Transparent Fees

The Solicitors Regulatory Authority, the body which regulates law firms, require us to provide you with information on our costs in relation to certain legal services which we provide. This is so that you have the information you need to make an informed choice of legal service provider, and an understanding as to what the total cost of that service may be.

We understand that legal fees can be expensive and we are happy to discuss your individual needs.

Probate Grant Only:

We can help you through this difficult process by obtaining the Grant of Probate on your behalf.

TOTAL: Fixed fee of £1,750 plus VAT and disbursements

This includes:

  • Preparing the IHT form and the oath for swearing, submitting the application to the Probate Registry and obtaining the grant.

Breakdown of costs:

  • Legal fees £1750
  • The VAT on legal fees is £350

In addition, there are disbursement costs which are usually passed on to the Estate of Disbursements:

  • A probate court fee of £155.00.
  • £7.00 Swearing of the oath (per executor).
  • Bankruptcy-only Land Charges Department searches (£2.00 per executor and beneficiary).
  • £6.00-£12.00 Land Registry Official Copies (for Property)
  • Electronic Identification Check (£ per executor and beneficiary)
  • £83.40 Post in The London Gazette – Protects against unexpected claims from unknown creditors.
  • £138.00 Post in a Local Newspaper (Echo) – This also helps to protect against unexpected claims.

Disbursements are costs related to your matter that are payable to third parties, such as court fees. We handle the payment of the disbursements on your behalf to ensure a smoother process. As part of our fixed fee, we will:

  • Provide you with a dedicated and experienced probate solicitor to work on your matter
  • Take your instructions
  • Identify and verify the legally appointed executors or administrators and beneficiaries
  • Accurately identify the type of Probate application you will require
  • Complete the Probate Application and the relevant HMRC forms
  • Draft a legal oath for you to swear
  • Make the application to the Probate Court on your behalf
  • Obtain the Probate and securely send two copies to you

Probate Full Administration

Obtaining date-of-death valuations for all assets and liabilities, applying for the grant, collecting and distributing the assets. These matters are dealt with on a time and cost basis with an hourly rate of £275.00 per hour. Most full administration matters cost between £3000.00-£8000.00 plus VAT and disbursements.

This 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. We will handle the full process for you. This quote is for estates where:

  • There is a valid will
  • There is no more than one property
  • There are no more than 4 bank or building society accounts
  • There are no other intangible assets
  • There are 2-6 beneficiaries
  • There are no disputes between beneficiaries on the 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
  • Disbursements include:
  • Probate application fee of £155.00
  • £7.00 Swearing of the oath (per executor)
  • Bankruptcy-only Land Charges Department searches (£2 per executor and beneficiary)
  • £6.00-£12.00 Land Registry Official Copies (for Property)
  • Electronic Identification Check (£4.20 per executor and beneficiary)
  • £83.40 Post in The London Gazette – Protects against unexpected claims from unknown creditors.
  • £138.00 Post in a Local Newspaper (Echo) – This also helps to protect against unexpected claims.

Disbursements are costs related to your matter that are payable to third parties, such as court fees. We handle the payment of the disbursements on your behalf to ensure a smoother process.

Potential additional costs:

  • If there is no will or the estate consists of any shareholdings (stocks and bonds), there are likely to be additional costs that could range significantly depending on the estate and how it is to be dealt with. We can give you a more accurate quote once we have more information.
  • If any additional copies of the grant are required, they will cost £0.50 (1 per asset usually).
  • Dealing with the sale or transfer of any property in the estate is not included.
How long will this take?

On average, estates that fall within this range are dealt with within 9-12 months. Typically, obtaining the grant of probate takes 8-12 weeks. Collecting assets then follows, which can take between 6-8 weeks. Executors are advised to wait for a period of 6 months from the date of the Grant before distributing assets to protect themselves in the event that a claim is made against the estate under the Inheritance (Provision for Family Dependants) Act. Once this period has expired, we can prepare estate accounts and distribute the assets, which normally takes 4-6 weeks.

