Fees

OUR FEES

Affordable Legal Help, A Team You Can Trust

Probate &

Administration Costs

Legal Fees, Costs & Disbursements

There are many ways of costing the probate or administration of an estate such as: –

A fixed fee based on a percentage of the estate;
an hourly rate, or;
a fixed fee up to a certain fee and thereafter an hourly rate.

We will agree with you at the outset how our charge will be calculated.

We can handle the whole process for you.

We anticipate that this will take between eight and twenty hours. 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.

Simple Estate
where there
- is a valid will:
- is no more than one property;
- are no more than 2 bank or building society accounts;
- are no other intangible assets;
- are up to 2 beneficiaries;
- are no disputes between beneficiaries on division of assets. If disputes arise this is likely to lead to an increase in costs;
- is no inheritance tax payable and the executors do not need to submit a full account to HMRC;
- are no claims made against the estate.
Please contact us for a free quote.
Complex Estate
where one or more of the following apply:
- there is no valid will:
- there is more than one property;
- there are several bank or building society accounts;
- there are insurance policies, investments, business assets or trusts
- there are several beneficiaries;
- disputes between beneficiaries on division of assets. If disputes arise this is likely to lead to an increase in costs;
- inheritance tax payable and the executors/ we need to submit a full account to HMRC;
- possible claim against the estate.
Please contact us for a free quote.
Disbursements
The likely disbursements (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) the fees are: –
- Probate application fee is currently £273
- Bankruptcy only Land Charges search fee £2 per beneficiary
- £250 (approximately) for legal notices in the London Gazette and a local newspaper – this protects against unexpected claims from unknown creditors
- £4 per copy death certificate – we would normally need at least 6 copie
Please contact us for a free quote.
Potential additional costs

If any additional copies of the grant are required, they will cost £0.50p (1 per asset usually).

Dealing with the sale or transfer of any property in the estate is not included – this would be costed separately with more information provided.

Obtaining Probate Only

If you would prefer to carry out some of the work yourself but want the certainty that the application for the Grant of Probate (or Grant of Letters of Administration) has been professionally dealt with, then we offer a ‘Grant Only Service’.

Please contact us for a free quote for this service.

How long will it take?

On average, simple estates will typically take three to six months to wind up. More complex estates can take up to eighteen months.

A number of factors can affect the time it takes to complete the administration, and consequently the cost – the nature and extent of the assets in the estate, the question of liability for Inheritance Tax, and the presence of foreign assets, for example. Only with detailed information can an accurate estimate of costs be given in any particular case.

Please enquire with our team to find out more.

Residential

Property Costs

Legal Fees and Costs associated to Residential Property

Property transactions are never the same and our fees will reflect the particular requirements of your transaction. For example, the acquisition of a listed building may by reason of the added complexities, cost more than dealing with the acquisition of a freehold property. Please contact us for a detailed cost assessment.

Sales – Freehold
Our fees for a sale of a freehold property range from £695 to £2,500 plus VAT, a property with a value of more than £1M will fall outside this fee range. The average fee on a straight forward sale is £795 plus VAT. There is a bank charge fee of £35 plus VAT to redeem any mortgages or send monies to you on completion.

Our fees would include us providing the following: –
- Providing an initial quotation at the outset to ensure we know the particulars of your conveyance
- Taking your instructions and checking your identity for anti-money laundering compliance
- Providing forms for your completion so you can tell us about your property and enable to us draft contract documentation
- Download the Official Title from Land Registry and draft contract and forward to the buyers Solicitors
- Responding to any enquiries raised by the buyer’s solicitors
- Agreeing a completion date with yourselves and any other parties in the chain
- Obtaining redemption figures for any charges over the property
- Complete the sale, redeem any or all charges and account to you on completion
Sales – Leasehold

Our fees for a sale of a leasehold property range from £750 to £2,500 plus VAT. If there are additional fees payable these will be provided for in our quotation.

