Costs Information

Mortgage of Property

When you buy a property with the benefit of a mortgage, your mortgage lender will also need to appoint a Solicitor to act on behalf of them in the transaction. We are on most mortgage lender’s panels of solicitors and are therefore able to act for both you and your lender. You should make sure when arranging your mortgage that your lender will ask us to act for them when dealing with your purchase and mortgage.

There is additional work involved in acting for your mortgage company, including:

1. Checking that the mortgage details match the transaction details and reporting any discrepancies to your Lender.
2. Reporting the terms of the mortgage to you and arranging for you to sign the Mortgage Deed and any other documents required by your Lender.
3. Arranging for the Mortgage Advance to be sent to us to get ready for completion.
4. Registering your Mortgage following its completion and providing a copy of your Title to your Lender.

To reflect the additional work involved, we charge a minimum fee of £115 plus VAT. On some occasions involving any additional requirements we may charge an additional fee which will be worked out at the time.

Remortgage of Property

Throughout your ownership of your property, you may find that you need to remortgage. This may be because the Fixed Rate Term of your mortgage deal is coming to an end or you are freeing up some equity from your property. If you remortgage with your current Lender, you do not generally need a Solicitor, as this is simply a product transfer. If you are remortgaging with a new Lender, we will be happy to assist you.

Remortgage Fees

We charge a fee of £525 plus VAT for a remortgage with a loan value of up to £500,000. For remortgages over £500,000, we will provide you with a quote on a case-by-case basis.

Leasehold Property

If the property that you are remortgaging is a Leasehold property, there is additional work involved when acting on behalf of a borrower. This includes:

1. Getting a copy of the Lease and any supplemental documents from HM Land Registry.
2. Getting information from the Freeholder / Managing Agent with regards to Ground Rent, Service Charge, Maintenance arrangements, Buildings Insurance, etc. and reporting this to your Lender.
3. Providing Notice of Charge to the Freeholder / Managing Agent after completion, as required under the terms of the Lease.

Disbursements

These are costs that are payable to third parties such as Land Registry fees. We handle the payment of such disbursements on your behalf to guarantee a smooth process.

Land Registry Official Copy Documents

If the property is already registered at HM Land Registry, we obtain up-to-date copies of the title. Land Registry charges are £3 per document. Typically a freehold re-mortgage will require two documents (the Title and Plan) whilst a leasehold property will require five documents (the Title and Plan for both freehold and leasehold titles together with a copy of the Lease).

Freeholder Sales Pack

If the property is leasehold, we will need to gather information from the Freeholder / Managing Agent. The Freeholder / Managing Agent can charge a fee for providing the information. Typically these fees range from £75 to £500. We will contact the relevant parties when your sale begins to work out this fee. 

Referral fee (if any)

Sometimes we pay a referral fee to an introducer. If this is the case, it will be confirmed in our initial client care letter. It will not impact the fees that you pay to Tolhurst Fisher.

Example Quote

We have put together below an example quote, based upon a single person remortgaging a freehold property with a new loan of £300,000. Whenever a potential client contacts us for a quote, we give them a similar breakdown, so that all of the costs are as clear as possible from the beginning.

Stages of the process

The exact stages involved in the remortgage of a residential property vary alongside the circumstances. However, below we have suggested some key stages that are typical in most transactions:

1. Take your instructions and give you initial advice
2. Get together the Title documents and review them
3. Get together your Mortgage Offer, check the specific terms and report back to you on it
4. Contact your existing Lender to ask for the initial redemption figures and details of their requirements
5. Obtain further planning documentation if needed
6. Give you advice on any matters that require your attention
7. Send Mortgage Deed to you for your signature
8. Request mortgage funds and complete the remortgage of your property
9. Pay the amounts required to redeem your mortgage
10. Account to you for the net proceeds of the remortgage

Possible Additional Charges

No two residential property transactions are the same and it is impossible from the beginning to accurately predict which additional services may be needed to complete any one transaction. As a result, we have set out below a list (although this is not exhaustive) of possible situations for when additional advice would be needed as well as the charge for each service. We will let you know before you incur any additional costs that exceed our initial quotation.

