Charging Structure

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Our policy is to be as transparent as possible about charges at every stage of the process. However, we are not “call centre” lawyers with “one size fits all” service and charging structure.

Set out below are some detailed examples of fees for the following:

Residential conveyancing fees example
Mortgages and re-mortgaging fees example
Litigation fees example
Debt recovery fees example
Wills & LPA fees example
Probate fees example

We recognise that cases that appear quite similar can in fact be different and the amount that you have to pay will depend on many things including the complexity of the case, the timescale within which the work has to be concluded and the level of service that we have agreed with you.

In general our charges are calculated by multiplying the amount of time that we spend by the hourly rate of the fee earner who carries out the work. So, to provide an estimate of the likely cost we have to predict the amount of time that we shall need to spend. This is sometimes difficult because we do not know, at the outset, what issues are likely to arise.

It is important to note that we charge only for time spent working on files by fee earners so, for example, we do not charge separately for the time spent by secretaries and support staff who often deal with telephone and email enquiries, type correspondence and documents and so on. The cost of this overhead is included within the hourly rate.

The current hourly rates that apply to our fee earners are:

STEP qualified Directors/Solicitors – £310.00 + VAT of £62.00 = £372.00 ph
Directors/Solicitors/Legal Executives/Conveyancers with +8 years experience – £295.00 + VAT of £59.00 = £354.00 ph
Solicitors/Legal Executives/Conveyancers with +4 years experience – £270.00 + VAT of £54.00 = £324.00 ph
Other Solicitors/Legal Executives/Fee earners – £235.00 + VAT of £47.00 = £282.00 ph
Trainee Solicitors/Associate Legal Executives – £215.00 + VAT of £43.00 = £258.00 ph

Quite often a potential Client will ask us whether it is in his/her interests to engage a fee earner who is less experienced and whose hourly rate is therefore lower.

If we consider that a junior fee earner can easily deal with your work, then of course, we will pass it to him/her but it makes sense to pass more complex work to senior fee earners whose wealth of knowledge and experience will enable them to complete the work more efficiently, in less time so that the cost is no more (and sometime less) than if somebody with less knowledge and experience had undertaken the work. We will discuss the allocation of the work with you when you instruct us.

For information about the cost of the particular services that we offer please see below.

Residential Conveyancing Fees

Sale & Purchase Of Freehold Property

Our fees for a sale or purchase start from £1250.00 + VAT of £250.00 = £1500.00 for a simple straight forward transaction to around £3,500.00 + VAT of £700.00 = £4200.00 for a large estate on unregistered land.

We prefer to discuss the details of your sale and/or purchase with you prior to giving you a fee estimate, so that we can take into the account any special features or complexities of the property you are selling/buying.

Disbursements

Disbursements are costs that are payable to third parties, which we deal with on your behalf and include:

Sale – Copy documents from Land Registry £6.00 – £20.00
Management Company Pack Approx. £350.00
Purchase – Search Pack Approx. £350.00
Land Registration fees £20.00 – £1105.00
Land Registry Searches Approx. £10.00
ID Check Fees – £15.00 + VAT of £3.00 = £18.00 per person
Photocopying Fees – £10.00 + VAT of £2.00 = £12.00
Management Company Deed Registration Approx. £300.00
Service Charge/Ground Rent payments Varies dependant on property

Stamp Duty (Purchase Only) The cost of this is dependent on the price you are paying for the property and whether you own any other properties. We will calculate this for you when giving the fee estimate.

Learn more about our conveyancing services.

Sales & Purchases Of Leasehold Property

Our fees for a sale or purchase start from £2000.00 + VAT of £400.00 = £2400.00 for a simple straight forward transaction to around £4,000.00 + VAT of £800.00 = £4,800.00 for a property within a large estate on unregistered land.

Mortgages Or Re-Mortgages

Our fees start from £850.00 + VAT of £170.00 = £1020.00, for a simple straight forward property to around £1,100.00 + VAT of £220.00 = £1320.00 for a larger property.

We prefer to discuss the details of your mortgage with you prior to giving you a fee estimate, so that we can take into the account any special features or complexities.

Disbursements

Disbursements are costs that are payable to third parties, which we deal with on your behalf and include:

Copy documents from Land Registry £6.00 – £20.00
Search Pack (if required) Approx. £300.00
Search Insurance (if accepted) £16.00 – £300.00
Land Registration fees £20.00 – £1105.00
Land Registry Searches Approx. £10.00
ID Check Fees – £15.00 + VAT of £3.00 = £18.00 per person
Photocopying Fees – £10.00 + VAT of £2.00 = £12.00

Learn more about our conveyancing services.

Litigation Fees (To Include Employment And Debt Recovery)

General Advice

Litigation matters to include employment matters and debt recovery are currently overseen by Dervla Nash. Fees are based on our standard hourly rate.

Small claims – usually simple disputes
- With a value of less than £10,000 and unlikely to involve numerous complex legal issues. £2500.00 + VAT of £500.00 = £3000.00 to £5000.00 + VAT of £1000.00 = £6000.00+ Disbursements
Fast Track claims – medium complexity
- Value of £10,000 – £20,000 with some complex issues, usually requiring expert evidence and witness evidence. Likely to result in a Court hearing of a number of hours or one full day, £5000.00 + VAT of £1000.00 = £6000.00 to £20000.00 + VAT of £4000.00 = £24000.00 + Disbursements
Intermediate Track – medium to high complexity
- Value of damages between £25,000 to £100,000 with a maximum of two expert witnesses per party and a trial expected to last not more than three days. Legal costs from £15,000 + VAT of £3,000 = £18,000 plus disbursements.
Multi Track claim – high complexity
- Higher value cases (£20,000 +) and typically those with more complex issues which will require expert evidence, witness evidence and Court hearing lasting longer than a full day. £20000.00 + VAT of £4000.00 = £24,000.00 + Disbursements

Matters which usually become more complicated and where fees exceed the examples above arise if it is necessary to make or defend applications to the Court, if claims are brought/defenced by litigants in person and if costs applications are made. The number of witnesses and experts also influences the anticipated fees.

