Will writing, LPAs and probate in West Malling

I cover West Malling itself along with Kings Hill, Leybourne, Offham, Ryarsh, Addington, Trottiscliffe, Mereworth, Wateringbury and Teston. There's no additional charge for visiting any of them — the signing visit is included in the quoted price for whichever service you choose, and none of it is more than a short drive for me. The greensand villages north and west of the town are small enough that people sometimes assume they're off the map. They aren't. If you're in a hamlet I haven't named, or just the other side of a parish boundary, ring anyway and I'll tell you honestly whether I can reach you.

I don't charge a percentage of the estate at all. There's a fixed fee for an initial executor and estate review, a quoted fee for whichever jobs you'd like help with, and a fixed quotation for the full administration — each of them in writing before I start and unchanged as the work goes on. Firms more commonly quote a percentage of the estate and then bill their time on top at an hourly rate, so the figure you agree to isn't the figure you end up paying. That distinction matters more here than in most places I work, because estate values around West Malling and Kings Hill sit well above the county average and a percentage-plus-hourly bill scales with them. Do get a written quote from a local firm to set against mine, and ask whether the hourly charges sit inside the percentage or alongside it.

Yes — I work seven days a week and there's no out-of-hours premium. Executors around West Malling are very often still working full time, and a good many of the Kings Hill families I see would rather sit down at half past seven in the evening than lose a morning to it. Weekends tend to suit families who want a brother or sister in the room, particularly when someone is driving down from another part of the country. Tell me what works when we first speak on the phone and I'll fit around it rather than the other way round.

It's a fair question in this part of Kent — property values around West Malling and the greensand villages mean inheritance tax comes up more often here than in most of the areas I cover. In broad terms there's a nil-rate band available to every estate, plus an additional residence nil-rate band where a home passes to direct descendants. Unused allowances can generally transfer between spouses and civil partners, and the residence band tapers away on larger estates. Thresholds move with each Budget, so I won't quote figures here. Preparing the HMRC account is part of my probate service, but I'm not a tax adviser — where an estate needs planning advice rather than paperwork, I'll say so.

Yes. The detail is gathered by questionnaire and phone, which spares an older parent a formal appointment, and then I bring the documents out to be signed — that visit is part of the service rather than an extra, so there's nothing to weigh up about whether a trip to Offham, Mereworth or Trottiscliffe is worth the journey. For older clients, or anyone who finds getting out harder than they used to, going through it all in a familiar chair with a cup of tea makes a real difference to how much of it sticks. Family are very welcome to sit in, and I'll happily work around a son or daughter travelling in for the weekend.

Most couples choose the Complete Peace of Mind Package — mirror wills, both types of LPA for both partners, and letters of wishes. That's six professionally drafted documents in one process, and it works out cheaper than arranging each piece separately. I'll give you the exact figure on our first phone call, and OPG registration fees are payable separately to the government.