New Build Supplement – when you buy a new build property, as well as the work outlined above, we charge a fee of £150 + VAT for reviewing all of the planning permission / building regulation documents, making sure that appropriate New Build Warranty documentation is in place, letting you know the rights and covenants set out in the Transfer of the plot and arranging for First Registration upon completion.

Indemnity Policy Administration Fee – sometimes it is not possible to locate all of the documentation needed for your sale / purchase / remortgage. In some cases, it is possible to solve this problem by arranging to put in place an Indemnity Policy. We can do this on your behalf. We will obtain a quote and let you know  the cost before putting the policy in place. We charge an administration fee of £50 + VAT for arranging the Policy.

Statutory Declaration Fee – in the event where ownership, rights, responsibilities or other matters relating to the property are not properly recorded in the Title or Deeds, you may need to make a Statutory Declaration to confirm that the statements you have made with regard to the property are true. We then can take your instructions, prepare the Statutory Declaration and arrange it for you to sign it. Our fee for dealing with this is £200 + VAT.

Deed of Variation Fee – when dealing with Leasehold property, it is sometimes necessary for the Lease to be varied  in order to make the document up to date. In some circumstances our Conveyancing department can deal with this on your behalf for a fee of £350 + VAT. In more complex Deeds of Variation or Lease Extensions, it is often necessary for one of our specialist Leasehold Enfranchisement team to be used separately and they will provide you with a separate quote for this work.

Purchase / Sale of Freehold reversion of Leasehold Property – on some occasions, a leasehold owner can also own the freehold of their property. If the freehold interest is also being disposed of as part of the same transaction, we will need to provide additional transfer documentation and deal with the registration of both titles upon completion. We charge an additional fee of £100 + VAT for this work.

Dealing with Stock Transfer Form / Share Certificate – when purchasing a Leasehold property, it is sometimes asked of the Leaseholder to become a member of the Management Company. We would collect the current owner’s Share Certificate and arrange for a Stock Transfer Form to be executed by the seller and sent to the Management Company on completion, to make sure that a new Share Certificate is issued in your name. We charge a fee of £75 + VAT for this work.

Dealing with Licence to Assign / Deed of Covenant – when purchasing a Leasehold property, it is sometimes necessary for the Leaseholder to enter into a Deed of Covenant or obtain a Licence to Assign from the Freeholder. If this is the case, we will get the appropriate documentation and make sure that it is properly executed before completion. Our fee for this work is £100 + VAT.

Unregistered Title Fee – If it turns out that the property is not registered at HM Land Registry, the Title Deeds are then required so that the Contract can be properly prepared and the Transfer can take place on completion. When acting for either seller, buyer or borrower, there is a fair amount of extra work involved in reviewing the Title and we charge a fee of £250 + VAT to reflect this.

Purchase of Leasehold Property

If the property that you are purchasing is a Leasehold property, there is additional work involved when acting for a purchaser. This includes:

1. Reviewing the Lease and letting you know the terms of it
2. Reviewing information provided by the Freeholder / Managing Agent regarding Ground Rent, Service Charge, Maintenance arrangements, Buildings Insurance, etc.
3. Serving Notice of Transfer on the Freeholder / Managing Agent following completion, as required by the Lease terms

Fees

Whilst the above scale provides an indicative guide to our fees, each case will be assessed on its merits and a quote provided accordingly. Any transaction with a property value above £1,000,000 will also be quoted on an individual basis.  Clients must refer to the quote provided at the outset of the transaction for a definitive fee estimate.

Disbursements

These are costs relating to your process that are paid to third parties such as Land Registry fees. We handle the payment of these disbursements on your behalf to make sure they run smoothly.

Search Fees

We carry out searches on your behalf to ensure that you have as much information on the property as possible before completing your purchase. Generally, we carry out three standard searches for any property purchase. We have negotiated a very good search package with a Search provider, which means that we can pass the new lower cost on to our clients, without compromising on the quality of the search results that we receive.

