Pricing

We provide a range of services for individuals on probate matters. This includes where a person dies with a will in place and also intestacy matters where a person dies without a will in place. On this page, we have set out our typical range of prices for our services and details of what is included.

How much will advice on probate matters cost?

Charges for probate services vary greatly depending on the nature of the matter. To give an indicative range of costs, here are some examples of what we might advise on:

• A grant-only application: this will depend on what information is readily available and whether there is any inheritance tax to pay. A typical range of costs would be between £3,000 and £10,000+VAT, excluding payments to any third parties

• Estate administration: this will depend on how readily assets are available, the beneficiaries and where the assets are. Typically, costs will start from £5,000+VAT.

How we charge for this work

We usually work on an hourly rate basis.

Disbursements: costs related to your matter that are payable to third parties

• Application for Grant of Probate fees (court) (this will depend on the number of copies ordered which in turn depends on what assets are held)
• Trustee Act advertising fees, to find out if there are creditors and to protect the personal representatives
• Unallocated asset register search (if needed) to see if there are any dormant accounts and shareholdings
• House clearance fees
• House insurance fees
• Missing share certificate indemnity fees
• Surveyors fees for property valuation (if required)
• Experts fees for valuation of items held by the deceased
• Oath fees (in order to apply for Grant of Probate)
• Genealogy fees if tracing people
• Death certificate fees

Services that are included

Typical key stages in a probate matter whether or not there is a will in place:

• Discovery of assets and liabilities
• Preparing papers
• Advertisements
• Calculating and paying inheritance tax
• Applying for Grant of Probate or Letters of Administration
• Obtaining release of funds
• Appropriate taxes – inheritance tax, capital gains tax, income tax
• Establishing any trusts
• Preparing estate accounts
• Distributions
• Liaising with executors or administrators, beneficiaries, appropriate experts, HMRC, Court and any relevant other third parties
• Obtaining property insurance where necessary

Intestacy

• Discovering beneficiaries and ensuring all have been identified
• Appointing appropriate personal representatives

What’s not included in our prices?

• Dealing with the sale of the property
• If the matter becomes disputed

How long will it take?

There are many factors which can affect how quickly matters can be dealt with.  The deceased’s estate may be very complex and there may be many organisations involved in the process (such as banks, share registrars, beneficiaries, insurers, accountants, HMRC and estate agents). We are often dependent on how quickly they deal with matters.  In addition, an estate should not be finalised until all claims on the estate have been received. Anyone wishing to make a claim on the estate has six months from the date probate is granted to make such a claim against the estate. So we would always recommend expecting the process to take at least eight months to a year, or longer.

If the deceased did not have a will and the estate needs to be administered under the intestacy rules, the process is likely to take longer, This is due to the extra work involved in establishing the deceased’s estate and identifying the beneficiaries.

The most common factors that increase timescales and so would increase costs are:

• Checking the validity of a will
• The willingness of the family to co-operate
• Extensive enquiries with beneficiaries
• When we are required to obtain the death certificate and/or arrange a funeral
• Dealing with the deceased’s property, to include house clearance, supervision and any insurance claims on the property
• Complicated estates which have multiple accounts or properties and complex financial planning
• Dealing with foreign assets
• Business and farming assets
• Assets held within complicated trust structures
• Dealing with trust structures contained within the deceased’s will
• Locating missing beneficiaries and obtaining missing beneficiary insurance where appropriate
• Preparing tax certificates where required
• Preparing a deed of variation

Our team

We have a team of qualified lawyers, of varying levels of seniority and experience that provide advice on probate matters.

Further information

If you would like to discuss your matter in more details, please contact a member of our team.

Pricing and Service Information

How much will immigration advice cost?

For all immigration cases, we will fully scope out the matter with the client in order to understand their requirements. Below we have set out our fixed fee ranges for a typical visa application covering the main types of visa application.

Types of visa application and the range of costs

How we charge for this work

We usually work on a fixed fee basis.  Our fees are based on various factors, including the complexity of the matter and the relevant circumstances. As our fees are based on an assessment of the time that we expect each application to take, and since each application is different, we provide a quote for a fixed fee following our initial consultation.

Disbursements: costs related to your matter that are payable to third parties

Each application is subject to the relevant Home Office application fee applying at the time of submission.

