The “legal costs” is the amount of money you will be required to pay to us or relevant third parties for all the legal work performed by us in carrying out your instructions. We set out below our Standard Legal Fees.

Standard Legal Fees will include: taking your instructions, providing legal advice and legal work, due diligence and regulatory checks in respect of money laundering and identity checks, explaining the whole process, providing advice on the relevant legal documents, producing the contract for the buyers solicitor, answering any questions that they raise on the title, completing the sale, redeeming any mortgage, paying estate agents and any leasehold management company and paying the balance to you, handling the cost transactions, making sure all paperwork is complete including the fixtures and fitting form, paying Land Registry charges, estate agents fees and sometimes the fees for leasehold management companies.

Our Standard Legal Fees will cover our professional services in respect of the legal work and advice required to complete a sale of property transaction on your residential property. We do not undertake sale of commercial property, for example business premises.

Our Standard Legal Fees for a residential sale are as follows, depending on the sale price:

• up to £349,999.000 is £950 plus VAT (£1,140.00 inc VAT at 20%)
• if is between £350,000.00 to £499,999.00 its £1,100 plus VAT (£1,320.00 inc VAT at 20%)
• if its between £500,000.00 to £749,999.00 its £1,395.00 plus VAT (£1,674.00 inc VAT at 20%)
• finally, if the sale is £750,000.00 or over, our Head of Department, David Williams, will provide you with a bespoke quote.

Additional fees will be charged if any of the following apply and we will confirm our fees as soon as possible:

• Unregistered properties additional £195 plus VAT (£234.00 inc VAT)
• Leasehold properties additional £195 plus VAT (£234.00 inc VAT)
• Help to Buy ISA and Lifetime ISA bonuses additional £50 + VAT (£60.00 inc VAT) per ISA
• Equity Release mortgages – £1295 + VAT = £1,554
• Third party verification £75 + VAT = £90
• Voluntary first registration £595 + VAT = £714
• Transfers of equity/gift £695 + VAT = £834
• Matrimonial transfers £695 + VAT = £834
• Adverse possession £795 + VAT = £954
• Statutory Declarations £100 + VAT = £120

Should the requirements for your matter extend beyond what our Standard Legal Fees cover we will charge an additional hourly rate of £180 plus VAT (£216.00 inc VAT)  – £220 plus VAT (£264 inc VAT) according to who has conduct of your matter (see below). The fees charged will be in accordance with the time spent on your matter.

If at any time our fees change, we will notify you and discuss the reasons for any changes. This will typically occur if you change your instructions, or your case involves an unforeseen complexity or becomes otherwise protracted.

Our Standard Legal Fees assume that

• this is a standard transaction
• no unforeseen matters or complications arise
• the transaction is concluded in a timely manner, and that there is no unreasonable delay from third parties providing documentation.

There are occasions where complications arise, unforeseen at the outset, that will require us to increase our original estimate. We will of course advise you as soon as we are aware, this is necessary before incurring additional costs.

Director – £240 plus VAT (£288.00 inc VAT).

David Williams is Head of Property at Onions & Davies Solicitors. He is a Director and Solicitor. David qualified in 1994 and specialises in all areas of residential property. David is a member of CQS which is the Law Society’s quality mark scheme.

Conveyancing Legal Executive – £180 plus VAT (£216.00 inc VAT).

Katherine Price is a Conveyancing Legal Executive at Onions & Davies Solicitors. She has 7 years of experience in all areas of residential property. Katherine is a member of CQS which is he Law Society’s quality mark scheme.

David Williams supervises the work of Katherine Price. He is a director and a qualified solicitor and his details are as set out above.

Alison Dutton Legal Secretary

Alison is a legal secretary supporting David and Katherine in the Property Department.

Disbursements are costs related to your matter that are payable to third parties, such as HM Land Registry Fees. We shall usually handle the payment of the disbursements on your behalf and we shall ask for payment of these on account of costs/disbursements.

You will be provided with a full list of disbursements in our formal quotation. If you need to incur any further disbursements during your case, you will be notified in advance of the reason and the amount.

Typical disbursements are:

• Anti-Money Laundering search as part of our Client Due Diligence:
  • £6.10 inc VAT for an individual based in the UK
  • £15,60 inc VAT) for an individual based overseas.
• HM Land Registry Search Fees of £4.20
• Bankruptcy search fees £3.20 per person
• Office copies of title deeds via infotrak £3.20 per deed
• HM Land Registry Fee. The fees chargeable by the land registry can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/hm-land-registry-registration-services-fees

We will charge the sum of £20 + VAT (a total of £24 inc VAT) for Electronic money transfers.

