LAURENCE HOLMES

SRA Transparency Rules

Full details of how our charges are calculated are set out in our terms and conditions explaining the basis on which we carry out work. 

The principal of this firm with responsibility for our work for you is Mr L. Holmes, a solicitor, who would be dealing with and is responsible for the overall supervision of any matter undertaken on your behalf. Mr Holmes has more than 10 years experience as a solicitor in private practice.

In general, our fees are likely to depend on the work that is undertaken.  The following are just some examples.

Family Law

If you are divorcing someone

If you initiate the divorce you will also have to pay the Court fee, if you do not qualify for a Fee Exemption or Remission.  In many cases we can claim a remission so that a reduced contribution is payable towards from the court fee, depending upon your income and assets. Aside from the court fee for the person beginning divorce proceedings we can do this work for a fixed fee of £360, which includes VAT.

Exemption from court fees

In addition to our own fixed fee, the courts levy a fee on making the divorce application, currently £593. You may be able to claim an exemption from the court fees, depending upon your income and assets, we can advise you about this and complete the relevant form on your behalf to claim the exemption or remission from the court saying.

If someone is divorcing you

If you are the respondent in a divorce (your spouse has initiated divorce proceedings) and where the divorce is uncontested by you we offer a fixed fee of £150 to handle the divorce on your behalf.  This includes our fees and VAT on our fees. You do not have to pay any Court fees if you are the respondent.

Conveyancing 

We do not deal with Residential Conveyancing as freestanding work or for Mortgage Lenders. We only deal with transfers of houses in connection with divorce proceedings/ relationship breakdown, e.g., where the property is transferred from joint names into one parties' name as part of the financial settlement.

Transfer of equity of a freehold residential property

Our fees cover the work required on your behalf (not including the mortgage lender's solicitors fees or any fees for acting on behalf of your former partner who must be separately represented) required to complete the transfer of your new home, including dealing with registration at the Land Registry if we are dealing with this (unless it is dealt with by the mortgage lender's solicitors or you are the transferor) but not dealing with the payment of Stamp Duty Land Tax (Stamp Duty).

The charges for the conveyancing work in connection with a transfer of equity of a freehold residential property into a sole name are as follows:

Conveyancer's fees:                                     £825.00*

VAT @ 20%:                                                      £165.00

Total:                                                               £990.00

The conveyancing work will be billed for separately from the divorce and financial proceedings.

Disbursements

In addition, disbursements may be payable, including costs that may be payable to third parties, such as Land Registry fees. Land Registry fees depend upon whether or not transfer is pursuant to a financial (divorce) order and the value of the property being transferred.

Land Registry fees

If a house or land has been transferred pursuant to a divorce financial order the Land Registry fee could be as follows:

0 to £80,000                                      £45.00

£80,000 to £100,000                         £95.00

£100,001 to £200,000                       £230.00

£200,001 to £500,000                     £330.00

We handle the payment of the disbursements on your behalf to ensure a smoother process.

Stamp Duty Land Tax (on purchase)

This depends on the purchase price of your property. You can calculate the amount you will need to pay by using HMRC's website. If the property is transferred pursuant to a consent order ancillary to divorce proceedings. the transfer should be exempt from stamp duty. But it should be pursuant to a financial consent order for this to be applicable.

* Our fee assumes that:

a.                               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

b.                               the transaction is concluded in a timely manner and no unforeseen complication arise

c.                               all parties to the transaction are co-operative and there is no unreasonable delay from third parties providing documentation such as an ID form for/ by any unrepresented party.

Sale of a freehold residential property

If we were dealing with this, (and we do not ordinarily carry out any Conveyancing work but this information is included so as to comply with the SRA Transparency Rules), then the fee mentioned below  would cover all of the work* required to complete the sale of a house, not including acting for the mortgage lender.

Conveyancer's fees and disbursements (on a sale)

• Laurence Holmes Conveyancing Fee:  £1,125.00 
• VAT @ 20%:                                                 £225.00

• Total:                                                            £1,350.00

Disbursements are costs related to your matter that are payable to third parties, such as Land Registry fees. We handle the payment of the disbursements on your behalf to ensure a smoother process. For instance Land Registry fees of £14 might be incurred to provide a copy of the title information to the buyer's solicitors.

How long will my house transfer or sale take?

How long it will take from your offer being accepted until you could move in to your house will depend on a number of factors. We are not qualified to advise about this having not acted on a house purchase for many years. However, again, as this information is apparently according to the SRA required by the SRA Transparency Rules, we have to include this. According to Zoopla, the average time for an agreed sale to complete has surged from 90 days to 110-115 days.

It can be quicker or slower, depending on financial arrangements that need to be made.

Charges in connection with probate and estate administration

We sometimes carry out probate work, in addition to Family Law,  including, for instance applying for a grant of probate on behalf of an executor, and, if required, collecting and distributing the assets for a deceased estate.

If we are solely dealing with the application for a grant of probate and not acting as Executor or completing a tax account or gathering information about the assets, costs are estimated at £1,800-£2,500 + VAT.

If we are dealing with everything or accepting an appointment as an Administrator or acting as an Executor, including collecting and distributing assets, total costs are estimated at £3,800-£15,000 + VAT.

The exact costs 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 above range. If there are multiple beneficiaries, a property and multiple bank accounts, costs will be at the higher end.

If we are  handling the full process for you the price is for estates where:

• There is a valid will, and there is enough money available in the estate to pay all of the debts and liabilities
• There is no more than one property and no unforeseen complications arise in connection with the property, such as lost or missing title deeds or part of the property is unregistered or subject to any third party interests that cannot be removed or only removed with difficulty
• There are no more than 3 bank or building society accounts
• There are no other intangible assets or assets that cannot readily be realised due to any third party interests/ objection to the sale of any property
• There are 1-3 beneficiaries
• There are no disagreements between beneficiaries. 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, such as by a mortgage lender or creditor

• Disbursements included in this fee:

• Probate application fee of £156.50 (expected to increase)
• Bankruptcy-only Land Charges Department searches (£1 per beneficiary)
• £297.00 Post in The London Gazette and in a Local Newspaper – Protects against unexpected claims from unknown creditors.

• 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 property subject to any other interests (mortgages or trusts/ part of the property belonging to another person) 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.
• Dealing with the sale or transfer of any property in the estate is not included.

How long will this take?

• On average, estates that fall within this range are dealt with within 6-18 months. Typically, obtaining the grant of probate used to take 12 weeks. However, sometimes there may be an advantage to taking longer to obtain probate. For instance, if a house is empty and awaiting sale Bristol City Council will sometimes not charge council tax until probate is granted. Collecting assets then follows, which can take between 6-12 months. Once this has been done, we can distribute the assets, which depends on our selling all of the assets and paying all the debts before distribution can be made.