trusts for a child or a business, and the awkward conversations that go with them.
03
Lasting power of attorney
You are looking after a parent, or you want somebody named before you need them. Registered properly, so the bank actually accepts it when the time comes.
04
What it costs
A grant of probate only, where you deal with the estate yourself, is £1,200 plus VAT. Full administration of a straightforward estate is £2,400 to £4,500 plus VAT, depending on the number of accounts and whether there is property. A single will is £350 plus VAT. The probate registry charges its own fee of £300, which is not ours and which we pay on your behalf. You get the figure in writing before we start, and we tell you the moment anything is likely to move it.
You will have the same solicitor for the whole of it.
Margaret Ashcombe
Senior Partner · 31 years
Took over from her father in 1995. Probate, contested estates, and the families nobody else will take on.
Duncan Rowe
Partner · 18 years
Trusts and tax. Spends most of his week explaining the same four things patiently to different people.
Priya Nandra
Associate · 9 years
Lasting power of attorney and Court of Protection. The one the care homes ring.
006 · PLAIN ENGLISH
The questions people apologise for asking.
1
Do I need a will if I am not rich?
Yes, and it matters more when there is less. Without one the law decides, and the law does not know about your stepchildren, your partner of twenty years, or the house your mother put in your name.
2
What happens to the house?
It cannot be sold or transferred until probate is granted. A jointly owned home usually passes to the survivor outside that process. In the meantime it can be lived in and must stay insured, and we tell the insurer for you, because most policies lapse on an empty property.
3
Can I change it later?
A will, yes, as often as you like. A trust, sometimes. A lasting power of attorney only while you still have capacity, which is the reason not to leave it.
4
How much is this going to cost?
We quote a fixed fee for most of what we do and we give it to you in writing before you commit. Where we cannot, we tell you the range and exactly what moves it.
5
Do I have to come in?
No. Most of a first conversation happens on the telephone, and a great deal of the rest by post and email. Come in when you want to, not because we need you to.
Something else on your mind?
007 · WRITING
What we find ourselves explaining twice a week.
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→
PROBATE · MARCH 2026
Why probate takes as long as it does, and the two things that make it longer
THE FIRST WEEK · FEBRUARY 2026
The bank will not talk to you yet. Here is what to do in the meantime
WILLS · JANUARY 2026
A will written in 1988 and a family that has changed twice since
THE HOUSE · DECEMBER 2025
What actually happens to the house, and when it can be sold
008 · IN THEIR WORDS
I rang on a Tuesday not knowing what I was allowed to touch. Twenty minutes later I had a list of four things and permission to leave the rest alone.
A daughter, on her mother’s estate
WINCHESTER · 2025 · NAME WITHHELD AT THE FAMILY’S REQUEST
Ring us before you start filling anything in.
A first conversation costs nothing and takes about twenty minutes. If we are not the right firm for you we will say so and tell you who is.
HELLO@ASHCOMBE.COM
THE OFFICE
12 Southgate Street
Winchester, Hampshire SO23
REGULATED BY
The Solicitors Regulation Authority
No. 000000
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