If the sale property is a managed leasehold title there is every likelihood that you would be expected to provide a leasehold information pack. This is provided by the Management Company or Agent for Freeholder. The Management Company will charge you a fee of approximately £300 plus VAT. We would request the pack on your behalf following receipt of payment from you.
Disbursements relating to a sale of a property
Disbursements are fees that we pay to a third party on your behalf such as Land Registry or a search provider. For a sale the likely disbursements are: –
- Title plan and register £6 (£3 each)
- If leasehold an additional – £3 for the freehold register
- Copy lease/conveyance – £3 per copy
- Leasehold Information Pack – to be advised once known from the managing agents

How long will it take?

Dependent on the length of the chain in a property transaction a sale will usually take between six to twelve weeks. In order to proceed we would require your formal instructions and your I.D. as well as monies on account to purchase the leasehold information pack if the property being sold is leasehold.

Purchases – Freehold

Our base fees for a purchase start from £725 rising to £2,500 plus VAT. Purchases of above £1 million would be quoted for separately. A typical cost would be £825 plus VAT. There would also be an additional bank charge fee of £35 plus VAT to forward the purchase monies to the sellers’ solicitors on completion.

Our fees would include us providing the following: –

Providing an initial quotation at the outset to ensure we know the particulars of your conveyance
Taking your instructions and checking your identity for anti-money laundering compliance and the source of funds being used to purchase the property
Checking the contract documentation and advising you of the same
Carrying out any necessary searches on the property being purchased and raising enquiries resulting from those searches and the contract documentation received
Advising you and liaising with you to sign the contract paperwork
Agreeing a completion date with you and the rest of the chain and exchanging contracts
Providing you with a completion statement to obtain any additional funds for completion
Corresponding with your Mortgage lender if applicable to obtain mortgage funds
Complete the purchase, complete and submit the Stamp Duty/Land Transaction Tax and registering the purchase and any mortgage with Land Registry.

Disbursements relating to the purchase of a property
The likely disbursements are: –
- Searches £300-£350 dependent on the property address as some areas require additional searches.
- Pre-completion searches £3 to carry out a priority completion search plus bankruptcy searches at £2 per person if there is a mortgage.
- Registration fee £ – there is a scale of charges payable to Land Registry which is based on the purchase price please follow: www.gov.uk/guidance/hm-land-registry-registration-services-fees#scale-1-fees
Stamp Duty Land Tax £ the fee payable depends on the purchase price, if you are a first-time buyer or if the property being purchased is an additional home.

To find out the fee payable please follow; www.tax.service.gov.uk/calculate-stamp-duty-land-tax/#/intro

if the property is in Wales then Welsh Land Tax is payable, to calculate the fee payable please follow: https://beta.gov.wales/land-transaction-tax-calculator

Purchases –

Leasehold Properties

Our fees would include all those set out above in the purchase of a freehold property, however there would be fees payable on completion for the following: –

Advising the management company/agents for the Freeholder that you are now the new owners of the property and serving the required Notices as set out in the lease but usually to include a Notice of Mortgage.

There may be additional fees and disbursements to discharge such as: –

Notice of transfer/mortgage – variable but typically between £60 and £120 per notice
Certificate of Compliance fee – variable but typically between £100 and £200
And if required under the terms of the lease a shared transfer fee if relevant and registration fee for a Deed of Covenant

How long will it take?

The legal work for a purchase may take between six to twelve weeks, depending whether the property is leasehold or freehold and if there is a requirement for a mortgage. Exchange of contracts cannot take place until all enquires are satisfied and a mortgage offer is received. Where the property is leasehold or a new build it may take longer. In order to proceed we would require your formal instructions and your ID.

Re-Mortgage

Our fees in dealing with a re-mortgage start from £525 plus VAT. This will depend on how many existing charges over the property will to be discharged. There would be an additional bank charge fee of £35 plus VAT to redeem any existing mortgage charge.