1. Local Authority Search (£62.50) – The search consists of information from the Local Authority with regard to Planning Application, Building Regulation Consents, responsibility for the road, Enforcement Notices and other matters relating to the property.
2. Water & Drainage Search (£29) – The search consists of information from the local water and sewerage suppliers with regard to the property, mains and surface water drainage and sewers within the boundaries of the property, which might remain the responsibility of the water company.
3. Environmental Search (£36) – The search consist of information regarding flood risk, ground stability and contaminated land. This is generally the same information as that used by insurers to determine insurance premiums.

The Search fees detailed above are subject to VAT.

Upon completion, we also put in place a Chancel Repair Liability Indemnity Policy at a cost of £12. A considerable proportion of properties within the local area are potentially liable to contribute towards chancel repairs. We find that the most cost-effective way to deal with this on our clients’ behalf is to put in place an indemnity policy, to protect both the purchaser and mortgage lender.

HM Land Registry fee

On completion of any purchase, it is legally required for the property to be registered with HM Land Registry. The Land Registry fee is based on the price paid for the property and the type of application being made. 

You can calculate the amount of the Land Registry Fee using HM Land Registry’s fee calculator http://landregistry.data.gov.uk/fees-calculator.html.

Stamp Duty or Land Tax

This depends on the purchase price of your property. You can calculate the amount you will need to pay by using HMRC’s website:

 https://www.tax.service.gov.uk/calculate-stamp-duty-land-tax/#/intro

or if the property happens to be located in Wales by using the Welsh Revenues Authority’s website here https://beta.gov.wales/land-transaction-tax-calculator

Referral fee (if any)

Sometimes we pay a referral fee to an introducer. If this happens, we will confirm it in our initial client care letter. This will not have an impact on the fees that you pay to Tolhurst Fisher.

Example Quote

We have put together below an example quote, based upon a single person purchasing a freehold property for £300,000 as a main residence. Whenever a potential client contacts us for a quote, we will give them a similar breakdown, so that all of the costs are as clear as possible, right from the beginning.

Stages of the process

The exact stages involved in the purchase of a residential property vary according to the circumstances. However, below we have suggested some key stages that are typical to most transactions:

1. Take your instructions and give you initial advice
2. Check the finances are in place to fund the purchase and contact lenders solicitors if needed
3. Receive and advise on contact documents
4. Carry out searches
5. Obtain further planning documentation if needed
6. Make any necessary enquiries of the sellers solicitor
7. Give you advice on all documents and information received
8. Go through the conditions of mortgage offer with you
9. Send final contract to you for your signature
10. Agree on the completion date (date from which you own the property)
11. Exchange contracts and let you know this has happened
12. Arrange for all payments needed to be received from lender and you
13. Complete purchase
14. Deal with payment of Stamp Duty/ Land Tax
15. Deal with application for registration at the Land Registry

Purchase of Residential Property

Our fees cover all the work required to complete the purchase of your new home including dealing with registration at the Land Registry and handling the payment of Stamp Duty Land Tax if the property is in England or Land Transaction Tax (Land Tax) if the property you wish to buy is in Wales.

Conveyancing Fees

We charge a fixed fee for our conveyancing work which is based upon the value of the property. We have set out below the guideline fees for each property value.

Whilst the above scale provides an indicative guide to our fees, each case will be assessed on its merits and a quote provided accordingly. Any transaction with a property value above £1,000,000 will also be quoted on an individual basis.  Clients must refer to the quote provided at the outset of the transaction for a definitive fee estimate.

Disbursements

These are costs relating to your process that are paid to third parties such as Land Registry fees. We handle the payment of these disbursements on your behalf to make sure they run smoothly.

Search Fees

We carry out searches on your behalf to ensure that you have as much information on the property as possible before completing your purchase. Generally, we carry out three standard searches for any property purchase. We have negotiated a very good search package with a Search provider, which means that we can pass the new lower cost on to our clients, without compromising on the quality of the search results that we receive.

1. Local Authority Search (£62.50) – The search consists of information from the Local Authority with regard to Planning Application, Building Regulation Consents, responsibility for the road, Enforcement Notices and other matters relating to the property.
2. Water & Drainage Search (£29) – The search consists of information from the local water and sewerage suppliers with regard to the property, mains and surface water drainage and sewers within the boundaries of the property, which might remain the responsibility of the water company.
3. Environmental Search (£36) – The search consist of information regarding flood risk, ground stability and contaminated land. This is generally the same information as that used by insurers to determine insurance premiums.

