A Will is an important document to complete correctly in content, expression and execution. Wills are not necessarily straightforward and a Will is a necessary document. In Scotland the law of inheritance can be complex and very often not what the client expects in terms of the rights of family members to a share, or not, of the estate. Our Firm will almost certainly involve discussing and advising on options and risks to achieve even the most basic Will. If there are more complex family circumstances, dispositions of assets and/or potential or actual exposure to Inheritance Tax, then the work required may be extensive and thus carry additional fee charge.

For a basic consultation, advice, preparation of the single Will, completion, execution and storage, the fee may be £ plus VAT £ , or £ plus VAT £ for a couple of matching Wills.

There are various kinds of Powers of Attorney (POA). The most used is a document that supports a person who is incapax mentally and/or physically and cannot carry out his/her normal business and/or personal care – known as the “Combined Power of Attorney”. It allows a trusted friend or family member or multiplicity of people to do what is needed, armed with full legal rights conferred by “the Adult” as the granter of the POA is known under the Adults With Incapacity (Scotland) Act. The document is lengthy and complex and must be tailored to the specific needs and circumstances of the Adult. A basic POA may require meeting and consultation with the solicitor, the drafting of the POA document, its completion and execution (ie signing and witnessing) – it must also be certified by the solicitor, and then registered with the Office of Public Guardian Scotland (OPG) to take effect.

For a basic single POA, the fee may be £ plus VAT £ , or £ plus VAT £ for a couple of matching POAs. There may be an additional fee if a home or hospital visit is required. The outlay is currently £81 per POA, charged by and paid to the OPG.

Where creation of a Power of Attorney is not possible or is inappropriate, the alternative is for a suitable person, who may be a family member or another, to apply to the Sheriff Court to be appointed Guardian. This is a complex and very detailed court process involving much documentation and formal reporting by various parties, officials and personnel to satisfy the court that the court order is necessary and appropriate. It also involves personal appearance at court by the solicitor to conduct at least one formal hearing in front of the Sheriff before the order is permitted and awarded. The exact extent/amount of work cannot be specified in advance as it is dependent on so many different factors unique to each case. The Terms of Engagement letter often requires to include a time and line/hourly/unit rate charge.

A possible fee (based on that hourly/time and line formula) may be in the region of £2,300 plus VAT £460.

Outlays may include Sheriff Court initial dues £132, additional fee £57, psychiatric fee £240, medical report £224, sheriff officers for service of application etc £140.

The Firm deals with transactions for clients purchasing a home, whether it be a flat, house, new-build property, land to build upon. The work may involve communications, correspondence and advice by the solicitor with the client, correspondence with the estate agent and the seller’s solicitor, drawing up a range of documents including a formal legal offer and further missives, examination of title, inspection of searches and reports, drawing of a new title (disposition) and mortgage security where necessary, arranging completion/settlement of the transaction, obtaining and managing the funds from both client and mortgage lender, completion of Anti-Money Laundering procedures, submission of LBTT (Scottish Stamp Duty) return and making payment of tax where due to Revenue Scotland, registration of new title (and mortgage security where funding comes from a lender), reporting to client and lender after registration.

The fixed fee for this work with a price of say £120,000 may be £ plus VAT £ but will depend largely on the price of the property. We also can secure a favourable rate through working closely with a large number of local Estate Agents in our area.

Outlays are (for a transaction with price of say £160,000 part-funded by a mortgage) £380 to Registers of Scotland for registration of the title, £80 for registration of the mortgage, £20 for Advance Notice for the mortgage, £300 for LBTT (though less if first purchase and more – payment of Additional Dwelling Supplement/ADS – if buying a second property). LBTT and title registration dues change on sliding scales according to the price of the property so the foregoing illustration is not applicable to properties of different prices.

The Firm deals with transactions for clients selling a property, whether it be a flat, a house, or land to build upon. The work may involve communication and advice by the solicitor with the client, correspondence with the estate agents and the purchaser’s solicitor, drawing up a range of documents including a formal legal acceptance of the buyer’s offer and further missives, provision of title, ordering of searches and reports, revising of a new title (disposition) and discharging mortgage security where necessary, arranging completion/settlement of the transaction, managing the funds from buyer’s lawyer and redeeming outstanding mortgage to the lender, registration of discharge where necessary, reporting to and settling with the client.