The average length of time to completion for a residential freehold property is between 6-10 weeks.

The process may be longer or faster depending on certain factors that might arise, and we will explain any unanticipated delays if these arise and it is likely that the transaction will take longer that the average length of time.

Leasehold transactions can take longer than freehold transactions because there are more documents to review and take into account, and it may be necessary to liaise with the Landlord or a Management Company.

The key stages of your matter will be as follows:

1. As soon as you know you are selling your property, let us have your instructions and the title deeds and documents;.
2. Give us instructions as to whether you have a related purchase.
3. We will give you a form for fixtures and fittings that needs to be completed and signed.
4. With all of this information we can then prepare the contract and send them to the buyer as soon as you have accepted an offer.
5. The buyers’ solicitors will then go through the paperwork and raise any enquiries.
6. We respond to these by using the information on the title deeds and your knowledge of the property.
7. You will then need to sign the contract and agree to the completion arrangements before the contracts are exchanged.
8. This then means the contract is legally binding.
9. If you are buying a property as well as selling then the contracts need to be exchanged throughout the whole property chain.
10. If you have a mortgage, we will obtain a redemption figure from your lender so this amount is paid on completion.
11. We will then calculate the amount to be received from the buyer, what needs to be paid out of this:
    1. Our fees
    2. Estate agents fees
    3. Mortgage and resulting amount to be passed on to you or used for your associated purchase.

The average selling of property will take between 8-12 weeks.

If you have any questions relating to our services and our fees, please contact us on 01630 652405 or email us at sols@onionsanddavies.co.uk

The Legal Costs is the amount of money you will be required to pay to us or relevant third parties for all of the legal work performed by us in carrying out your instructions. We have set out below what are our Standard Legal Fees.

Standard Legal Fees will include: taking your instructions, providing legal advice and legal work, due diligence and regulatory checks in respect of money laundering and identity checks, explaining the whole process, providing advice on relevant legal documents including the Mortgage Offer and conditions, liaising with third parties such as lenders, search providers etc, dealing with third party solicitors, handling costs transactions, advising on joint ownership and advising if trusts are necessary, dealing with execution of deeds and documents, finalising the transaction and subsequently applying to HM Land Registry to register the charge.

Our Standard Legal Fees will cover our professional services in respect of the legal work and advice required to complete a mortgage or re-mortgage transaction on your residential property. We do not undertake work relating to issues raised by surveys affecting the physical condition of the property.

Our Standard Legal Fees for a residential mortgage or re-mortgage transaction is £895 plus VAT (£714.00 inc VAT at 20%) and disbursements for a remortgage or further advance and £900 plus VAT and disbursements for an equity release.

Should the requirements for your matter extend beyond what our Standard Legal Fees cover we will charge an additional hourly rate of £180 plus VAT (£216.00 inc VAT) – £220 plus VAT (£264 inc VAT) according to who has conduct of your matter (see below). The fees charged will be in accordance with the time spent on your matter.

If at any stage our fees change, we will notify you and discuss the reason for any changes. This will typically occur if you change your instructions or your case involves an unforeseen complexity or becomes otherwise protracted.

Our Standard Legal Fees assume that

• this is a standard transaction
• no unforeseen matters or complications arise and
• the transaction is concluded in a timely manner, and that there is no unreasonable delay from third parties providing documentation.

There are occasions where complications arise, unforeseen at the outset, that will require us to increase our original estimate, We will of course advise you as soon as we are aware this is necessary before incurring the additional costs.

The Standard Legal Fees would increase in cases where the property Is leasehold, or freehold with a management company, or shared ownership and in cases where there is a Help to Buy Scheme. These fees vary according to circumstances and would warrant an increase to the range of fees set out above. We will confirm our fees as soon as possible.

Director – £240 plus VAT (£288 inc VAT).

David Williams is Head of Property at Onions & Davies Solicitor. He is a Director and Solicitor. David qualified in 1994 and specialises in all areas of residential property. David is a member of CQS which is the Law Society’s quality mark scheme.

Conveyancing Legal Executive – £180 plus VAT (£216.00 inc VAT).

