Pricing Guide

*Unless otherwise stated all fees are exclusive of VAT – the current rate of VAT chargeable is 20%*

General matters and matters where it is not possible to provide a fixed cost estimate

In all circumstances, our charges will be calculated mainly by reference to the time spent dealing with the matter. This includes advising, attending on you and others, attendances at Court, considering your documents, dealing with papers, preparation of detailed costs calculations, correspondence, e-mails, telephone calls, attendance and file notes, travelling and waiting time. 

Charges are in set at 1/10th of an hour (i.e. units of 6 minutes) and routine communications are charged as one unit.

Hourly rates for members of staff are:

          Directors - £255 per hour

          Solicitors & Legal Executives - £255 per hour

          Paralegal Staff - £150 per hour

 For example, if a Solicitor worked on your file for half an hour this would equate to 5 units at a cost of £127.50 plus VAT.

Our fee for electronic money transfer (CHAPS) is £30 plus VAT.

Our fee for identity and verification checks in accordance with statutory anti-money laundering obligations is currently £10 per person plus VAT.

Our fee for administering oaths and statutory declarations is currently £5 plus £2 per exhibit.

Residential Conveyancing

You should note the prices included in this guide are not exhaustive and are a guide only.

Sale                                         Costs                                     VAT

Up to £150,000                       £600.00                                 £120.00

£150,000 - £200,000              £650.00                                   £130.00

£200,001 - £250,000               £700.00                                  £140.00

£250,001 - £300,000               £750.00                                  £150.00

£300,001 - £350,000               £800.00                                  £160.00

£350,001 - £400,000               £850.00                                  £170.00

£400,001 - £500,000               £900.00                                  £180.00

£500,001 - £600,000               £950.00                                  £190.00

£600,001 - £700,000               £1000.00                                £200.00

£700,001 - £800,000               £1150.00                                  £210.00

£800,001 - £900,000               £1100.00                                 £220.00

£900,001 - £1,000,000            £1150.00                                 £230.00

Above £1,000,000 - please contact us for a quote

Purchase                                 Costs                                       VAT

Up to £150,000                        £700.00                                   £140.00

£150,000 - £200,000               £750.00                                   £150.00

£200,001 - £250,000               £800.00                                   £160.00

£250,001 - £300,000               £850.00                                   £170.00

£300,001 - £350,000               £900.00                                   £180.00

£350,001 - £400,000               £950.00                                   £190.00

£400,001 - £500,000               £1000.00                                £200.00

£500,001 - £600,000               £1050.00                                £210.00

£600,001 - £700,000               £1100.00                                 £220.00

£700,001 - £800,000               £1150.00                                 £230.00

£800,001 - £900,000               £1200.00                               £240.00

£900,001 - £1,000,000            £1250.00                               £250.00

Above £1,000,000 - please contact us for a quote

Other                                       Costs                                       VAT

Equity Release                         £550.00                                   £110.00

Re-mortgage                            £550.00                                   £110.00

Additions

Additional £250.00 plus VAT to be added for a New Build

Additional £300.00 plus VAT for Shared Ownership

Additional £300.00 plus VAT for Leasehold

Additional £250.00+ plus VAT for Help to Buy Equity Release

Disbursements

Disbursements are costs related to your matter that are payable to third parties, such as Land Registry. We paid these fees to the third parties for you to ensure the transaction proceeds smoothly.

Some of the common disbursements you will encounter in a property transaction are:-

  • Standard search fees (e.g. drainage and water, environmental, local authority search) – approximately £250 but vary depending on the type of search requested

  • HM Land Registry fees – these fees vary depending on the nature of the transaction. Further information on the current fees are on the website https://www.gov.uk/guidance/hm-land-registry-registration-services-fees

  • HM Land Registry title documents – currently charged at £3 per document

  • Bankruptcy search fee – currently £2 per individual searched

  • On purchases - Stamp Duty Land Tax/Land Transaction Tax may be payable. Our fees do not include tax advice other than that which is necessary to determine the appropriate level of land tax payable . You can calculate the amount payable on either HRMC website or the Welsh Revenue Authority website. The relevant authority will depend upon the location of the property.