The fees set out above cover taking your initial instructions, reviewing the papers and advising you on merits and likely outcome (this will be revisited throughout the matter and subject to change) and dealing with all aspects of the matter which will include entering into pre-issue correspondence with the other party, preparing a Claim Form and Particulars of Claim, advising on claim or defence from other party, considering settlement possibilities, Preliminary Court Hearings, Exchanging documents, preparing witness statements, instructing any necessary expert, Preparation and attendance at Trial, including instructions to Counsel;

Disbursements

These are costs that are payable to third parties, such as court fees, Counsel’s fees and experts fees.

To issue a claim for money, the fees are based on the amount claimed, including interest. Please see link attached to find the current court fees – https://www.gov.uk/make-court-claim-for-money/court-fees

Learn more about our litigation services.

Simple Debt Recovery

For simply debt recovery matters which do not exceed £9,999, are not defended and do not require enforcement action we offer a fixed fee service of £500 + VAT (£100.00) to prepare the claim and obtain a default judgement.

How Long Will It Take?

The time that it takes depends largely on when your case is resolved. If a settlement is reached before proceedings are issued it could take a matter of weeks. If your claim proceeds to a Final Hearing, your case is likely to take anywhere from 10 – 24 months.

This is just an estimate and we will of course be able to give you a more accurate timescale once we have more information and as the matter progresses.

Wills

Our fees for the preparation of Wills are:-

Simple will (single) £400.00 plus VAT of £80.00 = £480.00
Simple Will (mirror) £500.00 plus VAT of £100.00 = £600.00
Will incorporating a trust (Single Will) £550.00 plus VAT of £110.00 = £660.00
Will incorporating a trust (Mirror Will) £650.00 plus VAT of £130.00 = £780.00

There is also a fee for an ID check of £15.00 + VAT of £3.00 = £18.00 per person

Lasting Powers of Attorney (LPA)

There are two types of Lasting Powers of Attorney – Health & Welfare and Property & Affairs.

Our fees for the preparation are as follows :-

For one type of Power of Attorney £495.00 plus VAT of £99.00 = £594.00
For two types of Powers of Attorney (i.e. for one type for a couple or both types for one person) £695.00 plus VAT of £139.00 = £834.00
For four Powers of Attorney (i.e. both types for a couple) £895.00 plus VAT of £179.00 = £1074.00

Each document needs to be registered with the Office of the Public Guardian before it can be used – the registration fee is currently £82.00 per document. There is also a fee for an ID check of £15.00 + VAT of £3.00 = £18.00 per person and a Photocopying fee of £10.00 + VAT of £2.00 = £12.00.

Probate

For the vast majority of the estates where a grant of representation is necessary (and we handle the full process) fees range from £3,250.00 plus VAT of £650.00 = £3900.00 and £15000.00 plus VAT of £3000.00 = £18000.00. The exact cost will depend on the individual circumstances of the estate. If there is one beneficiary and no property, costs will be at the lower end if there are lots of beneficiaries, more than one properties and multiple investments of varying types, costs will be at the higher end. Some estates can be more complex and the overall costs could exceed the higher end especially if there are disputes against the estate and where all of the assets are not in the UK.

If we deal with the full administration of the estate, we will:

Gather details of all of the assets owned at death and obtain any necessary valuations.
Gather details of liabilities due at death, including funeral expenses.
Assess whether any inheritance tax is payable. If it is we will prepare the necessary forms and submit the return to HMRC
Prepare all documents in support of an application for the Grant of Representation.
On receipt of the Grant of Representation, collect in all assets and settle any liabilities.
Finalise matters with HMRC in respect of the inheritance tax position and obtain tax clearance.
Distribute the estate in accordance with the law and the terms of the Will and prepare a full estate account.

Fixed Fee For Simple Probate Only Applications

The fixed fee for a non-taxable, simple probate application where we are supplied with the financial information by the executors and do not undertake any of the work set out above is £1,500.00 plus VAT of £300.00 = £1,800.00. The probate application fee is currently £300.00 plus £1.50 for each additional copy.

Disbursements

In addition to our fees there will be “disbursements” – these are costs that are payable to us and to third parties.

Probate application Fee £300 plus £1.50 per copy
Bankruptcy and Identification searches (£6 per beneficiary)
Statutory Notices in The London Gazette and a Local Newspaper – these protect against unexpected claims from unknown creditors. The approximate cost for these Notices is £200 – £400
ID Check Fees – £15.00 + VAT of £3.00 = £18.00 per person
Photocopying Fees – £10.00 + VAT of £2.00 = £12.00

Probate Timescale

Most straightforward estates are dealt with within three to nine months from when we receive all of the available estate information and are instructed to act. Typically, obtaining the grant of probate takes eight to ten weeks. Collecting assets then follows, which can take between three to six weeks from the date on which the grant of probate is received. Once this has been done, we can distribute the assets, which normally takes two to four weeks.

These are of course estimates only as there can be circumstances that result in a delay or an extension of these timescales such as difficulty in identifying or locating all of the assets relevant to the estate, locating missing beneficiaries, dealing with extended enquiries from HM Revenue and Customs in relation to Inheritance Tax or Income Tax;

Learn more about our probate services.

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