Our fees would include providing the following: –

An initial quotation at the outset
Taking your instructions
Carrying out any necessary searches on the property required by your lender
Checking and advising you in relation to the mortgage offer and obtaining your signature
Obtaining a redemption figure from your existing lender if applicable
Obtain any additional funds for completion from you
Corresponding with your Mortgage lender if applicable to obtain mortgage funds
Complete the re-mortgage and registering the mortgage with Land Registry.

Disbursements
The likely disbursements are: –
- Searches: £150 – £300 depending on your lender’s requirements.
- Pre-completion searches £3 priority completion search, plus £2 per person bankruptcy search
- Land Registry £3 to download your existing title setting out the current charge on the property. There would also be a registration fee payable to register the new mortgage charge.
The fee is based on the value of the property set out on scale 2 charges by Land Registry, this can be found at: – https://www.gov.uk/guidance/hm-land-registry-registration-services-fees#fee-reductions-when-using-scale-2

Re-Mortgage

Our fees would include providing the following: –

An initial quotation at the outset
Taking your instructions
Carrying out any necessary searches on the property required by your lender
Checking and advising you in relation to the mortgage offer and obtaining your signature
Obtaining a redemption figure from your existing lender if applicable
Obtain any additional funds for completion from you
Corresponding with your Mortgage lender if applicable to obtain mortgage funds
Complete the re-mortgage and registering the mortgage with Land Registry.

Disbursements
The likely disbursements are: –
- Searches: £150 – £300 depending on your lender’s requirements.
- Pre-completion searches £3 priority completion search, plus £2 per person bankruptcy search
- Land Registry £3 to download your existing title setting out the current charge on the property. There would also be a registration fee payable to register the new mortgage charge.
The fee is based on the value of the property set out on scale 2 charges by Land Registry, this can be found at: – https://www.gov.uk/guidance/hm-land-registry-registration-services-fees#fee-reductions-when-using-scale-2

How long will it take?

A re-mortgage may take between four to eight weeks. Normally within two weeks once the mortgage documents are received from your mortgage lender. In order to proceed we would require your formal instructions and your ID.

A significant and majority of our fees are fixed for conveyancing, however should a conveyance become abortive the time spent on the file would be calculated on an hourly rate. Please get in touch for more information.

Family

Hourly Rate
- Our Family Solicitor, Partner and Head of Department, Mr Taswar Hayat’s, hourly rate is £285 plus VAT.
- Trainee Solicitors and Paralegal's hourly rates are £165 plus VAT.
- For more information regarding fee arrangements please contact us.
Fixed Fee

Fixed Fee arrangements are subject to consultation.
Process Servers

Process servers are trained to find individuals and ensure that they are given notice of a legal action that is being taken against them. Proper service of process is required before a legal proceeding can get underway.

Court Fees

Click the link to download the document:

Court Fees

WE ARE BLACKHAMS

Blackhams, which is the practising name of Bradley & Cuthbertson LLP, are authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (“SRA”) to provide legal services in England and Wales with SRA number 638657. A copy of Solicitors’ Code of Conduct can be found at sra.org.uk

QUICK LINKS

BIRMINGHAM

Lancaster House, 67 Newhall Street
Birmingham, B3 1NR

0121 233 6900
info@blackhams.com

SOLIHULL

42a Poplar Road
Solihull, B91 3AB

0121 705 9020
info@blackhams.com

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EMERGENCY CONTACT

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OUR FEES

Affordable Legal Help, A Team You Can Trust

Probate &

Administration Costs

Simple Estate

Complex Estate

Disbursements

Potential additional costs

Obtaining Probate Only

How long will it take?

Residential

Property Costs

Sales – Freehold

Sales – Leasehold

Disbursements relating to a sale of a property

How long will it take?

Purchases – Freehold

Disbursements relating to the purchase of a property

Purchases –

Leasehold Properties

How long will it take?

Re-Mortgage

Disbursements

Re-Mortgage

Disbursements

How long will it take?

Family

Hourly Rate

Fixed Fee

Process Servers

Court Fees