HMRC SDLT calculator –  https://www.gov.uk/stamp-duty-land-tax

Welsh Revenue Authority LTT calculator - https://gov.wales/land-transaction-tax-calculator

With leasehold property you will often be required to pay additional disbursements, for instance:-

  • Fees for replies from the landlord to leasehold enquiries

  • Fees for covering costs in relation to deeds of covenant and/or consent

  • Fees for management packs and information where a management company is involved

It is not possible to estimate such disbursements as they vary in each transaction. You should also be aware that when buying, for instance, a flat or property which is managed and/or has communal areas you will likely be required to contribute to maintenance etc. by payment of a service charge and/or management fee. Details specific to your transaction will be reported to you by the fee earner working on your file as part of the conveyancing process.

An estimate of likely costs will be provided at the outset of a matter and the fee earner will keep you updated as to costs throughout the transaction.

Commercial/business transactions will be charged according to hourly rates.

As a transaction progresses sometimes additional work is required. The fee earner will always discuss this with you and provide you with an estimate of costs. Some of the most common matters arising are:

  • Preparing statutory declarations and statements of truth in support of applications

  • Preparing declarations of trust

  • Re-constituting deeds where deeds are missing, lost or destroyed

  • First registrations

Wills, Probate, Powers of Attorney and Court of Protection matters

Wills

We would normally expect the cost of a basic Will to be in the region of £180.00 - £220.00 plus VAT and the cost of Mirror Wills for couples to be in the region of £250.00 - £300.00 plus VAT.  More complex Wills including those requiring Trust drafting will likely cost more than a basic Will. 

Additional Inheritance Tax planning and advice is available and would be charged on the hourly rate basis as mentioned above. 

We will provide you with a more accurate costs estimate once we have taken your instructions.

Probate

Our expert team are here to provide advice and support in all probate matters including interpreting the Will (where one has been left) or on the Intestacy Rules (where there is no Will) as well as making the application for a Grant of Probate/Letters of Administration and the collecting in and distribution of assets.

No estate is too complex and we will ensure that, at all times, your matter is dealt with the solicitor/lawyer/paralegal with the appropriate level of expertise.  We can provide expert advice on Inheritance Tax and assist to minimise any such liability with the application of appropriate allowances, exemptions and reliefs.

Our Probate/Estate Administration service includes but is not limited to:

  • advice on the terms of the Will or Intestacy Rules;

  • identification of executors/personal representatives;

  • advice on Inheritance Tax including available allowances, exemptions & reliefs;

  • applying for the Grant of Probate or Letters of Administration, where necessary;

  • collecting in assets;

  • paying any liabilities;

  • paying legacies;

  • advice and preparation of Deed of Variation, where one is required;

  • preparation of Estate Accounts; and

  • distribution of the estate.

Our probate matters are charged on an hourly rate basis as detailed above.  Our charges will also contain an element based on the value of the estate.  This is because the value is a reflection of the importance of the matter and consequently the responsibility on the firm.   Therefore, we also charge 1% of the gross value of the estate (excluding any residence at which the deceased resided where the rate will be 0.5%).  As such, the exact costs of probate matters are very much dependent on the independent circumstances of each case. 

Typically, we would estimate the administration of a straight-forward estate to take in the region of 10 – 18 hours work and the costs would therefore be in the region of £2,550.00 - £4,590.00 plus VAT exclusive of the value element charge (see above) and disbursements (see below).

As a guide only, we would consider the following circumstances to be a simple, straight-forward estate:

  • 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 between 1 and 4 beneficiaries;

  • there are no disputes between beneficiaries as to the division of assets;

  • there is no Inheritance Tax payable and a full IHT account is not required to be submitted to HMRC; and

  • there are no claims made against the estate.

Where an estate is more complex, the costs estimate is likely to increase.  As a guide only, we would consider the following circumstances to increase the complexity of an estate:

  • there is no Will or a home-made Will;

  • administrators/beneficiaries need to be located;

  • there are numerous stocks/shares/investment policies;

  • there are foreign assets;

  • there are large numbers of beneficiaries;

  • there are lifetime gifts to declare;

  • there is an Inheritance Tax liability or a full (long-form) Inheritance Tax Return is required; or

  • a Deed of Variation is required.

Please be aware the above lists are not exhaustive.  The costs for dealing with the sale of properties within the estate are not included and will be charged for separately.

We will be able to provide you with a more accurate costs estimate at the outset of the matter when we have taken your instructions and details of the estate.

