Costs
Lasting Powers of Attorney
A Lasting Power of Attorney enables someone you trust, who is called here an Attorney to make decisions on your behalf about your property and affairs and/or your health and welfare. In order to make a Lasting Power of Attorney you must be over 18 years of age and have mental capacity.
You need to register the lasting power of attorney as if it is not registered your attorney will not be able to make decisions on your behalf.
Your Attorneys need to be over the age of 18, they could be a relative, friend, a professional for example a Solicitor, or your spouse. You must appoint someone who has the mental capacity to make their own decisions.
Your attorney does not need to live in the UK or be a British citizen. When choosing an attorney you must think about how well they look after their own affairs for example, their finances, how well you know them and whether you can trust them to make a decision in your best interest, you must also think how comfortable will they be to make a decision for you.
If you are appointing more than one attorney then you must decide if they will make decisions separately or together, sometimes called jointly and severally, which means attorneys can make decisions on their own or with other attorneys together sometimes going to jointly means all the attorney have to agree on the decision. You can also choose to let them make some decisions jointly, and other jointly and severally.
You will need to register the lasting power of attorney as if it is not registered your attorney will not be able to make decisions on your behalf.
We handle all the above and advice you on the steps and register your Lasting Power of Attorney on your behalf.
Our Fees:
Lasting Power of Attorney for Property and Finance £750.00 plus VAT
Lasting Power of Attorney for Health and Welfare £750.00 plus VAT
Immigration Costs
We provide tailor made service to each individual need. We provide initial consultation either via face to face or online, for a nominal cost of £50.00 including VAT.
At that meeting, we usually assess the merits of your case, and advice you on the likely steps and confirm whether your case is suitable for a fixed fee or our on our hourly rate, with estimated number of hours required for your case.
If we have agreed a fixed fees for your case, then the fees will include the following steps at no additional cost to you.
The work will involve:
- discussing your circumstances in detail and confirming the most appropriate application for you to make and what other options may be available to you (if any);
- giving you advice about the requirements of the Immigration Rules and whether you meet the criteria.
- if you do not fulfil certain criteria, whether this can be overcome and how.
- considering the supporting evidence you have provided.
- where necessary, helping you obtain further evidence (such as medical records and bank statements), including taking statements of any witnesses;
- preparing your application and submitting it on your behalf;
- giving you advice about the outcome of the application and any further steps you need to take.
In addition to our costs, you will be responsible for disbursements. Disbursements are costs related to your matter that are payable to third parties, such as visa fees. We handle the payment of the disbursements on your behalf to ensure a smoother process.
- If you require services of an interpreter for us to take proper instructions from you, then you will be responsible for those costs. Interpreters fees is usually at £75 per hour. In majority of Immigration cases, it takes between 2 to 4 hours of interpreter’s time but will depend on the complexity of your case.
- Independent expert reports e.g. medical experts. These are not required in many cases: we will let you know as soon as possible if we consider an expert report is necessary. If required we will obtain medical experts cost estimate on your behalf and only instruct them after their fees has been agreed with you in advance.
- If there is an interview and we do attend with you, there will be additional disbursements in respect of our mileage/travel expenses. We will agree those costs with you before incurring such costs.
The costs quoted here do not include:
- Where the Home Office refuse your application, advice and assistance in relation to any appeal
How long will my application take?
- We cannot guarantee how long the Home Office will take to process your application. Read the current processing times.
- We will normally be able to submit your application within 4 to 6 weeks’ time, unless of course the deadline is earlier. We usually would provide timescale when we take instructions from you so that you are always aware of the timescale.
Our usual fixed fee charges are as follows:
| Dependants Of Tier 1 General Migrant Leave to Remain or Enter | £1500.00 per applicant |
| Indefinite Leave to Remain, Tier 1, 10 year lawful residence, spouse etc. | £1500.00 |
| Entry Clearance as a point based migrant | From £2,000.00 to £4,000.00 depending on the complexity of the matter. |
| Extension of Leave, Point based system, Spouse, unmarried partner | £1500.00 |
| Fiancé Visa | £1750.00 |
| Entry Clearance as a spouse or Civil Partner | £1750.00 |
| EEA Settled Status Application | £750.00 |
| EEA pre-settled status | £1,000.00 |
| EEA Family member, leave to enter | £2,000.00 |
| EEA Family member PR | £2,000.00 |
| Naturalisation /Registration as a British Citizen | £1000.00 |
| Family Visit or Business Visit Visa | £1250.00 |
In addition to our costs, you will be responsible for disbursements. Disbursements are costs related to your matter that are payable to third parties, such as visa fees. The UKVI fees vary and range between £95.00 for entry clearance as a visitor to £3,250.00 for an application as an elderly dependant. You could also check exact fees for your application at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/visa-regulations-revised-table
We will provide you with full details of exact disbursement upon request or when we send you our terms of business.
