Price Transparency for our Legal Services in Scotland

Hunter & Robertson Solicitors is a Firm registered with the Law Society of Scotland. Among many legal practice requirements, the Law Society has issued Guidance on what is called Transparent Pricing. This is information to be made available to clients and potential clients about fees, outlays and costs that may be incurred when instructing solicitors. The Guidance is in place for all firms in Scotland that offer legal services to consumers/private clients. Should you have any queries regarding our fees for your particular circumstances please contact us here.  The following are examples of what our fees may be for the services we provide, as illustrations of what the costs may be for a particular matter. No two transactions or matters are the same and we may have to charge additional fees + VAT and perhaps outlays if a matter turns out to be more complex than originally envisaged.

Wills

Wills are important documents and our fee + VAT for a straightforward, simple or basic will is - 

• Single Will – £150
• Mirror Will – £275
Outlays:

• VAT: £30/£55
• If we are asked to discuss and/or provide advice on such matters as inheritance tax, or there are more complex inheritance issues, then there will be an additional charge. If we have to carry out a home or hospital visit for the arrangement or signing of the will there will be an additional charge of £50 + VAT.

 

Power of Attorney

Our fee for a basic Continuing and Welfare Power of Attorney is - 

• Single Power of Attorney – £250 + VAT: £50
• For a couple – £400 + VAT: £80
• Outlay to OPG – £87/£174
• If we have to carry out a home or hospital visit for the arrangement or signing of the power of attorney there will be an additional charge of £50 + VAT.

 

Guardianship

Guardianships involve applying to the court to have an appropriate person appointed when a power of attorney cannot be set. It is an involved court application and can be complex in nature. It involves a solicitor appearing in court to speak about the application before the court decides whether to grant the award. Often due to the nature of the application, it is not possible to specify in advance what additional work and/or fees and costs may be involved but the fee may be - 

• Possible fee on an hourly rate: £2,200 plus VAT

Outlays:

• Sheriff court initial dues: £129
• Additional fee: £56
• Psychiatric report fee
• Medical report fee
• Sheriff officers' fee for service of application: £140

 

Purchase of Residential Property

The purchase of a house involves many stages, often carried out at speed and with several avenues of communication including amongst solicitors, lenders, search companies, mortgage brokers, estate agents, the Land Register of Scotland, etc. Hunter & Robertson provide conveyancing services for various types of property. Missives are negotiated and title deeds and searches examined and then a new title deed in the name(s) of the purchaser(s) is registered in the Land Register of Scotland whilst a tax return for reporting and paying Land & Building Transaction Tax (LBTT) for purchase prices which qualify, is submitted to Revenue Scotland. Whilst most purchase transactions proceed and settle (complete) without incident, occasionally unforeseen issues crop up which require to be discussed and acted upon and increase the complexity of the transaction. This will involve more time and work spent on the transaction which may involve an additional charge. Our minimum basic fee is -  

• Minimum fee – £695

Outlays:

• VAT: £130
• Registration dues of Disposition (title deed) on a price of, e.g., £160,000 – £400
• Standard Security (mortgage deed) if getting a mortgage: £80
• Advance Notice for Standard Security: £20
• LBTT: £300

 

Sale of Residential Property

The sale of a property also involves several stages including negotiating missives and ordering property searches and exhibiting these together with the title deeds to the purchaser's solicitors. If there is a mortgage over the property that will need to be paid off and the standard security (legal charge) will be discharged. The purchaser's solicitor will be able to ask questions to do with the property, the searches and the title deeds and these will require to be answered and often further information is provided to allow the purchaser to proceed. Our minimum basic fee is - 

• Minimum fee – £650

Outlays:

• VAT: £139
• Discharge registration dues: £80
• Search Dues: £192
• Advance Notice registration dues: £20

 

Remortgage of Residential Property

This is when an existing mortgage over a property is paid off and a new mortgage, usually with a different lender, replaces it. It involves discharging the existing standard security and a new one is registered on the title deed to replace it.

• Fixed fee – £450

Outlays:

• VAT: £90
• Discharge registration dues: £80
• Standard Security registration dues: £80
• Search dues: £60
• Advance Notice: £20

 

Discharge of Security

This is when a mortgage over a property has been paid off and the standard security is removed from the title deed -

• Fixed fee – £195

Outlays:

• VAT: £39
• Discharge registration dues: £80

 

Family Law

Every case is unique and there is not a template that can be used for each circumstance.  We tailor our advice to the individual circumstances of your case.  It is difficult to predict with certainty the total cost of our services.  We charge on a hourly basis for our services in the family law team.  The number of hours spent on your case will be determined by the complexity of the case and your individual circumstances.   At our initial meeting with you, we will discuss the likely cost of your case with you.  This will only be an indicative guide and will be reviewed as your case progresses.  We will invoice at the end of every month so that clients can keep track of costs. In addition, clients can call at any time to be advised of the current WIP (work in progress).

 

Agreements

There are some services that we can give you an indicative range of costs.  These are for the preparation of agreements such as cohabitation agreements and prenuptial agreements.

Depending on the circumstances and the complexity of the agreement the likely costs for preparation range from £600 to £1500.  There will be outlays payable of VAT and £22 to Registers of Scotland for registering the agreement. It may well be that we require to revise the initial quote provided if complicating factors arise such as multiple amendments or more detailed negotiations with your spouse or partner which requires us to spend more time on your matter.  Again, we would keep you up to date of any likely cost increases as the matter progresses. 

