Pricing
Who will deal with my matter?
We believe in providing a personal service to clients. Your transaction will be dealt with by a Partner of the firm. You will have direct access to a Partner via telephone, email, Zoom /Teams or in person throughout your transaction.
What are Disbursements? (where applicable Vat is included at 20%)
Disbursements (where applicable VAT is included at 20%) are costs related to your matter that are payable to third parties e.g Stamp Duty Land Tax. Disbursements are payable in addition to our costs. We will go through all expected disbursements and expenses with you at the outset of the matter and will keep you advised as the matter proceeds.
What will it Cost?
What are the likely Disbursements? ( where applicable VAT is included at 20%)
We reserve the right to charge an additional fee for postal services, copying, couriers and travel costs. These would be set out in your invoice and further details would be available upon request.
What work in included in the price ?
o Taking your instructions and providing initial advice.
o Receiving or preparing contract documentation.
o Carrying out searches.
o Making all necessary pre-contract enquiries.
o Reporting to you.
o Exchanging contracts and completing the transaction.
o Acting for your mortgage lender.
o In leasehold purchases, dealing with apportioning ground rent, service charges, reserve fund and insurance rent payments.
o Dealing with post-completion matters to include obtaining the SDLT Certificate and registration at the Land Registry.
How long will my Sale/Purchase take?
We appreciate you will want Probate to be dealt with as smoothly and quickly as possible. Once instructed we will set out the process and provide you with a personal service.
What will it cost?
- We generally charge on a fixed fee basis plus VAT at 20%. The fixed fee basis can range from £5000.00-£25000.00 plus VAT at 20%.The fee will depend upon the size and complexity of the estate. For example, if there is one beneficiary and few assets, fees will be lower than if there are multiple beneficiaries and multiple assets. Please refer to our two costs illustrations below as guidance.
- With complicated estates we may sometimes instead charge at an hourly rate £275.00 plus VAT at 20% in which case the final cost will depend upon how many hours of work we have carried out.
- Whether we charge on a fixed fee basis or hourly rate basis this would be agreed with you at the outset of the transaction and would depend upon the complexity of the estate .
- Depending on the value of the estate, it may attract inheritance tax which if any is due, will be payable in addition to our costs. You can find out more about this using HMRC calculator at https://www.gov.uk/guidance/hmrc-tools-and-calculators. If applicable we will prepare HMRC forms.
- Dealing with the sale or transfer of any property in the estate is not included in our Probate costs and will be charged at a fixed price separately (please refer to our conveyancing costs).
- Each case will be unique. We will keep you advised of costs as the Probate proceeds and may produce interim bills every three months.
For illustration purposes only:
Assuming all of the assets are in the UK.
• There is a valid will.
• There is no more than one property.
• There are no more than 2-3 bank or building society accounts.
• There are no other intangible assets.
• There are 2-4 beneficiaries.
• There are no disputes between beneficiaries on division of assets. If disputes arise this is likely to lead to an increase in costs.
• There is no inheritance tax payable and the executors do not need to submit a full account to HMRC.
• There are no claims made against the estate.
We would charge a fixed fee between £5,000.00-10,000.00 plus VAT at 20% , disbursements / expenses (where applicable VAT is included at 20%) .
What factors will potentially increase costs?
For illustration purposes only: For more complicated and/or larger estates e.g.
• There is no Will.
• The Will contains complex trust provisions.
• There have been a large number of lifetime gifts made by the deceased in the 7 tax years prior to his or her death.
• There is a large Portfolio of investments.
• There are a large number of beneficiaries.
• There is more than one property.
• There is a dispute between the beneficiaries.
The hours of work will be greater so the total cost will be greater resulting in fees in the region of £10,000.00- £25,000.00 plus VAT at 20% ,disbursements / expenses ( where applicable VAT is included at 20%).
What are Disbursements? ( where applicable VAT is included at 20%)
We will go through all expected disbursements and expenses with you at the outset of the probate and keep you advised as the matter proceeds.
How long will this take?
What is included in our fee ?
As part of our fixed fee we will:
- Provide you with a dedicated and experienced probate solicitor to work on your matter.
- Identify the legally appointed executors or administrators and beneficiaries.
- Accurately identify the type of Grant of Representation (e.g probate) application you will require.
- Obtain the relevant documents required to make the application.
- Complete the Grant of Representation application and the relevant HMRC forms.
- Draft a legal oath for you to swear.
- Make the application on your behalf.
- Obtain the Grant of Representation.
- Collect and distribute all assets in the estate.
What will this cost?
In cases of debt recovery up to £100,000.00 where your claim is in relation to an unpaid invoice which is not disputed and enforcement action is not needed we would charge a fixed fee plus vat at 20%. For example, for taking initial instructions and writing a one off letter our fee would be in the region of £250-500.00 plus vat at 20% depending upon the amount of time spent dealing with the matter.If the other party disputes your claim at any point, we will discuss any further work required and provide you with revised advice about costs, which could be on a fixed fee for dealing with the disputed claim, or an hourly rate if more extensive work is needed. Our hourly rate is £275.00 plus vat at 20%.
Our fee includes:
• Taking your instructions and reviewing documentation.
• Undertaking appropriate searches.
• Sending a letter before action.
• Receiving payment and sending onto you, or if the debt is not paid, drafting and issuing claim.
• Where no Acknowledgment of Service or Defence is received, applying to the court to enter Judgement in default.
• When Judgement in default in received, write to the other side to request payment.
• If payment is not received, providing you with advice on next steps and likely costs.
What are Disbursements? (where applicable VAT is is included at 20%)
We will go through all expected disbursements and expenses with you at the outset and keep you advised as the matter proceeds.
A court fee would a have to be paid to proceed with any court action. The court fee is in addition to our fees. The amount of the court fee depends on the debt value. Interest and compensation may take the debt into a higher banding, with a higher cost. Information on the amount of court fees can be found by looking at https://www.gov.uk/make-court-claim-for-money/court-fees.
Anyone wishing to proceed with a claim should note that:
• A separate fee would be charged for dealing with an enforcement action, such as the bailiff needed to collect your debt. Also the VAT element of our fee cannot be reclaimed from your Debtor.
How long will this take?
We are required to publish prices about our Probate [in relation to uncontested cases where all the assets are in the UK including testate (with a will) and intestate (without a will) and taxable and non-taxable estates], Debt Collecting and Residential Conveyancing transaction costs. As each matter is tailored to your particular requirements the information provided on our website is meant to and should be considered as a general guide to our costs only.