The fixed fee for this work with a price of say £ may be £ plus VAT £ but will depend largely on the price of the property.

Outlays are £80 for registration of the security discharge, £20 for the Advance Notice for the title, £182 for title, property and coal mining searches.

The Firm deals with transactions for clients who are remortgaging a property. The work may involve communication and advice by the solicitor with the client, examination of title, drawing up a range of documents, including new mortgage security and a discharge of the old mortgage, ordering and inspection of searches and reports, obtaining and managing funds from the new mortgage lender, redeeming outstanding mortgage to the old lender, registration of discharge, arranging completion/settlement of the transaction, registration of new mortgage security, reporting to client and lender after registration.

The fixed fee for this work may be £ plus VAT £ .

Outlays are £80 for registration of the mortgage discharge, £80 for registration of the new mortgage

The Firm deals with a vast array of transactions within the Commercial sector. Given the huge spectrum of such work accurate fee guidance is impossible and the Terms of Engagement often requires to include a time-and-line/hourly/unit rate charge. Outlays will depend on the nature of the work.

For those lucky enough to have paid off their mortgage, there is an exercise to update title deeds known as discharge of security. “Security” is the correct Scottish legal word for mortgage. The mortgage lender has a charge over the client’s title while the loan remains under repayment, and this can be removed once full redemption has been made and the bank or lender no longer has a claim over the property.

For a basic discharge of security the fee may be £ plus VAT £.

The outlay is a charge of £80 payable to the Registers of Scotland together with the cost of an updated Title Sheet at a cost of £3.60.

When a marriage or domestic partnership breaks down there may be a range of legal matters to consider and settle. These may include property sale/transfer, sharing of financial assets and pensions, residence of and contact with children and any other financial matters.

This kind of work more than most others cannot be costed exactly in advance as each case is as different as each family is from another. These matters, if the negotiation between ex-partners via solicitors is successful is captured in a legally binding Minute of Agreement (contract) signed by both parties and registered. The Terms of Engagement letter often requires to include a time and line/hourly/unit rate charge.

A possible outcome is a fee, based on the time and line rate, of £ plus VAT £

Outlays may include a share of the registration dues of the Minute of Agreement £22 if paying for both extracts (copies), £11 if for one only. Where a pension share is required, a pension share implementation fee is possible to the Pension Administrators/Trustees which can vary greatly.

This Firm is experienced in all aspects of civil and criminal court work, such as contractual disputes, family disputes, including divorce, representing parents, carers and if appropriate children, residence and contact issues, adoptions, personal injury claims, employment issues including representation at an employment tribunal. Given the huge spectrum of such work accurate fee guidance is impossible, and the Terms of Engagement often require to include a time-and-line/hourly/unit rate charge. Outlays will depend on the nature of the work.

Executry is the name used by Solicitors for the work carried out in the winding up the estate of someone who has died. It is another area where it is difficult, and often impossible, to give accurate levels of fee in advance. The Terms of Engagement often require to include a time-and-line/hourly/unit rate charge. It also makes a difference to the amount of work whether or not there is available a valid Will signed by the deceased – more work and other costs are likely if there is no Will. The work may involve meetings and consultations between the family/executor and solicitors collating and valuing the assets and liabilities of the estate, corresponding with financial and other institutions (eg banks, building societies, share registrars, employers/pension administrators, DWP, HMRC, council tax departments, factors, mortgage lenders and more), drawing court documents and forms for Confirmation (Scottish equivalent of Probate), dealing with the Sheriff Court processing the forms, ingathering the final estate (ie collecting in all the monies) and payments of any debts incurred by the deceased and/or their estate, accounting to the executor and distributing the legacies and shares of estate amongst the beneficiaries.

There may also be a heritable property to sell or settle. That work is not included in this example as it is a conveyancing process (see Sale of Property above), nor is calculating and dealing with Inheritance Tax which affects only a limited number of estates and generates considerable work.

The fee for executry work in winding up a particular estate will vary dependant on the issues outlined above but might for instance be £ plus VAT £ .

Outlays may include Court Confirmation dues which vary in cost and are calculated value of the estate, plus a further cost for each individual certificate if needed.

In any legal matter we complete an identity check through Amiqus Resolution Limited at a cost of £12 per person. If we are handling more than one legal matter for you we would only charge this once.