‘Private Client’ Fees (1 August 2019 to 31 March 2021)

Our fees include home visits with up to 50 miles travel. There will be an additional charge for travelling further than this.

A fee of £82 per power of attorney document is payable to the Office of the Public Guardian when registering a Lasting Power of Attorney, and is charged in addition to our fees.

In addition to the prices below, where work has been introduced to us a fee of £35 plus VAT may be payable. If applicable, details will be provided in our client contract and on our invoice.

Wills	Ex. VAT	Inc. VAT
Single – Will	£210.00	£252.00
Single – Advanced Planning Will*	£345.00	£414.00
Couple – Reciprocal Wills	£370.00	£444.00
Couple – Reciprocal Advanced Planning Wills*	£645.00	£774.00

Lasting Powers of Attorney: Property & Financial Affairs (P&FA) and Health & Welfare (H&W)	Ex. VAT	Inc. VAT
Single – Lasting Power of Attorney (P&FA or H&W)	£290.00	£348.00
Single – Lasting Powers of Attorney (P&FA and H&W)	£440.00	£528.00
Couple – Lasting Powers of Attorney (P&FA or H&W)	£510.00	£612.00
Couple – Lasting Powers of Attorney (P&FA and H&W)	£790.00	£948.00

Advance Decisions (‘Living Wills’)	Ex. VAT	Inc. VAT
Single – Advance Decision	£210.00	£252.00
Couple – Advance Decisions	£345.00	£414.00

Funeral Plans
We are authorised agents for Golden Leaves, who will pay a fee to us for discussing and completing an application form with you if you require a funeral plan.

* An advanced planning will includes (i) a discretionary trust, or a business property relief trust, or a right to reside in/occupy your home or a life interest trust; (ii) a letter of wishes in relation to the trust; and (iii) a severance of joint tenancy of your home (if required). Additional trusts can be included at a cost of £120 plus VAT for a single will and £180 for a couple, per trust.

 

‘Private Client’ ‘Package’ Fees (1 August 2019 to 31 March 2021)

Our fees include home visits with up to 50 miles travel. There will be an additional charge for travelling further than this.

A fee of £82 per power of attorney document is payable to the Office of the Public Guardian when registering a Lasting Power of Attorney, and is charged in addition to our fees.

In addition to the prices below, where work has been introduced to us a fee of £70 plus VAT may be payable. If applicable, details will be provided in our client contract and on our invoice.

Wills & Lasting Powers of Attorney (P&FA and/or H&W)	Ex. VAT	Inc. VAT
Single – Will and LPA (P&FA or H&W)	£450.00	£540.00
Single – Advanced Planning Will* and LPA (P&FA or H&W)	£570.00	£684.00
Single – Will and LPAs (P&FA and H&W)	£585.00	£702.00
Single – Advanced Planning Will* and LPAs (P&FA and H&W)	£705.00	£846.00
Couple – Reciprocal Wills and LPAs (P&FA or H&W)	£790.00	£948.00
Couple – Reciprocal Advanced Planning Wills* and LPAs (P&FA or H&W)	£1,040.00	£1,248.00
Couple – Reciprocal Wills and LPAs (P&FA and H&W)	£1,045.00	£1,254.00
Couple – Reciprocal Advanced Planning Wills* and LPAs (P&FA and H&W)	£1,290.00	£1,548.00

Wills & Advance Decisions	Ex. VAT	Inc. VAT
Single – Will and Advance Decision	£380.00	£456.00
Single – Advanced Planning Will* and Advance Decision	£500.00	£600.00
Couple – Reciprocal Wills and Advance Decisions	£645.00	£774.00
Couple – Reciprocal Advanced Planning Wills* and Advance Decisions	£890.00	£1,068.00

Lasting Powers of Attorney (LPA – P&FA and/or H&W) & Advance Decisions	Ex. VAT	Inc. VAT
Single – LPA (P&FA or H&W) and Advance Decision	£450.00	£540.00
Single – LPAs (P&FA and H&W) and Advance Decision	£585.00	£702.00
Couple – LPAs (P&FA or H&W) and Advance Decisions	£770.00	£924.00
Couple – LPAs (P&FA and H&W) and Advance Decisions	£1,020.00	£1,224.00

Wills, Lasting Powers of Attorney (LPA – P&FA and/or H&W) & Advance Decisions	Ex. VAT	Inc. VAT
Single – Will, LPA (P&FA or H&W) and Advance Decision	£600.00	£720.00
Single – Advanced Planning Will*, LPA (P&FA or H&W) and Advance Decision	£720.00	£864.00
Single – Will, LPAs (P&FA and H&W) and Advance Decision	£730.00	£876.00
Single – Advanced Planning Will*, LPAs (P&FA and H&W) and Advance Decision	£845.00	£1,014.00
Couple – Reciprocal Wills, LPAs (P&FA or H&W) and Advance Decisions	£1,040.00	£1,248.00
Couple – Reciprocal Advanced Planning Wills*, LPAs (P&FA or H&W) and Advance Decisions	£1,275.00	£1,530.00
Couple – Reciprocal Wills, LPAs (P&FA and H&W) and Advance Decisions	£1,280.00	£1,536.00
Couple – Reciprocal Advanced Planning Wills*, LPAs (P&FA and H&W) and Advance Decisions	£1,515.00	£1,818.00