 

Separation Out of Court

Where a couple separate, there are a number of details that require to be resolved. Anything from where the children will stay, who will continue to live in the property, how the pensions will be divided and all other matters that arise from your separation. Each couple will have their own priorities and matters to be resolved and therefore the work can vary from client to client. If matters can be negotiated between solicitors, and an agreement can be reached, this can be drawn up into a legally binding document known as a Minute of Agreement which is signed by both parties and registered. Usually, this requires to be charged with reference to our hourly rate meaning the costs can range from £1,500 to £3,000 plus VAT. There will also be a fee for registration of the agreement, which is £20 if one is required, and £22 per document if more than one is required.

Where there is a pension share required, there will be an additional fee to the Pension Administrators/Trustees. There may also be other outlays which are applicable throughout your case. We will advise you of this prior to those costs being incurred.

 

Separation – Court Action Necessary

If you are unable to reach an agreement following your separation, and a court action is necessary to assist in the conclusion of your case, the costs can vary significantly depending on your instruction and the issues in dispute. There is always prospect of settlement even with following a court action being raised however, the overall costs will depend on the time spent on your case which is dictated by the value and complexity of your case. Longer marriages often have more assets which require to be resolved and where there are children involved, there often requires to be consideration for child care arrangements. There is also a court procedure which requires to be followed and the length of time taken to resolve matters can be unpredictable. For a court matter, we operate on our hourly rate. In these circumstances, fees can be in excess of £6,000. We will discuss these costs with you at the initial meeting and keep you up to date of any likely increases in costs as your case progresses. There are also court outlays which you may be liable for throughout. We will advise you of these.

 

Divorce

We are able to offer two services on a fixed fee basis.  These are for a ‘Simplified Divorce’ and an ‘Undefended Divorce’.

The ‘Simplified Divorce’ process may be used in circumstances where parties have been separated for a period of over 2 years or separated for a period of 1 year and both parties consent to the divorce, there are no children of the marriage under the age of 16 and there are no financial issues arising from the separation.  Our fixed fee includes a meeting with you or having a telephone consultation and obtaining the necessary information to ensure that this is the appropriate process for your circumstances, drafting the papers, arranging signature, notarise the application and submit to court.  The court outlay is set by the Scottish Courts Service and increases annually.  We will usually attempt service by recorded delivery post.  If that is unsuccessful then we will require to instruct sheriff officers to serve the papers on your spouse.  In those circumstances, the fee payable to sheriff officers will form a further outlay.

Simple Procedure Action

• Fee – £300

Outlays:

• Lodging application: £137
• Possible Sherrif Officers fees

Undefended Action

An undefended action of divorce may be used in circumstances where parties have been separated for a period of over 2 years or separated for a period of 1 year and both parties consent to the divorce, there are no financial issues arising from the separation and there are children of the marriage under the age of 16. 

Our fixed fee for this service includes our initial consultation whether in person or by telephone where we will obtain the necessary information to assess and advise whether this is the appropriate process.  We will thereafter draft the writ and inventory of productions and submit to the court for warranting.  Once warrant has been obtained, we will serve the papers on your spouse by recorded delivery mail.  If we require to serve the papers by a sheriff officer, then the fixed fee will also include that instruction. The fixed fee also includes the preparation of affidavits ( including notarisation), minute for decree and submission to the court to obtain decree.

Circumstances may arise during the course of the action such as you or your spouse moving address which may result in us requiring to undertake further work on your behalf.  If such additional work is required then we will have a further discussion with you to advise of the level of additional cost.

• Fee – £1,500

Outlays:

• Court fees for lodging Writ: £141
• Motion Fee: £54
• Affidavit lodging fee: £73 per affidavit
• Registrar fee to obtain extract marriage/birth certificates: £15 per certificate

 

Executry

When someone dies and they owned assets at the time of their death, their affairs require to be dealt with by way of winding up their estate. A person's "estate" can be made up of various things such as a house, money in bank accounts, shares, personal belongings of value, etc. If there is a will, that will direct to whom the person's estate is to go. If there is no will and the person has therefore died "intestate" but their affairs still need to be wound up, there are more stages involved than when someone dies leaving a will and the winding up of their estate can be more complex due to potential inheritance issues. There is likely to be additional fees, VAT and outlays in intestate estates. The person's estate -  assets owned by them at the time of their death - requires to be valued as at the date of death and inheritance tax may require to be paid on the estate if the value is over the relevant amount. Usually, a certificate of confirmation will require to be applied for from the Sheriff Court and once obtained, exhibited to various parties holding assets belonging to the estate. If there was no will, additional surety requires to be obtained first before the court will grant a certificate of confirmation. Once the estate is ingathered it is distributed amongst the beneficiaries entitled to it in terms of the will or according to the intestate rules of inheritance. Legal rights of certain people who might otherwise inherit, together with any debts due by the estate (for example DWP overpayments) may have to be dealt with on behalf of the estate. We have our executry files assessed for fees by the independent Auditor of Court who will issue a certificate to inform all parties, including us, what the fee should be. It is not possible to predict the likely fee in any executry estate due to the often unpredictable nature of each case.

• Hourly/unit charge
• Assessed by an independent Auditor of Court

 

Additional Info

• For all work charged hourly, we will invoice at the end of every month so that clients can keep track of costs. In addition, clients may call or email at any time to be advised of the current WIP (work in progress).
• Conveyancing: Minimum fees may be increased to reflect any complexity or extra responsibility required, especially for higher purchase/sale prices, etc.