Katherine Price is a Conveyancing Legal Executive at Onions & Davies Solicitors. She has 7 years experience in all areas of residential property. Katherine is a member of CQS which is the Law Society’s quality mark scheme.

Legal Secretary

Alison Dutton supports the work of David and Katherine in the Property Department

David Williams supervises the work of Katherine Price. He is a director and a qualified solicitor and his details are as set out above.

Disbursements are costs related to your matter that are payable to third parties, such as search fees and HM Land Registry fees. We shall usually handle the payment of the disbursements on your behalf and we shall ask for payment of these on account of costs/disbursements.

You will be provided with a full list of disbursements in our formal quotation. If you need to incur any further disbursements during your case, you will be notified in advance of the reason and the amount.

Typical disbursements are:

• Anti-Money Laundering search as part of our Client Due Diligence:
  • £6.10 inc VAT for an individual based in the UK
  • £15,60 inc VAT) for an individual based overseas.
• HM Land Registry Priority search fees £4.20
• Bankruptcy search fees £3.20 per person
• Office copies of title deeds via infotrak £3.20 per deed
• Search fees* will vary between local authorities but would approximately cost £200 inc VAT to supply the reports: There are usually Search Fees ranging from about £200 to £600 (no VAT)depending on what searches are required, Land Registry charges for registering your transaction ranging from about £20 to £910 (No VAT) depending on the value of the property and whether or not it has already been registered previously, and sometimes fees for leasehold management companies and Stamp Duty Land Tax. There is no VAT payable on search fees.

• HM Land Registry fee. The fees chargeable by the land registry can be found here https://www.gov.uk/guidance/hm-land-registry-registration-services-fees
• Your lender may agree to dispense with the requirement for searches provided you take out a suitable search indemnity policy. The cost of these varies according to the specific circumstances of your transaction. We can obtain a cost once we have details of your transaction.

The average length of time to completion for a residential freehold property is between 6-10 weeks.

The process may be longer or faster depending on certain factors that might arise, and we will explain any unanticipated delays if these arise and it is likely that the transaction will take longer that the average length of time.

Leasehold transactions can take longer than freehold transactions because there are more documents to review and take into account, and it may be necessary to liaise with the Landlord or a Management Company.

The key stages of your matter will be: –

1. Confirming your instructions and carrying out due diligence with ID in accordance with anti-money laundering protocols on behalf of your lender
2. Obtaining copies of your legal title from land registry or your deeds if unregistered
3. Receiving formal mortgage instructions from your chosen lender
4. Checking the legal title of your property to ensure there are no adverse entries that may affect the lenders security
5. Carrying out searches with the local authority, environment agencies and water authority.
6. Checking search results
7. Arranging signature of mortgage documents in readiness for completion
8. Certifying to the lender that the property affords good security and requesting the mortgage advance
9. Requesting a settlement figure for any existing mortgage
10. Carrying out pre-completion searches
11. Receiving new funds and paying off existing mortgage, settling coists and disbursements
12. Accounting to client for any surplus funds
13. Applying to land registry to register the new mortgage
14. Reporting to client once registration has completed and closing file

The average mortgage or re-mortgage will take between 6-8 weeks.

If you have any questions relating to our services and our fees, please contact us on 01630 652405 or email us at sols@onionsanddavies.co.uk

The legal costs is the amount of money you will be required to pay to us or relevant third parties for all the legal work performed by us in carrying out your instructions. We set out below our Standard Legal Fees.

This will include: taking your instructions, providing legal advice and legal work, explaining the whole process, providing advice on the relevant legal documents including any contracts and send them to the seller’s solicitors, producing the exchange contract, assessing the title to the property, raising questions in relation to the title and conducting any searches, reporting to you and your lender on the title, completing the purchase and any mortgage, registering the title with Land Registry and paying the Stamp Duty and providing you with copies of the updated Land Registry registers.

Our Standard Legal Fees will cover our professional services in respect of the legal work and advice required to complete a sale of property transaction on your residential property. We do not undertake any issues raised by commercial properties (properties within businesses)

Our Standard Legal Fees for a residential buying of property is up to £349,999.000 is £950 plus VAT (£1,140.00 inc VAT at 20%), if is between £350,000.00 to £499,999.00 its £1,100 plus VAT (£1,320.00 inc VAT at 20%), if its between £500,000.00 to £749,999.00 its £1,395.00 plus VAT (£1,674.00 inc VAT at 20%), finally if the sale is £750,000.00 or over then we would need to talk to the head of department Mr David Williams for a quote.