Percentage Value of Estate,
Where an Estate is of higher value or offers significant complexity, we may charge an additional percentage of the value of that Estate of between 0.5% and 1%. This figure would be agreed upon with the Executors of the Estate prior to it applying after the grant of probate.

One such legal service is the advice and representation for the recovery of debt up to the value of £100,000. For any other value of debt, please contact the Debt Recovery team to discuss costs.

The cost guide below applies only in circumstances where your claim is in relation to:-

  1. an unpaid invoice;
  2. which is not disputed (so when the debt is unpaid and unchallenged by the Debtor); a
  3. The enforcement action is not needed.

These costs assume that the Debtor is a Limited Company or a Partnership. 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 if necessary, which could be on a fixed fee (e.g. if a one off letter is required), or an hourly rate if more extensive work is needed. The hourly rate is determined by the fee earner dealing with your matter and will be agreed with you before the work is undertaken.

  • Debt Value
  • Court Fee
  • Our Fee (plus VAT)
  • Total Up to £5,000
  • £800 plus VAT (£960)
  • £800 + VAT & Court Fee
  • £5,001 – £10,000
  • £455
  • £1,200 plus VAT (£1440)
  • £1,895
  • £10,001 – £100,000
  • 5% of the value of the claim
  • £2,000 plus VAT (£2400)
  • £2000 + VAT & Court Fee

The pricing above is based on the following information:-

  • Court Fees are prescribed by H M Courts & Tribunals Service and are subject to change. Information can be accessed utilising the following link https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/fees-in-the-civil-and-family-courts-main-fees-ex50.
  • At the time of writing the Court Fees displayed in the table above are accurate.
  • Our fees are calculated on the assumption that the hourly rate adopted is £275 per hour plus VAT.
  • There may also be disbursements payable. These are costs relating to your claim that are payable to 3rd parties, for example, the instruction of a Tracing Agent to identify your Debtor or instruction of a Process Server for serving a Statutory Demand. We handle the payment of these fees to the 3rd party to ensure a smoother process.
  • Any third party disbursements are excluded from the table above as these are unknown at present time and/or likely to be incurred when the debt becomes disputed and so would be a separate cost estimate.
  • VAT is payable in addition to our charges as outlined in the table above, but is not usually recoverable from the Debtor (you can, however, recover the VAT yourselves if you are VAT registered).
  • Court Fees will become due and payable on the issue of the Court Claim and not at the conclusion of the matter.

Our fee includes:

  • Taking your initial instructions and reviewing relevant documentation.
  • Undertaking appropriate cursory searches, i.e to ascertain the correct party to recover the outstanding debt from.
  • Sending a Letter Before Action, or, alternatively, a Late Payment Demand (which not only claims a basic debt but also interest and compensation).
  • Receiving payment and sending it on to you, or if the debt is not paid, drafting and issuing Claim Form (N1).
  • Where no Acknowledgement of Service or Defence is received in response to your issued Claim, applying to the Court to enter Judgment in default.
  • When Judgment in default is received, writing to the other side to request payment.
  • If payment is not received within 14 days, providing you with advice on next steps and likely costs.

Our fee excludes:

  • Any negotiated Settlement in relation to the payment of your outstanding debt.
  • Any discussions with regard to a Payment Plan.
  • Contested debt.
  • Any enforcement action that is required.
  • Any Insolvency or Bankruptcy issues.
  • Dealing with an Insolvent or Bankrupt Debtor.
  • Dealing with Insolvency and Bankruptcy issues in relation to you
  • Sourcing Debtors with unknown whereabouts.
  • Dealing with a Defended Claim.
  • Counter Claims or Set Offs against the unpaid sum.
  • Drafting a Statutory Demand and accompanying Witness Statements and documentation.
  • Debt Recovery Claims against individuals.
  • Multi party action.
  • Jurisdictional issues.
  • Any other complicated or unexpected issue which may arise from time to time (and which we will duly identify and report).