We handle the payment of the disbursements on your behalf to ensure a smoother process.
Tribunal/ Court Representations
- Our average Fee for Appeal against all Entry Clearance Officer Refusal of visa Applications or leave to remain is £2000.00 . On average it takes about 20 hours to complete the work depending on the available documentation.
The work covers:
- Discussing reasons for refusal and advising on potential grounds for appeal
- Perusing all paper work relating to the appeal.
- Advising on the prospects of success
- Advising on the documents required to support the appeal
- Drafting grounds of appeal
- Completing the relevant appeal form, and submitting the appeal form, the grounds of appeal and the supporting documents to the First Tier Tribunal;
- Instructing a counsel, when necessary and preparation of brief for counsel
- Preparing witness statements, paginated and indexed hearing bundle
- Service of the bundle to all relevant parties
- Liaising with the first-tier tribunal after the filing of the appeal;
- Considering the Home Office/ Respondent’s Bundle and any review of the application by the Entry Clearance Manager (ECM) as a result of the appeal;
- Regularly updating you on the progress of your matter.
The work we undertake will not include:
- Further appeal, for example to the Upper Tribunal if the appeal to the First tier Tribunal was refused
- Notice of appeal fee
- Counsel’s or solicitor’s fee for tribunal hearing attendance
Disbursements
Disbursements. In addition to the above you will be responsible to pay court fees, which is currently £140.00. If we instruct a Counsel then you will be required to make payment of the Counsel’s fees. Counsel’s fee depends on the seniority of the Counsel and range between £750 and £2500.00
VAT
Vat in Immigration cases depends on the circumstance of your status. We will confirm whether VAT (at the rate of 20%) is payable when we have your instructions. At that time we will work out if VAT is properly chargeable.
If we have not agreed fixed fee with you, then we would provide you with anticipated hours of work required in your case. Please note the anticipated number of hours and fees are an estimate based on the facts provided by you. All applications are likely to vary and of course, we can give you a more accurate estimate once we have more information about your specific case
Our Hourly rates are as follows;
Partner £225.00 + vat an Hour
Associate: £175.00 + vat an Hour
Solicitors: £175.00 + vat an Hour
Trainee: £ 75.00 + vat an Hour.
In addition to our costs, you will be responsible for disbursements. Disbursements are costs related to your matter that are payable to third parties, such as visa fees. We handle the payment of the disbursements on your behalf to ensure a smoother process.
- If you require services of an interpreter for us to take proper instructions from you, then you will be responsible for those costs. Interpreters fees is usually at £75 per hour. In majority of Immigration cases, it takes between 2 to 4 hours of interpreter’s time but will depend on the complexity of your case.
- Independent expert reports e.g. medical experts. These are not required in many cases: we will let you know as soon as possible if we consider an expert report is necessary. If required we will obtain medical experts cost estimate on your behalf and only instruct them after their fees has been agreed with you in advance.
- If there is an interview and we do attend with you, there will be additional disbursements in respect of our mileage/travel expenses. We will agree those costs with you before incurring such costs.
The costs quoted here do not include:
- Where the Home Office refuse your application, advice and assistance in relation to any appeal
Probate Costs
Applying for the grant, collecting and distributing the assets
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, costs will be at the higher end.
On average it takes between 10 to 20 hours of work for this type of transaction, which would costs between £2250.00 and £4,500.00 plus vat @ 20%.
