We charge 0.5% of the sale or purchase price (subject to a minimum of £1,500 for freehold transactions and £2,000 for leasehold transactions) plus VAT and Disbursements.
Disbursements – are the expenses which we pay out on your behalf. In a typical conveyancing transaction this can include the following:
We will provide you with the exact amounts after we have reviewed the documentation in connection with your transaction.
In some instances, difficulties can occur which increases the amount of work that we must do for you and for which we will make an additional charge. For example, if legal title is defective or part of the property is unregistered; if building regulations or planning permission has not been obtained; and if crucial documents are not available. If this happens, we will try to let you know at the earliest possible time and discuss with you the difficulties and the level of any anticipated extra charges. If the transaction is delayed and it is necessary to redo any work, then we reserve the right to charge for any additional time spent at a rate of £200 per half hour plus Vat. For example, if any search results expire and it is necessary to carry out new searches.
If you are obtaining mortgage finance and your lender wishes to instruct another solicitor to act on its own behalf, then there may be additional costs to pay. If we are also instructed to act for your lender and there is a conflict of interest or a potential conflict of interest, we may insist that your lender is separately represented.
Should the transaction fail to complete, then our charges will be such less a sum as is reasonable having regard to the amount of work done by that stage of the transaction, together with VAT and any disbursements incurred.
Our fee will depend upon the amount of time which we estimate we will have to spend, as well as the value and the complexity of the deceased’s estate and financial affairs. In most cases our fees will be settled from the deceased’s estate at intervals. We will bill the estate after obtaining the Grant of Probate; after collecting in the assets, paying the liabilities and the legacies; and after preparing the Estate Accounts and making the final distribution. Most uncontested probate cases take between 10 and 40 hours. We charge £350 per hour plus VAT and disbursements. The work is carried out by a senior solicitor who will provide you with regular updates.
We also charge an additional fee of between 1.5% and 3% of the value of the gross estate to reflect the complexity and value of the deceased’s estate and their testamentary wishes. This is a lower charging rate than banks which charge 5%.
In our experience most probate cases take between 6 and 18 months. Timing to a large extent depends upon how long it takes to sell the assets of the estate; how long it takes to finalize the deceased’s tax affairs; and how well the deceased’s tax affairs were managed during their lifetime.
It is important to note that the Inheritance Tax account will have to be filed with HM Revenue & Customs before the Grant of Probate or Letters of Administration are granted. If there are no liquid assets in the estate from which to pay the inheritance tax liability, it may be necessary to sell assets from the deceased’s estate. This can cause a significant delay.
We may charge additional fees for cases where:
The usual disbursements and expenses include:
For undisputed debts up to the sum of £100,000 our charges are based upon the amount of time which we spend on recovering the money owed to you. We, like most Solicitor firms, charge out in units of one tenth of an hour. Our hourly charge for undisputed debt collection ranges from £250 to £400 per hour depending upon the complexity of the case. Our minimum charge for advice on recovering an undisputed debt is £600 plus VAT.
We will try to recover your debt without having to involve you in court proceedings.
For disputed debts we will provide you with fee information after considering the facts specific to your case.
Send us a short email about how we can help you with your legal issue to law@andrewtobias.co.uk
Or complete this form and we will contact you.
© Andrew Tobias & Co 2024
Send us a short email about how we can help you with your legal issue to law@andrewtobias.co.uk
Or complete this form and we will contact you.
© Andrew Tobias & Co 2024
Send us a short email about how we can help you with your legal issue to law@andrewtobias.co.uk
Or complete this form and we will contact you.
© 2024 Solicitor Solutions Ltd.