Services that are included

Typical key stages in immigration advice:

• Initial consultation with the client
• Advice on criteria, process, supporting documents and timings
• Preparation of the application form
• Review of supporting documents
• Submission of the application

If any of the stages are not required, the fee will be reduced accordingly. You may wish to handle some aspects of the application yourself and only have our advice on some of the stages. This can also be arranged to meet your individual needs.

How long will it take?

Timescales will depend on the application type and the individual’s specific circumstances. We cannot guarantee how long the Home Office will take to process your application. For further details, you can read the Home Office’s processing times.

Further information

If you would like to discuss your matter in more detail, please contact a member of our team.

We provide a range of services for individuals buying, selling or re-mortgaging a residential property.

Please find below our fee scale:

Selling a residential property

We have a minimum price for our conveyancing service depending on the price of the

property:

Buying a residential property

We have a minimum price for our conveyancing service depending on the price of the property:

Re-mortgaging a residential property

We have a minimum price for our conveyancing service which is dependent on the price of the property as set out below:

How we charge for our conveyancing services

Our minimum prices for buying, selling or re-mortgaging a residential property are set out above.

Our prices are subject to increase based on factors such as where the property is located and the complexity of the matter. Increases are generally based on the additional time required and our hourly charge out rates. Clients are provided with an estimate of the expected cost once full details of their requirements are known.

Factors that may increase fees

• If the property is leasehold
• If the legal title is defective
• If part of the property is unregistered
• If building regulations or planning permission had not been obtained
• If there are third party restrictions or interests

Disbursements: costs related to your matter that are payable to third parties

• Selling a residential property: Usual disbursements include land registry documents average costs are approximately £10.
• Buying a residential property: Usual disbursements are searches. The costs of these vary depending on the location of the property but are usually between £200 £400 including VAT where relevant. Land Registry fees on registration depend on the type of application and the price of the property. Stamp Duty Land Tax costs also depend on various factors such as the price of the property and whether the buyer is a first-time buyer or second homeowner, an individual or a company. Calculation tools are available on the Land Registry and HMRC websites or we can provide figures when we have received the relevant details. Land Registry fees and Stamp Duty Land Tax are not subject to VAT.
• Re-mortgaging a residential property: a property search may be required or the lender may accept search insurance which would be a lower cost. As the price of cover depends on various factors it can only be given once details are known. Land Registry fees are also payable.

How long will it take?

The process can be affected by many factors. The majority of transactions complete within four to 15 weeks. Cash transactions with no chain are usually quicker than transactions which are part of a lengthy chain.

Debt recovery is mainly a two-stage process.

Stage One

The assessment of the merits of successfully recovering a debt are analysed briefly at this stage, sufficient to enable a pre-action letter to be generated. The cost will this service will typically be between £150 plus VAT and £600 plus VAT and will be completed within one week of receipt of all relevant information.

If the debtor raises issues regarding the liability to make payment, those will be assessed by an experienced solicitor with over three years’ experience in civil litigation and such assessment will be based on the hourly rates of the individual solicitor dealing with matters; the cost for this will be advised separately. The hourly rate applicable will depend on the complexity of the issues raised and will range from between £120 plus VAT to £295 plus VAT. The timescale for the assessment stage depends on the issues raised and can be between 1 to 2 weeks on average.

Stage Two

If no dispute is raised, and it is appropriate commence Court proceedings, then a Court Fee is payable to the Court Service based on the amount claimed as follows:

Our fees for preparing a claim form for an undisputed debt are likely to be in the region of £200 plus VAT to £400 plus VAT; it would take us between 1 – 2 weeks at most to prepare a debt-recovery claim form.

Once a claim is issued, the defendant has 14 days from service upon them of the claim to file a defence or acknowledge service, such acknowledgment extending the deadline for filing the defence up to 28 days from service of the claim form. The length of the process is then entirely dependent upon the issues in dispute, the time is takes to address them and it is not possible to give any parameters where the matter is disputed.

Where no Acknowledgment of Service or Defence is received, we would automatically apply to the court to enter Judgement in default. We charge £50 plus VAT for this.

If payment is not received as per the judgment, we would provide you with options for enforcement included within the above price.
It is unlikely that further expenses will need to be incurred up to this stage. In contested matters, however, further costs and expenses would be incurred and we can advise on this based on the facts of the particular case.

Should you need to enforce a judgment debt obtained in your favour, then additional Court fees apply as to additional costs for our services, based upon the enforcement option being sought.

The rate of VAT applicable to all above sums is 20%.