Additional costs:

• Equity Release mortgages – £1295 + VAT = £1,554
• Third party verification £75 + VAT = £90
• Voluntary first registration £595 + VAT = £714
• Transfers of equity/gift £695 + VAT = £834
• Matrimonial transfers £695 + VAT = £834
• Adverse possession £795 + VAT = £954
• Statutory Declarations £100 + VAT = £120

Should the requirements for your matter extend beyond what our Standard Legal Fees cover we will charge an hourly rate of £180 plus VAT (£216.00 inc VAT), £220 plus VAT (£264 inc VAT) according to who has conduct of your matter (see below). The fees charged will be in accordance with the time spent on your matter.

If at any time our fees change, we will notify you and discuss the reasons for any changes. This will typically occur if you change your instructions or your case involves an unforeseen complexity or becomes otherwise protracted.

Our Legal Costs assume that this is a standard transaction and that no unforeseen matters arise and that the transaction is concluded in a timely manner, that no unforeseen complications arise and that there is no unreasonable delay from third parties providing documentation. There are occasion where complications arise, unforeseen at the outset, that will require us to increase our original estimate. We will of course advice you as soon as we are aware, this is necessary before incurring additional costs.

The Standard Legal Fees would increase in cases where the property is leasehold at an additional £195 + VAT and if the property is unregistered it would be £195 + VAT. These fees vary according to circumstances and would warrant an increase to the range of fees set out above. We will confirm our fees as soon as possible.

Director – £240 plus VAT (£288 inc VAT).

David Williams is Head of Property at Onions & Davies Solicitor. He is a Director and Solicitor. David qualified in 1994 and specialises in all areas of residential property. David is a member of CQS which is the Law Society’s quality mark scheme.

Trainee CILEX £180 plus VAT (£216.00 inc VAT).

Katherine Price is a Trainee Legal Executive at Onions & Davies Solicitors. She has 7 years experience in all areas of residential property. Katherine is a member of CQS which is the Law Society’s quality mark scheme.

Legal Secretary

Alison Dutton supports David and Katherine in the legal administration of all matters

David Williams supervises the work of Katherine Price and Alison Dutton. He is a director and a qualified solicitor and his details are as set out above.

We will charge the sum of £20 + VAT (a total of £24 Inc. VAT) for Electronic money transfers.

Disbursements are costs related to your matter that are payable to third parties, such as search fees and HM Land Registry fees. We shall usually hand the payment of the disbursements on your behalf and we shall ask for payment of these on account of cost/disbursements.

You will be provided with a full list of disbursements in our formal quotation. If you need to incur any further disbursements during your case, you will be notified in advance of the reason and the amount.

Typical disbursements are:

• HM Land Registry Search Fees of £4.20
• Bankruptcy search fees £3.20 per person
• Office copies of title deeds via infotrak £3.20 per deed
• Search fees* will vary between local authorities but would approximately cost £200 inc VAT to supply reports; there are usually Search Fees from about £300 to £600 depending on what searches are required, Land Registry charges for registering your transaction ranging from about £20 to £910 depending on the value of the property and whether or not it has been previously registered, and sometimes fees for leasehold management companies. There is no VAT payable on search fees.
• Stamp Duty. This will vary dependent on the type and value of each transaction and will be explained in full on a case by case basis
• HM Land Registry Fee. The fees chargeable by the land registry can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/hm-land-registry-registration-services-fees
• Your lender may agree to dispense with the requirement for searches provided you take out a suitable search indemnity policy. The costs of these varies according to the specific circumstances of your transaction. We can obtain a cost once we have details of your transaction.
• Leasehold Property: You should also be aware that ground rent and service charges are likely to apply throughout your ownership of the property. We will confirm the ground rent and the anticipated service charge as soon as we receive this information.

The average length of time to completion for a residential freehold property is between 6-10 weeks.

The process may be longer or faster depending on certain factors that might arise, and we will explain any unanticipated delays if these arise and it is likely that the transaction will take longer that the average length of time.

Leasehold transactions can take longer than freehold transactions because there are more documents to review and take into account, and it may be necessary to liaise with the Landlord or a Management Company.