All ‘packages’ above are reduced by the sum of £50 for each Copper or Bronze Golden Leaves FROM50 funeral plan or by £100 for each Zinc, Silver, Gold or Platinum Golden Leaves FROM50 funeral plan arranged through us at the same time.

If you would like a downloadable PDF of these costs, please click the link below.

Download

Fees and Costs of Estate Administration ('Probate')

The basis of our charges:
Our charges are based on the amount of time we estimate we are likely to spend on dealing with the administration of the estate. After seeing all relevant papers we will produce terms of business and a written agreement which will include our maximum or “capped” fees based on the information to hand. The eventual charge could be less but will not be more unless your instructions change.

Our charges are calculated at the rate of £200 plus vat per hour (£240 including vat per hour). We do not charge our clients the additional “value element” which solicitors are also permitted to make, based on the assets of the estate of the person who has died.  We only charge for the work actually done.

Applying for a Grant of Probate:
If it is not necessary to compile detailed forms for HM Revenues & Customs Inheritance Tax, we would normally expect our fee to be in the region of £950 plus vat (£1140 including vat).

If we are asked to assist with completion of the long and detailed submission to HM Revenues & Customs for Inheritance Tax and then to apply for the Grant of Probate, our charges may be twice this sum at £1,900 plus vat (£2,280 including vat).  We can confirm the fee once we know the extent of the forms which will need to be completed and filed.

Administering the estate:
When instructed by executors to assist them with administration of an estate (usually upon the death of the second of a couple) our charges generally range from £3,300 to £5,300 plus vat (£3,960 to £6,360 including vat), although the fee is likely to be higher if the estate is subject to Inheritance Tax.

For a complex high value estate or an estate involving foreign assets our charges will be higher.  We will provide a quotation or reach an agreement with the executors as appropriate at the time.

All the work is carried out by Jeremy Clough whose experience and qualifications can be seen here: Jeremy Clough FCILEx TEP.

Likely additional expenses (“disbursements”) are:
• a fee of £155 payable to the Probate Court plus £1.50 for each official copy of the Grant,
• valuation fees such as for property, contents or jewellery, and
• the cost of advertising for creditors, which is generally £250-£350 including VAT

Our service:
The service we provide is described here (Probate & Estate Management).  We identify and call in the assets, calculate and arrange for payment of any income tax, Inheritance Tax or capital taxes, instruct agents to locate beneficiaries where necessary, arrange for sale of assets (fees for property sales and Land Registry work are quoted and charged separately), pay the debts of the estate, prepare estate accounts, and distribute to legatees and beneficiaries.

We actively work with the executors during the process, reporting all relevant developments and taking instructions as necessary.

Key stages in the process are: identification of assets and debts, calculation of taxes, obtaining grant of probate, collecting in assets and settling liabilities, preparation of estate accounts, and distribution. The time required for each of these stages varies from a week or two to months, again depending on the type of estate, and the speed and quality of replies we receive from executors and third parties.

Work that is charged for separately:
Our fee for work involving property transfers and alterations to the title at HM Land Registry will be quoted separately, to enable the executors to obtain alternative quotations if they wish to have that work done elsewhere.  If we do this work, it is carried out by Angela Davies.

Other work that is not included in the costs information given above:
Preparing deeds of appointment
Unusual work such as providing an affidavit to prove a will
Additional time we have to spend if the estate is contested or if the administration process becomes disputatious.

We are always pleased to explain our costs and processes in more detail by reference to your particular estate.

Residential Conveyancing Fees

We prefer to quote an individual fee for residential conveyancing, since the amount of work may vary depending on the nature of the property.  The following is a general guide which may be relied upon unless or until a different fee is agreed between us.

All conveyancing work is carried out personally by Angela Davies, a solicitor who qualified in 1979 and has many years’ experience in conveyancing and property matters.

Angela’s hourly rate is £235 plus VAT (£282) for general work which would include any work requested by the client and additional to the normal conveyancing process.