The Search fees detailed above are subject to VAT.

Upon completion, we also put in place a Chancel Repair Liability Indemnity Policy at a cost of £12. A considerable proportion of properties within the local area are potentially liable to contribute towards chancel repairs. We find that the most cost-effective way to deal with this on our clients’ behalf is to put in place an indemnity policy, to protect both the purchaser and mortgage lender.

HM Land Registry fee

On completion of any purchase, it is legally required for the property to be registered with HM Land Registry. The Land Registry fee is based on the price paid for the property and the type of application being made. 

You can calculate the amount of the Land Registry Fee using HM Land Registry’s fee calculator http://landregistry.data.gov.uk/fees-calculator.html.

Stamp Duty or Land Tax

This depends on the purchase price of your property. You can calculate the amount you will need to pay by using HMRC’s website:

 https://www.tax.service.gov.uk/calculate-stamp-duty-land-tax/#/intro

or if the property is located in Wales by using the Welsh Revenues Authority’s website here https://beta.gov.wales/land-transaction-tax-calculator

Referral fee (if any)

Sometimes we pay a referral fee to an introducer. If this happens, we will confirm it in our initial client care letter. This will not impact the fees that you pay to Tolhurst Fisher.

Example Quote

We have put together below an example quote, based upon a single person purchasing a freehold property for £300,000 as a main residence. Whenever a potential client contacts us for a quote, we give them with a similar breakdown, so that all of the costs are as clear as possible from the outset.

Stages of the process

The exact stages involved in the purchase of a residential property vary according to the circumstances. However, below we have suggested some key stages that are typical to most transactions:

1. Take your instructions and give you initial advice
2. Check all finances are in place to fund the purchase and contact lenders solicitors if needed
3. Receive and advise on contact documents
4. Carry out searches
5. Obtain further planning documentation if needed
6. Make any necessary enquiries of the sellers solicitor
7. Give you advice on all documents and information received
8. Go through the conditions of mortgage offer with you
9. Send the final contract to you for your signature
10. Agree the completion date (date from which you own the property)
11. Exchange contracts and let you know this has happened
12. Arrange for all payments needed to be received from the lender and you
13. Complete purchase
14. Deal with payment of Stamp Duty/ Land Tax
15. Deal with application for registration at the Land Registry

Sale of Leasehold Property

If the property is a Leasehold property, there is additional work involved when acting for a Seller. This includes:

1. Getting a copy of the Lease and any supplemental documents from HM Land Registry
2. Getting information from the Freeholder / Managing Agent regarding Ground Rent, Service Charge, Maintenance arrangements, Buildings Insurance, etc. and giving this to the purchaser’s Solicitor
3. Making arrangements with regard to Licence to Assign or Deed of Covenant if required by the Lease terms.

Fees

Whilst the above scale provides an indicative guide to our fees, each case will be assessed on its merits and a quote provided accordingly. Any transaction with a property value above £1,000,000 will also be quoted on an individual basis.  Clients must refer to the quote provided at the outset of the transaction for a definitive fee estimate.

Disbursements

These are costs relating to your matter that are payable to third parties such as Land Registry fees. We handle the payment of disbursements on your behalf to ensure a smooth process.

Land Registry Official Copy Documents

If the property is already registered at HM Land Registry, we will obtain up-to-date copies of the title so that we can prepare a draft Contract for the purchaser’s Solicitor. Land Registry charge £3 per document. Typically a freehold sale will require two documents (the Title and Plan) whilst a leasehold property will require five documents (the Title and Plan for both freehold and leasehold titles together with a copy of the Lease).

Freeholder Sales Pack

If the property is leasehold, we will need to obtain information from the Freeholder / Managing Agent. The Freeholder / Managing Agent may charge a fee for providing the information. Typically these fees range from £75 to £500. We will contact the necessary parties when your sale begins to find out the actual amount of the fee.

Referral fee (if any)

Sometimes we pay a referral fee to an introducer. If this happens, we will confirm it in our initial client care letter. This will not impact the fees that you pay to Tolhurst Fisher.