The Key Stages of your matter will be: –

1. As soon as you know you are going to buy a property, give us instructions.
2. If you are buying with a mortgage, this offer will be searched and issued.
3. Once results been received all questions stemming from the contract papers and survey answered, a report will be sent to your lender and the contracts be exchanged.
4. Have to be sure of everything. The completion dates before exchanging contracts, as everything will become legally binding.
5. Might have to pay a deposit on exchange of contracts and provide us with the money needed to complete transaction.
6. Also have to insure property from exchange of contracts as you are legally obliged to do.
7. Then between the exchange and completion, the transfer of conveyance is drawn up and signed.
8. This leads to the final practical question asked regarding keys and moving arrangements.
9. Once complete the money has to pass from the top chain (the buyer) to the last seller.

Only when each seller’s solicitors can confirm money been received can the keys be released

If you have any questions relating to our services and our fees, please contact us on 01630 652405 or email us at sols@onionsanddavies.co.uk

The legal costs are the amount of money you will be required to pay to us or relevant third parties for all the legal work performed by us in carrying out your instructions. We set out below our Standard Legal Fees for uncontested probate Uncontested probate is administration of an estate where there is no dispute over the Will.

We have an average standard legal fee for an uncontested probate matter based on whether it is carried out under an agreed fixed fee or at our usual hourly rates. The estimated cost (total excluding VAT) is as follows:

Fixed fees:

This covers obtaining the Grant from the Probate Registry. The fees are between £600 and £1,200 + VAT (£720 – £1,440 inc. VAT) depending on whether the simplified online probate procedure is required or whether a more involved, paper application is required or whether the full Inheritance Tax Return is required.

Hourly rates:

These are for estates where we do more than just obtain the Grant. The rates are between £170 and £250 + VAT (£204 and £300 inc. VAT) per hour depending on whether it is our more junior paralegal or our more senior solicitor who is doing the work.

• Private Client Paralegal – £190 + VAT (£228 inc. VAT) per hour
• Solicitor and Head of Department – £250 + VAT (£300 inc. VAT) per hour

We will always try to give an estimate of the total cost of the work, once the extent of the estate is known, and we will always discuss with the personal representatives and beneficiaries what work can be shared, in order to limit the cost.

Typically, the total costs for estates where we charge an hourly rate are between £3,000 and £5,000 + VAT (£3,600 – £6,000 inc. VAT). These costs are estimated on the following assumptions:

• There is one property
• There are no more than 5 beneficiaries and there are no disputes between the beneficiaries regarding the estate
• There is a valid Will and there are no claims made challenging this
• There are no complex assets, such as agricultural or foreign property, a business, digital assets or assets with copyright

If these criteria are exceeded, our fee estimate will be higher and we will notify you to discuss the change in the likely estimated fees. If at any time our fees change, we will notify you and discuss the reasons for any changes. This will typically occur if you change your instructions, or your case involves an unforeseen complexity or becomes otherwise protracted.

For fixed fee matters, should the requirements for your matter extend beyond what our standard fixed fees cover, we will charge an hourly rate of £190 + VAT (£228 inc VAT) or £250 plus VAT (£300 inc VAT) according to who has conduct of your matter for the extra work. The fees charged will be in accordance with the time spent on your matter.

Our basis of charging assume that this is a standard transaction and that no unforeseen matters arise and that the transaction is concluded in a timely manner, that no unforeseen complications arise and that there is no unreasonable delay from third parties providing documentation. There are occasions where complications arise, unforeseen at the outset, that will require us to increase our original estimate. We will of course advise you as soon as we are aware that this is necessary, before incurring additional costs.

We also will charge £20 + VAT (a total of £24 inc. VAT) for same day CHAPS transfers, and £50 + VAT (a total of £60 inc. VAT) for archiving the file so that it can be retrieved at a later date.

Our Standard Legal Fees will cover our professional services in respect of the legal work and advice required to complete the administration of the estate.

Fixed fees:

Using the information that you provide from the Will, the death certificate and about the assets and liabilities of the estate to produce the Inheritance Tax Return (if required) and the Legal Statement of Truth, paying the initial tax (if any), and applying for the Grant of Representation.

 Hourly rates:

Obtaining all the information required about the deceased and the assets and liabilities of the estate, to be able to prepare the Inheritance Tax Return (if required) and the Legal Statement of Truth, applying for the Grant of Representation, using the Grant to access all assets of the estate and pay all liabilities, including paying all taxes due, obtaining clearance from HMRC, paying legacies, providing estate accounts and distributing the rest of the estate to the beneficiaries.