Every situation is different and so timeframes are difficult to prescribe. Straightforward, non-disputed debts usually take 2-6 weeks from receipt of instructions to the recovery of a sum of money, assuming that no Claim needs to be issued.

This time estimate is also on the basis that the other side pays promptly. If a formal Claim is required to be advanced then the matter will become governed by the timetable of the Court which varies depending on the Court which is local to yourself and that particular Court’s workflow at the relevant time. We will identify that debt recovery claims increase significantly as matters approach end of financial year and so we would advise that around that particular period matters may be slightly more protracted than if they are advanced earlier in the year. If enforcement action is required, the matter will take longer to resolve.

Anyone wishing to proceed with a claim should note that:

  • The VAT element of our fee cannot necessarily be reclaimed from your debtor.
  • Interest and compensation that has accrued on your outstanding invoice may take the debt into a higher banding, with a higher cost and as outlined in the table above.
  • The costs quoted above are subject to the clarifications and exclusions, which are shown above.

Hourly Rates Based Fees

Our services are always available to our clients on a traditional hourly rate charging basis. The rates charged by the lawyer representing you will depend upon that lawyers’ level of experience.

All hourly rates are broken down into 6 minute units when time costing, and rounded up to the nearest unit. Any travel and waiting times, such as at Court, are charged at half the lawyer’s normal hourly rate. Please note fees will include additional mileage charges and disbursements as required.

We will ensure that an estimate of our fees is provided to you in clear terms at the earliest possible occasion.

Our hourly rates are as follows:

  • For Partners in the family department rates are £300.00 plus VAT per hour.
  • For Solicitors with over 3 years post qualified experience and highly experienced Senior Caseworkers; £225.00 plus VAT per hour.
  • For Solicitors with less than 3 years post qualified experience and experienced caseworkers; £175.00 plus VAT per hour.
  • For Trainee Solicitors/junior caseworkers £125.00 plus VAT per hour.

We will normally ask for at least £1000.00 on account of costs at the beginning of any hourly rate funded case as well as the arrangement of a standing order for £500 plus VAT monthly. You will then be billed on a regular basis of no more than every 3 months. Any amount overpaid by you will be repaid at the end of your case and you will be expected to pay any additional sum owing within 28 days of receipt of your bill.

All balances owing must be cleared in advance of your attendance at any Court hearing. We will also need to have sufficient funds on account in advance of any Court hearing to meet our costs in representing you.

Do not hesitate to contact us for more information.

Note: In many cases you will have the option to choose between hourly rates or our below fixed fee structure, however we retain the right to refuse to accept your case on fixed fees for more complicated cases. Where the amount of work expended during the fixed fee instruction has become unreasonable and exceeded two and a half times the individual fixed fee, the fee earner can decide whether the fixed fee can be escaped before the conclusion of the fixed fee work. If the escape is triggered then the fee earner will discuss with the client the costs to be applied for the remainder of the work between the date of the escape being triggered and the commencement of the next fixed fee. No decision to change your billing plan will be made without discussion with you beforehand.

Below follows a breakdown of our fixed fee services for all family cases.

  • Divorce
  • Prices
  • Stage

Fixed Fee services are always available in respect of an undefended Divorce, whether as Petitioner or Respondent. This service includes meeting and advising you on the procedure for Divorce, the preparation and handling of all documentation and corresponding with the other party and the Court.

Disbursements for Petitioner’s are typically £550.00 for the Court Issue and Decree Absolute fees.

Respondents must be aware they could face a claim for costs by the other party, which is not covered within these fees.

Note: This level covers Divorce only and any advice on children’s or financial matters will need to be managed under an alternative service. Should a Divorce become defended then fees will automatically revert to our hourly charging rates.