Example Quote

We have put together below an example quote, based upon a single person leasing out a leasehold property for £300,000. Whenever a potential client contacts us for a quote, we give them with a similar breakdown, so that all of the costs are as clear as possible from the beginning.

Stages of the process

The exact stages involved in the purchase of a residential property vary according to the circumstances. However, below we have suggested some key stages that are typical to most transactions:

1. Take your instructions and give you initial advice
2. Get together Title documents and prepare the draft contract documentation
3. Arrange for you to complete property information forms
4. Contact your existing Lender to ask for initial redemption figures and details of these requirements
5. Get together further planning documentation if needed
6. Respond to any enquiries raised by the purchaser’s solicitor
7. Give you advice on any matters that require your attention
8. Send final contract to you for your signature
9. Agree the completion date (date from which you will no longer own the property)
10. Exchange contracts and let you know this has happened
11. Collect the sale proceeds from the purchaser’s solicitor
12. Complete the lease of your property
13. Account to you for the net proceeds of sale

Sale of Property

Our fees cover all of the work required to complete the sale of your property, right from issuing the draft contract documentation to the prospective purchaser’s solicitor to completing the sale and dealing with the proceeds of the sale on your behalf.

Conveyancing Fees

Whilst the above scale provides an indicative guide to our fees, each case will be assessed on its merits and a quote provided accordingly. Any transaction with a property value above £1,000,000 will also be quoted on an individual basis.  Clients must refer to the quote provided at the outset of the transaction for a definitive fee estimate.

Disbursements

These are costs relating to your matter that are payable to third parties such as Land Registry fees. We handle the payment of these disbursements on your behalf to ensure the process goes smoothly.

Land Registry Official Copy Documents

If the property is already registered at HM Land Registry, we will get up-to-date copies of the title so that we can prepare a draft Contract for the purchaser’s Solicitor. Land Registry charge £3 per document. Typically a freehold sale will require two documents (the Title and Plan) whilst a leasehold property will require five documents (the Title and Plan for both freehold and leasehold titles together with a copy of the Lease).

Freeholder Sales Pack

If the property is leasehold, we will need to obtain information from the Freeholder / Managing Agent. The Freeholder / Managing Agent may charge a fee for providing the information. Typically these fees range from £75 to £500. We will contact the necessary parties when your sale begins to find out the actual amount of the fee.

Referral fee (if any)

Sometimes we pay a referral fee to an introducer. If this happens, we will confirm it in our initial client care letter. This will not impact the fees that you pay to Tolhurst Fisher.

Example Quote

We have put together below an example quote, based upon a single person selling a freehold property for £300,000. Whenever a potential client contacts us for a quote, we provide them with a similar breakdown, so that all of the costs are as clear as possible from the beginning.

Stages of the process

The exact stages involved in the purchase of a residential property vary according to the circumstances. However, below we have suggested some key stages that are typical to most transactions:

1. Take your instructions and give you initial advice
2. Get together the Title documents and prepare the draft contract documentation
3. Arrange for you to complete property information forms
4. Contact your existing Lender to ask for the initial redemption figures and details of such requirements
5. Get together further planning documentation ifneeded
6. Respond to any enquiries raised by the purchaser’s solicitor
7. Give you advice on any matters that need your attention
8. Send final contract to you for your signature
9. Agree the completion date (date from which you will no longer own the property)
10. Exchange contracts and notify you that this has happened
11. Collect the sale proceeds from the purchaser’s solicitor
12. Complete the sale of your property
13. Pay the amounts required to redeem your mortgage and to settle the Estate Agent’s invoice
14. Account to you for the net proceeds of sale

Our specialist solicitors in these fields and their hourly rates:

Akanshi Agrawal – Partner

(Admitted 2008)

£250 per hour plus VAT

Nigel Holdcroft – Partner

(Admitted 1983)

£250 per hour plus VAT

Jerry Nathan – Solicitor

(Admitted 2000)

£250 per hour plus VAT

Amy Hadley – Solicitor

(Admitted 2019)

£175 per hour plus VAT

Connor Raine – Trainee Solicitor

£118 per hour plus VAT

Please note that:

• the hourly rates are correct as of February 2021; however they may be subject to change. We will always inform you on the current rates at the time that you appoint us.
• the costs and time estimates are only a guide. We reserve the right to amend and/or vary the price if the matter becomes more complex than originally anticipated or unforeseen difficulties arise.

