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Pricing

Pricing and Terms

We offer a range of fixed fee prices across our legal services, where possible, enabling you to obtain the very best legal assistance at a fair price. Depending on the specifics of your litigation, following a review, we may also offer conditional fee agreements in some instances.

Our fixed fees do not include disbursements such as Court Fees and Barristers Fees, and these will be discussed with you before they are incurred by us. Each case is unique, and disbursements will differ. For more information on our fixed fees and disbursements, contact us on 0330 053 9340 or email us on [email protected] and we will be happy to assist.

Cost for initial review of documentation – there may be a charge for complex or large volumes of documentation.  Please call for a free quote.

Consumer Credit and Debt Matters – from £500 plus VAT at 20%

Drafting Service – from £250 plus VAT at 20% – for example,  the drafting of Defences, Particulars of Claim, Witness Statements and Court Applications etc.

Advocacy Service – from £500 plus VAT at 20% plus Travel

Wills & Probate:

We offer free storage of the original will if required and guidance on record keeping.

Standard Single Will – £200 plus VAT at 20%
Standard Joint Will  – £300 plus VAT at 20%

Wills with Trusts – from £600 plus VAT at 20%

LPA – Power of Attorney Service – £250 plus VAT at 20% (plus registration fee of £82) per LPA

Bundle for couple –  joint wills and 4 LPA’s £1,100 plus VAT at 20% (£1,200) plus registration fees

Probate Fees:

Obtaining a Grant of Probate or Letters of Administration

There is an initial exploratory meeting at no cost to you to discuss how we can best assist you in this.

The exact cost to obtain a Grant of Probate or Letters of Administration will depend on the individual circumstances of the matter. For example, if there is one beneficiary and no property, costs will be at the lower end of the range. If there are multiple beneficiaries, a property and multiple bank accounts, costs will be at the higher end.

To offer you the best possible indication of cost, we distinguish between estates by classifying them in the following categories:-

Band 1 – A simple estate (from £800 – £1,500 plus VAT)

 This is an estate in which:

  • There is a valid will
  • You are able to provide all relevant details of the estate required as at the date of death which includes details of utility bills, debts, property valuations, investment details, and bank and building society statements
  • There is only one property
  • There are a small number of bank or building society accounts (less than 5)
  • There are no other intangible assets such as stocks and shares
  • There is no inheritance tax payable and a full account does not need to be submitted to HMRC
  • There are no claims made against the estate

What’s included?

  • An appointment with your probate lawyer during which your instructions  will be taken. You would be required to provide details of the estate including balances at the  date of death in respect of bank and building society accounts,  any investments and debts
  • An initial letter of advice following the meeting
  • Telephone calls/emails to/from you
  • Preparation of the required legal statement
  • Submitting your application for the Grant of Probate or Letters of Administration to the Probate Registry and dealing with any queries raised by them
  • Receiving and checking  the Grant of Probate or Letters of Administration
  • Sending the Grant of Probate or Letters of Administration to you
  • Guidance on other matters such as Placing legal notices to protect your position as a personal representative.

How long will this process take?

Whilst there is no fixed time scale, we would, ordinarily, expect to obtain a Grant of Probate or Letters of Administration within 2-4 months.

Band 2 – A complex estate (from £1,500 – £2,500 plus VAT)

 We treat a more complex estate as one where:

  • There is no valid will: and or
  • You are not able to provide us with details of the estate including property valuations, investment details, and bank and building society statements as at the date of death
  • There are a large number of bank or building society accounts (more than 5)
  • Placing the necessary legal notices etc
  • There are a large number of beneficiaries
  • There is more than one property
  • Valuations of property or other assets need to be obtained
  • The estate involves foreign property or assets
  • There are share holdings

What’s included?

All as in band 1 above as well as:-

  • Liaising with any bank, building society or asset holder to establish all required financial information to enable us to obtain the Grant
  • Advice on intestacy and who is entitled if there is no valid will
  • Obtaining share and property valuations
  • Putting in place building insurance policies
  • Notifying and leasing with utility companies etc of the death
  • Advice on dealing with the transfer of sale of any assets and the payment of any debts or liabilities

How long will the process take?

Whilst there is no fixed time scale, we would, ordinarily, expect to obtain a Grant of Probate or Letters of Administration within 2-5 months.

Band 3 – An estate where Inheritance Tax needs to be paid or where there are exemptions or more complex issues that require additional work (from £2,500 plus VAT)

What’s included ?

All in band 2 above as well as:-

  • The completion of appropriate HM Revenue Form IHT400 full account and supplementary forms as required
  • Obtaining formal valuations as necessary
  • Claims for additional IHT allowances
  • Obtaining and advising on payment of IHT
  • Obtaining an IHT reference
  • Submitting IHT forms and supporting documents
  • Payment of IHT

How long will the process take?

Whilst there is no fixed time scale, we would, ordinarily, expect to obtain a Grant of Probate or Letters of Administration within 4-12 months.

Disbursements are not included in the above costs. Disbursements are additional costs you will need to pay to 3rd parties. These are likely to be in the region of  :

  • Probate application fee £300
  • Adverts in the London Gazette and Local Newspapers – to protect the executors against unexpected claims from unknown creditors from between 150 – £250
  • Land registry search where there is a registered property of between £3 to £5
  • Bankruptcy Search fee -only Land Charges Department searches – £2 for each beneficiary

Administration of the estate

In addition to the costs involved in obtaining a Grant of Probate or Letters of Administration, all additional work will be charged at an hourly rate. The current rates are as follows:-

Grade A :            £210 to £260 per hour plus VAT

Grade B :            £180 per hour plus VAT

Grade C:             £160 per hour plus VAT

Grade D :           £136 plus VAT

We anticipate that a full administration of the estate should take in the region of 10 to 30 hours depending on the complexity of the estate. Where complex issues arise with the Inland Revenue over inheritance tax or with beneficiaries then the time is likely to be considerably more.

The total costs for full administration of the estate is normally in the region of 2 – 3% of the gross value of the estate.

If however there are any unforeseen, complex, or time consuming matters that arise during the administration of the estate it may be necessary to revise our charges. Examples of some issues which may require an additional charge are:-

  • Complex intestacy estates
  • Registering the death
  • Arranging a funeral
  • Business or agricultural property
  • Foreign assets
  • There is a dispute or the estate is contested
  • Deeds of Variation
  • Disclaimer or renunciation of executors
  • Trusts
  • Private company shareholdings
  • Transfer of investments
  • Complex taxation matters
  • Property title difficulties

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