The pictures on the walls of a Kensington flat can be worth more than the flat. Collections of art, antiques, jewellery and books are a normal part of an estate in Kensington and Chelsea, and they bring their own problems: valuation, insurance until distribution, the conditional exemption that can defer inheritance tax on an important work if the public can see it, and the quarrel over who gets which painting. A will solicitor here will ask for the inventory before the family tree.
The borough's leases are the second complication. A mansion flat in Earl's Court or a house on a Cadogan Estate lease is a wasting asset, and an executor may need to extend the lease, or assign the right to do so to a buyer, before the estate can be settled, or the will may be planned around extending it during the owner's lifetime. Overseas property is the third. Many Kensington and Chelsea residents own homes in France, Italy, the Gulf or the United States, and need wills in each country that do not cancel one another, plus advice on the residence-based inheritance tax rules that replaced domicile in April 2025.
The ordinary documents still matter. Without a will the intestacy rules apply and an unmarried partner inherits nothing. Lasting powers of attorney, for finance and for health, let a family manage a parent's affairs in the mansion blocks of Chelsea and South Kensington without a Court of Protection application. Charitable legacies to the museums and hospitals of the borough are common and can lower the tax rate on the rest of the estate.
Wills and powers of attorney are usually fixed-fee; probate is charged hourly, fixed or as a percentage of the estate, so ask which.
Will and probate firms serving Kensington and Chelsea are listed below, verified first. Read wills, trusts and probate explained, what a will costs, what probate costs and the guide to lasting powers of attorney, or the general page on will solicitors.
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