Undisputed Debt Recovery

The stages of a debt claim are usually:

Stage 1  Pre-action

• Taking your instructions
• Reviewing the documents provided by you
• Preparing and sending a letter before action
• Receiving payment and sending it onto you if the debt is paid

Stage 2 – Claim

• Drafting and issuing a claim

Stage 3 – Entering Judgment

• Where no Acknowledgement of Service or Defence is received, we apply to the Court to enter Judgment in default
• When Judgment in default is received, we write to the other side to request payment.

Your estimated costs with us (up to stage 3)

Stage 4 – Enforcement of the Judgment

• Advising you on the enforcement options
• Preparing the selected enforcement Application

Disbursements

In addition to the Court fees set out above, the following disbursements may also be incurred:

• Tracing Agents – to locate Debtors                                 £50 to £200 plus VAT
• Land Registry fees as follows:

Obtaining Office Copy Entries                                   £3.00 per document

Registration of a Charge                                             £20.00

• Process Servers (to personally serve documents)                               £125- £175 plus VAT

Please note that this is not an exhaustive list of disbursements and additional disbursements may be necessary.

Court fees are not subject to VAT.

Length of process

Provided that the debt is not disputed at any stage and subject to the Court’s availability, we estimate that to obtain Judgment (in default) will take between 8-10 weeks.

Statutory Demands

This note does not include our costs relating to the preparation and service of Statutory Demands and/or insolvency/bankruptcy petitions and you are requested to contact one of our team members for further details.

Contested Debts

This note does not include our charges for disputed debts. A debt may become disputed at any time. If this happens, we will let you have details of the necessary costs incurred and also provide an estimate of future costs to progress the matter to trial. If a debt becomes contested you should carefully consider the sums that you are seeking, against the potential costs you will incur to Trial. Limited costs may be recoverable from your opponent if the matter has a value less than £10,000 (the Small Claims limit).

Employment –Wrongful or Unfair Dismissal Claims

It is very difficult to give a precise estimate of the costs involved in bringing, defending or counterclaiming in a wrongful or unfair dismissal claim. However, we have set out below a  guide of the likely fees that you will incur with us, depending on the complexity of the matter.

• All charges are at the conducting fee earner’s hourly charging rate, as shown above in our team structure.
• If you are an employer, our costs as set out above will usually increase by approximately 35% due to the requirement of the employer to provide documents and prepare bundles for the hearing.
• There will be an additional charge for attendance at a Tribunal Hearing of up to £2,000 per day (plus VAT) if our attendance is needed. Generally, we would expect 2-3 days for a medium complexity case.

In addition, the following Indicative (non-exhaustive) factors that will make a case more complex include:

• If it is necessary to make or defend applications made to amend claims or to provide further information about an existing claim
• Defending/counterclaiming in claims that are brought by litigants in person
• Making or defending a costs application
• Complex preliminary issues for example, whether the claimant is disabled (where not agreed by the parties)
• If it is an automatic unfair dismissal claim (e.g. if you are dismissed after blowing the whistle on your employer)
• Allegations of discrimination which are linked to the dismissal

The fees set out above cover our work in relation to a claim of unfair or wrongful dismissal including:

• Taking your initial instructions, reviewing the papers and advising you on the merits and potential compensation (this is likely to be revisited during the matter and subject to change)
• Entering into a pre-claim conciliation where it is mandatory to explore whether a settlement can be reached;
• Preparing the claim, counterclaim or response
• Reviewing and advising on the claim or response from the other party
• Exploring the settlement and negotiating the settlement throughout the process
• Preparing or considering a schedule of loss
• Preparing for (and attending) a Preliminary Hearing
• Exchanging documents with the other party and agreeing a bundle of documents
• Taking witness statements, drafting statements and agreeing on their content with the witnesses
• Preparing the bundle of documents
• Reviewing and advising on the other party’s witness statements
• Agreeing a list of issues, a chronology and/or cast list
• Preparation and attendance at the Final Hearing, including instructions to Counsel if needed.