Disbursements are costs related to your matter that are payable to third parties, such as fees to the Probate Registry. We shall usually handle the payment of the disbursements on your behalf, and we shall ask for payment of these on account.

Typical disbursements are:

• A Probate Court fee of £273 (plus £1.50 for each official copy).
• There can also be fees for Will searches, property and shares valuations, advertisements for creditors or missing beneficiaries, indemnity insurance, etc., depending on what the estate consists of.
• Bankruptcy searches: £2 per person
• Will searches: £114
• Advertisements: usually £100-300.

Director – £250 plus VAT (£300 inc VAT).

Chris Milne is Head of the Private Client Department at Onions & Davies Solicitors. He is a Director and Solicitor, and owner of the practice. Chris qualified in 1996 and specialises in all areas of Wills, Powers of Attorney, Probate and Estate Planning. Chris is a member of Solicitors for the Elderly and STEP – a global professional body, comprising lawyers, accountants, trustees and other practitioners that help families plan for their futures.

Paralegal £170 plus VAT (£204.00 inc VAT).

Sarah McDermott a Paralegal at Onions & Davies Solicitors. She has 13 years’ experience in all areas of private client work. 

Chris Milne supervises the work of Sarah McDermott. He is a Director and a qualified Solicitor and his details are as set out above.

The Key Stages of your matter will be: –

Fixed fees:

On average, where we are just obtaining a Grant, the Inheritance Tax Return is not required, and only the online Probate procedure is needed, this takes between 4-8 weeks.

Where a paper application for the Grant is required, or an Inheritance Tax Return is needed, the process usually takes between 3-6 months.

 Hourly rates:

Where we are helping administer the whole of the estate and not just obtaining the Grant, typically, obtaining the Grant takes 3-6 months (depending on the size of the estate), and collecting the assets and paying the liabilities then follows, which can take between 1-3 months. Once this has been done, we can pay legacies (which, ideally, should be paid within a year of someone dying), then obtain clearance from HMRC (which can take several weeks, depending on how busy HMRC are) and then distribute the assets. This final process normally takes about 1-3 months.

The exact stages vary from case to case, but a typical transaction would consist of the following stages:

• Meeting with one of our team to provide the death certificate, the Will and details about the assets and liabilities of the estate
• Compliance checks
• Obtaining asset and liability values from the various organisations
• Using this information to prepare the Probate application and the Inheritance Tax Return (if required)
• Submitting the application and the return, and paying any tax due
• Using the Grant to cash or transfer the assets and pay the liabilities, including any income tax or capital gains due
• Pay any legacies
• Obtain clearance from HMRC
• Produce final estate accounts for approval
• Wind up and distribute the estate

If you have any questions relating to our services and our fees, please contact us on 01630 652405 or email us at sols@onionsanddavies.co.uk.

Our Standard Legal Fee for a simple Will is £200 plus VAT (£240.00 inc. VAT at 20%).

Our Standard Legal Fee for joint simple Wills is £300 plus VAT (£360.00 inc. VAT at 20%).

These assume that this is a standard transaction, that the transaction is concluded in a timely manner, that no unforeseen complications arise, and that there is no unreasonable delay. There are occasions where complications arise, unforeseen at the outset, that will require us to increase our original estimate.

For fixed fee matters, should the requirements for your matter extend beyond what our Standard Legal Fee covers, we will charge an hourly rate of £190 plus VAT (£228 inc. VAT) or £250 plus VAT (£300 inc. VAT) depending on who has conduct of your matter for the extra work. The fees charged will be in accordance with the time spent on your matter.

Hourly rates

These are for more complex Wills, which may involve tax planning, disabled trusts, family trusts and property arrangements.

The rates are between £190.00 plus VAT (£228 inc. VAT at 20%) and £250 plus VAT (£300 inc. VAT) per hour, depending on whether it is our more junior Paralegal or our more senior Solicitor who is doing the work.

We will always try to give an estimate of the total cost of the work, once the extent of the work is known.

This estimate will assume that the transaction is concluded in a timely manner, that no unforeseen complications arise and that there is no unreasonable delay. There are occasions where complications arise, unforeseen at the outset, that will require us to increase our original estimate. We will of course advise you as soon as we are aware that this is necessary, before incurring additional costs.

Our Standard Legal Fees will cover our professional services in respect of the legal work and advice required to draft your Will.