We will handle the full process for you. In this example we have assumed the following:
- There is a valid will
- There is no more than one property
- There are no more than 3 bank or building society accounts
- There are no other intangible assets
- There are no more than 2 beneficiaries
- There are no disputes between beneficiaries on 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 included in this fee:
- Probate application fee of £215.00 (No fees payable if the estate is under £5,000)
- £6 Swearing of the oath (per executor)
- Bankruptcy-only Land Charges Department searches (£2 per beneficiary)
- £73.20 Post in The London Gazette – Protects against unexpected claims from unknown creditors.
- £75.00 Post in a Local Newspaper – This also helps to protect against unexpected claims.
Disbursements are costs related to your matter that are payable to third parties, such as court fees. We handle the payment of the disbursements on your behalf to ensure a smoother process.
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 is to be dealt with. We can give you a more accurate quote once we have more information.
- If any additional copies of the grant are required, 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, small estates are dealt with within 6 months. Typically, obtaining the grant of probate takes 12 weeks. Collecting assets then follows, which can take between 4-12 weeks. Once this has been done, we can distribute the assets, which normally takes 2-4 weeks.
Conveyancing Costs
Purchase of a 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 dealing with the payment of Stamp Duty Land Tax (Stamp Duty) if the property is in England, or Land Transaction Tax (Land Tax) if the property is in Wales.
Conveyancer’s fees and disbursements
Please use our online fee calculator for exact costs: Get A Conveyancing quote
Disbursements
Disbursements are costs related to your matter that are payable to third parties, such as search fees. We handle the payment of the disbursements on your behalf to ensure a smoother process. There are certain disbursements which will be set out in the individual lease relating to the Property. The disbursements which we anticipate will apply are set out separately below. This list is not exhaustive and other disbursements may apply depending on the term of the lease. We will update you on the specific fees upon receipt and review of the lease from the seller’s solicitors.
- Notice of Transfer fee – This fee if chargeable is set out in the lease. Often the fee is between £100 and £250.00.
- Notice of Charge fee (if the property is to be mortgaged) – This fee is set out in the lease. Often the fee is between £100 and £350.
- Deed of Covenant fee – This fee is provided by the management company for the property and can be difficult to estimate. Often it is between £150.00 and £350.00.
- Certificate of Compliance fee – To be confirmed upon receipt of the lease, as can range between £100 and £250.00.
The above additional fees vary from property to property and can on occasion be significantly more than the ranges given above. We can give you an accurate figure once we have sight of your specific documents.
You should also be aware that ground rent and service charge are likely to apply throughout your ownership of the property. We will confirm the ground rent and the anticipated service charge as soon as this we receive this information.
Stamp Duty 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 or if the property is located in Wales by using the Welsh Revenue Authority’s website.
The precise stages involved in the purchase of a residential property vary according to the circumstances. However, below we have suggested some key stages that you may wish to include:
- Take your instructions and give you initial advice
- Check finances are in place to fund purchase and contact lender’s solicitors if needed
- Receive and advise on contract documents
- Carry out searches
- Obtain further planning documentation if required
- Make any necessary enquiries of seller’s solicitor
- Give you advice on all documents and information received
- Go through conditions of mortgage offer
- Send final contract to you for signature
- Draft Transfer
- Advise you on joint ownership
- Obtain pre-completion searches
- Agree completion date (date from which you own the property)
- Exchange contracts and notify you that this has happened
- Arrange for all monies needed to be received from lender and you
- Complete purchase
- Deal with payment of Stamp Duty/Land Tax
- Deal with application for registration at Land Registry
How long will my house purchase take?
- How long it will take from your offer being accepted until you can move in to your house will depend on a number of factors. The average process takes between 8-16 weeks.
- It can be quicker or slower, depending on the parties in the chain. For example, if you are a first time buyer, purchasing a new build property with a mortgage in principle, it could take 12 weeks. However, if you are buying a leasehold property that requires an extension of the lease, this can take significantly longer, between 3 and 6 months. In such, a situation additional charges would apply.
* Our fee assumes that:
- this is a standard transaction and that no unforeseen matters arise including for example (but not limited to) a defect in title which requires remedying prior to completion or the preparation of additional documents ancillary to the main transaction
- this is the assignment of an existing lease and is not the grant of a new lease
- the transaction is concluded in a timely manner and no unforeseen complication arise
- all parties to the transaction are co-operative and there is no unreasonable delay from third parties providing documentation
- no indemnity policies are required. Additional disbursements and costs may apply if indemnity policies are required.