PURCHASE

	Property registered at HM Land Registry	Unregistered property
Type of property (£400,000 or less)	Anticipated fee	Anticipated fee
Freehold house	£800 plus VAT (£960)	£1200 to £1750 plus VAT depending on the complexity of the title (£1440 - £2100)
Leasehold house without service charges	£1000 plus VAT (£1200)	£1200 plus VAT (£1440)
Leasehold flat or leasehold house with service charges	£1500 plus VAT (£1800)	N/A
Type of property (£400,000 to £900,000)	Anticipated fee	Anticipated fee
Freehold house	£1000 plus VAT (£1200)	£1200 to £1750 plus VAT depending on the complexity of the title (£1440 - £2100)
Leasehold house without service charges	£1400 plus VAT (£1680)	£1500 to £2000 plus VAT (£1800 - £2400)
Leasehold flat or leasehold house with service charges	£1750 to £2000 plus VAT (£2100 - £2400)	N/A
Shared ownership properties (fee not dependent on price)	£1750 plus VAT (£2100)	N/A
Other properties, such as properties over £900,000, farms, residences with business accommodation, properties with disputed boundaries or easements, properties where the title deeds have been lost etc	We will quote individually for such properties, based on the amount of time we anticipate spending (at our hourly rate), any perceived risk, and other relevant factors.

SALE

	Property registered at HM Land Registry	Unregistered property
Type of property (£400,000 or less)	Anticipated fee	Anticipated fee
Freehold house	£750 plus VAT (£900)	£1000 - £1200 plus VAT depending on the complexity of the title (£1200 - £1440)
Leasehold house without service charges	£1000 plus VAT (£1200)	£1500 plus VAT (£1800)
Leasehold flat or leasehold house with service charges	£1200 plus VAT (£1440)	N/A
Type of property (£400,000 to £900,000)	Anticipated fee	Anticipated fee
Freehold house	£900 plus VAT (£1080)	£1200 - £1500 plus VAT depending on the complexity of the title (£1440 - £1800)
Leasehold house without service charges	£1200 to £1750 plus VAT (£1440 to £2100)	£1500 to £2000 plus VAT (£1800 to £2400)
Leasehold flat or leasehold house with service charges	£1500 to £1750 plus VAT (£1800 to £2100)	N/A
Shared ownership properties (fee not dependent on price)	£2000 plus VAT (£2400)	N/A
Other properties, such as properties over £900,000, farms, residences with business accommodation, properties with disputed boundaries or easements, properties where the title deeds have been lost etc	We will quote individually for such properties, based on the amount of time we anticipate spending (at our hourly rate), any perceived risk, and other relevant factors.

Other Expenses:

If selling, you will normally expect to incur small Land Registry and/or Land Charges search fees, usually amounting to not more than £30 in total.

If buying, you will incur Stamp Duty Land Tax, Land Registry fees and perhaps Land Charges search fees, together with the cost of whatever Local Authority and other searches you decide upon after we have advised you on what might be appropriate for the property you are interested in buying. We use SearchFlow or a similar search agent, and they offer a range of services and fees. The normal range for a standard house purchase would be in the region of £180 to £300, and VAT at 20% would be added.

The amount of Stamp Duty Land Tax and Land Registry fees varies with the value of the property. These expenses do not incur VAT.

A calculation of Stamp Duty Land Tax can be found here: SDLT calculator

A calculation of Land Registry fees can be found here: Land Registry fees calculator

Our fee in each case will be confirmed to you in writing, along with our best estimate of your additional expenses, once we have information about the properties you are buying or selling.

We do not charge for postage or for banking fees incurred on the transfer of funds.

The Conveyancing Process and Timescale

We supply a full conveyancing service except that we do not act for mortgage lenders. This means that it is not economic to instruct us if you are a purchaser buying a property with the help of a mortgage.

As a simplified outline, the conveyancing process includes:

For the seller

For the buyer

Carrying out anti money-laundering checks Proving title to the property Replying to all enquiries about the property and producing relevant documentation Agreeing on a completion date and exchanging contracts Obtaining a redemption statement to pay off any charge on the property Completing the sale Including preparation of all documents and obtaining all necessary signatures.

Carrying out anti money-laundering checks Checking the seller’s identity and title Raising enquiries about the property and checking the replies Carrying out local and other searches and making enquiries of statutory bodies about the property and its locality Establishing that there are sufficient funds for the purchase Agreeing on a completion date and exchanging contracts Obtaining completion funds and an undertaking from seller’s solicitor in respect of any charge on the property Carrying out completion searches Completing the purchase Filing an SDLT return and paying any tax due from the buyer Registering the purchase with HM Land Registry Reporting to buyer once registration of title has been completed.

The amount of time taken for each stage depends largely on the circumstances of the seller and buyer, and their own sellers/buyers. Delays can be caused by waiting for search results or funding. Generally the conveyancing process is unlikely to take less than 2 months (although there are exceptions) and should not normally take more than 4 months.

Any work outside the normal conveyancing process (such as dealing with title difficulties) will be charged at a fee or hourly rate agreed with you in advance.

PLEASE NOTE: Where a property sale fails for any reason and a new buyer is found, our published fee will normally be increased by between 25% and 50% for each such failure.