Fixed fees

This will include taking your instructions over the telephone or at an appointment, either face to face or via video call, providing legal advice, explaining the whole process, drafting the Will, arranging for any additions or amendments, producing neat copies for signing, making arrangements for your execution of the Will, checking and storing signed Wills, providing copies, and registering the Will on the Certainty National Wills Register.

Hourly rates

This will include taking your instructions over the telephone or at an appointment, either face to face or via video call, providing legal advice, liaising with other professional advisers, explaining the whole process, drafting the Will and any related documents, such as a Notice of Severance of joint Tenancy, arranging for any additions or amendments, producing neat copies for signing, making arrangements for your execution of the documents, checking and storing signed Wills, providing copies, registering a severance with the Land Registry if necessary, and registering the Will on the Certainty National Wills Register.

Disbursements

Disbursements are costs related to your matter that are payable to third parties, such as Land Registry fees. We shall usually handle the payment of the disbursements on your behalf, and we shall ask for payment of these on account.

There are usually very few disbursements payable in a Wills matter.

Director – £250 plus VAT (£300 inc. VAT).

Chris Milne is Head of the Private Client Department at Onions & Davies Solicitors. He is a Director and Solicitor, and owner of the practice. Chris qualified in 1996 and specialises in all areas of Wills, Powers of Attorney, Probate and Estate Planning. Chris is a full, accredited member of Solicitors for the Elderly and STEP – a global professional body, comprising lawyers, accountants, trustees and other practitioners that help families plan for their futures.

Paralegal £190 plus VAT (£228.00 inc. VAT).

Sarah McDermott is a Paralegal at Onions & Davies Solicitors. She has 13 years’ experience in all areas of private client work.

Chris Milne supervises the work of Sarah McDermott. He is a Director and a qualified Solicitor and his details are as set out above.

Our Standard Legal Fees for a residential buying of property is up to £349,999.000 is £950 plus VAT (£1,140.00 inc VAT at 20%), if is between £350,000.00 to £499,999.00 its £1,100 plus VAT (£1,320.00 inc VAT at 20%), if its between £500,000.00 to £749,999.00 its £1,395.00 plus VAT (£1,674.00 inc VAT at 20%), finally if the sale is £750,000.00 or over then we would need to talk to the head of department Mr David Williams for a quote

Should the requirements for your matter extend beyond what our Standard Legal Fees cover we will charge an hourly rate of £180 plus VAT (£216.00 inc VAT), £220 plus VAT (£264 inc VAT) according to who has conduct of your matter (see below). The fees charged will be in accordance with the time spent on your matter.

If at any time our fees change, we will notify you and discuss the reasons for any changes. This will typically occur if you change your instructions or your case involves an unforeseen complexity or becomes otherwise protracted.

Our Legal Costs assume that this is a standard transaction and that no unforeseen matters arise and that the transaction is concluded in a timely manner, that no unforeseen complications arise and that there is no unreasonable delay from third parties providing documentation. There are occasion where complications arise, unforeseen at the outset, that will require us to increase our original estimate. We will of course advice you as soon as we are aware, this is necessary before incurring additional costs.

The Standard Legal Fees would increase in cases where the property is leasehold at an additional £195 + VAT and if the property is unregistered it would be £195 + VAT. These fees vary according to circumstances and would warrant an increase to the range of fees set out above. We will confirm our fees as soon as possible.

The key stages of your matter will be:

Fixed fees

We will take your initial instructions during our first discussion. We would aim to have a draft document to you for your approval within two weeks. We would then handle your further instructions by telephone or email and then make arrangements for you to execute the final version of your Will. The whole process should not take more than a few weeks.

Hourly rates

The same applies as for fixed fee matters (see above), but because the process involves more complex advice, possibly dealing with other agencies, such as the Land Registry, and liaising with other professional advisers, it can take a few weeks longer.

Stages of the Process

The exact stages vary from case to case, but a typical transaction would consist of the following stages:

• Meeting with one of our team to provide your instructions
• Compliance checks
• Producing a draft document for your review
• Taking your further instructions
• Producing a final version of the document for review
• Making arrangements for you to execute the document
• Checking and storing the signed document, and providing a copy
• Assisting with any related property arrangements, such as the severance of a joint tenancy and the registration of this
• Registering the Will on the Certainty National Wills Register.

If you have any questions relating to our services and our fees, please contact us on 01630 652405 or email us at sols@onionsanddavies.co.uk