In addition to our costs, there are disbursements which may also be payable.  Disbursements are costs relating to your matter charged by third parties.  The likely disbursements in a probate matter are as follows:

  • AML Identity Check - £10.00 plus VAT per client/personal representative;

  • Probate Application Fee - £273.00 (not subject to VAT) plus £1.50 (not subject to VAT) per office copy for estates with a value of over £5,000;

  • Bankruptcy Search Fees - £2.00 (not subject to VAT) per person/beneficiary searched against (optional);

  • Statutory Notice to Creditors in the London Gazette - approximately £90.00 (optional); and

  • Notice in Local Newspaper – approximately £80.00 - £100.00 (optional).

Our legal costs in probate matters are payable from the estate.

The length of time it will take to deal with an estate will vary and very much depends on the size and complexity of an estate as well as how quickly you can provide us with the necessary information and how long it takes to receive responses from companies such as banks, building societies, share registrars etc.

The Covid-19 pandemic has significantly changed the timescales involved in probate matters with the Probate Registry experiencing significant delays as well as new processes with asset holders slowing matters down.  In current circumstances, we would hope to be able to make an application for a Grant within 12 – 16 weeks of our instruction.  Where a full Inheritance Tax Return is required, HMRC are currently taking 20 working days to process the required certificate.  The Probate Registry are currently taking up to 16 weeks to process applications. At present, the most straight-forward of estates are taking 8 – 12 months to administer.

We endeavour to progress your matter as quickly as possible but we are very much in the hands of third parties who are experiencing significant delays.

Where there is an estate property to sell, the time it takes to conclude administration depends on the length of time it takes to sell the property.  Where possible, we will aim to prepare interim Estate Accounts and make interim distributions to beneficiaries when administration is on hold due to a property sale.

Lasting Powers of Attorney

We would normally expect our costs for assisting with the drafting and registration of one Lasting Power of Attorney to be in the region of £375.00 plus VAT.  For clients instructing us to draft and register both types of Lasting Power of Attorney (Financial Decisions & Health and Care Decisions) we would expect our costs to be in the region of £575.00 plus VAT. For couples both making both types of Lasting Power of Attorney (mirrored) (ie. four in total) we would expect our costs to be in the region of £1,000.00 plus VAT.

There are Office of the Public Guardian registration fees which are currently £82.00 per Lasting Power of Attorney.  These are not included in the above costs estimates.

Court of Protection Matters

Court of Protection matters are charged on the hourly rate basis set out above.  The costs involved in making a Deputyship application to the Court of Protection can range from £2,500.00 - £6,000.00 plus VAT.  Disbursements include Court Fees and obtaining a mental capacity assessment form from the appropriate doctor. 

A more detailed costs estimate will be provided to you once we have taken your full instructions at the outset of the matter.

Litigation and Dispute Resolution

Each case is different, and it is not usually possible to give you a fixed price.  This is partly because how each case progresses depends on the steps taken by the other party and how open they are to considering settlement of the dispute, for instance by mediation or other forms of alternative dispute resolution.  Our charges are based on the time spent at our current hourly rate and are calculated as described above.   We will discuss likely costs with you at each stage of the process.

Divorce

There is a Court fee payable on the issue of a Divorce Petition of £593.00, in addition to this firm’s fees.  

If both parties have solicitors acting for them, the divorce is uncontested and proceeds as expected, our fees are likely to be in the region of £850.00 - £1,075 .00 plus VAT.

If a divorce is contested we will discuss the likely costs with you at each stage.

Financial matters on Divorce

Costs vary depending on various factor including:-

  • Each party’s financial circumstances and the complexity of the assets involved;

  • The extent to which there is agreement over the family assets to be shared

  • Whether both parties are open to resolving matters through mediation or similar, or whether Court proceedings are necessary.

  • The conduct of the other party

If a financial settlement is agreed, in principle, at an early stage, and the assets are not complex, our costs are likely to be in the region of £1,925.00 to £2,650.00 plus VAT, plus a Court fee of £53.00 (which can often be shared equally).

If your case proceeds through the Court and is fully contested, requiring a final court hearing,  the overall costs will be significantly more.  We will provide you with an estimate when we know your particular circumstances.  For example, however,  the overall costs could be  £28,000 to £45,000 plus VAT,  as a very approximate guide.  We therefore work towards resolving matters by agreement and in the majority of cases a financial settlement can be reached before a final hearing takes place.