The stages set out above are an indication of costs. If some of the stages above are not required or other stages are introduced, the fee will be reduced or increased accordingly.

The time that it takes from taking your initial instructions to the final resolution of your matter depends largely on the stage at which your case is resolved. If a settlement is reached during pre-claim conciliation, your case may take 4-6 weeks. If your claim carries on to a Final Hearing, your case is likely to take 9-12 months. These are just estimates. We will of course be able to give you a more accurate timescale once we have more information and as the matter progresses.

Disbursements

These may include:

• Counsel
• HM Land Registry
• enquiry agents
• process servers
• Travelling expenses
• Witnesses’ expenses
• Experts’ fees i.e. for a medical report

The majority of the above disbursements will attract VAT at the prevailing rate, with the exception of Court and Land Registry fees.

In Employment Tribunal Hearings, the most common disbursement is Counsel’s fees which we estimate to be between £200 and £400 per hour, plus VAT (depending on the experience of the barrister). Usually Counsel will advise you on your matter throughout as well as prepare for and attend the final hearing. As a result, Counsel’s fees could range from £5,000 to £20,000 plus VAT.

Recovery of your costs from your opponent

Even if you are successful in your claim, the recovery of your costs in employment claims are very rare. Consequently, you should be satisfied that it is cost-effective for you to instruct our services. You should consider if any funding options are available to you, including legal expenses insurance under an insurance policy which you may hold.

1. Probate – Applying for the grant, collecting and distributing the assets

We anticipate this will take between 5 and 50 hours work at:

£325 per hour for Mark Francis (Partner Rate)

£295 per hour for Jane Sullivan (Senior Solicitor Rate)

Total costs are estimated at:

£1,625 – £16,250 + VAT for Mark Francis

£1,475 – £14,750 + VAT for Jane Sullivan

The exact cost 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, the 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 5 bank or building society accounts
• There are no other intangible assets
• There are no more than 5 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

Disbursements are costs relating to your matter that are payable to third parties, such as court fees. We handle the payment of disbursements on your behalf to make sure the process runs smoothly. These are payable on top of our costs.

Disbursements may include:

• Probate application fee of £315
• Bankruptcy-only Land Charges Department searches (£2 per beneficiary)
• £87.70 notice in The London Gazette – Protects you against any unexpected claims from unknown creditors.
• £136.68 notice in a Local Newspaper – This also helps to protect against unexpected claims.

Potential additional costs

• If there is no will or the estate consists of any share holdings (stocks and bonds), there is likely to be additional costs that could range significantly depending on the estate and how it will be dealt with. We can give you a more accurate quote once we have more information.
• If any additional copies of the grant are needed, they will cost £1.50 (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 3-9 months. Usually, getting the grant of probate takes 10-20 weeks. After this, assets are collected, which can take between 3-6 weeks. Once this has been done, we can distribute the assets, which normally takes 2-4 weeks.

2. Probate – Applying for the grant alone

We can help you through this difficult process by getting the Grant of Probate on your behalf if you are able to give us the date of death values of the assets, plus liabilities and other information we will need. This does not include collecting and distributing the assets.

How much does this service cost?

TOTAL: fixed fee of £2,295

This includes: obtaining the grant alone.

Breakdown of costs:

Legal fees £1,650

VAT on legal fees £330

Disbursements (£315 in total):

• Probate court fee of £315 (including 10 official copies).

Disbursements are costs relating to your matter that are payable to third parties, such as court fees. We handle the payment of disbursements on your behalf to make sure the process runs smoothly. 

As part of our fixed fee we will:

• Provide you with a dedicated and experienced probate solicitor to work with you on your matter
• Identify the legally appointed executors or administrators and beneficiaries
• Accurately identify the type of Probate application you will need
• Get the necessary documents needed to make the application
• Complete the Probate Application and the relevant HMRC forms (not a full IHT400 which is required in larger or more complex estates)
• Draft a legal statement for you to sign
• Make the application to the Probate Court on your behalf
• Get the Probate and securely send 10 official copies to you

Typically, the time it takes from when you first instruct us to getting a grant of probate is 10-20 weeks.