A Will is an important document to get right – in content, expression and execution. It is a mistake to think either that a Will is not necessary or that it is necessarily straightforward. In Scotland the law of inheritance can be complex and very often not what the ordinary client expects in terms of the rights of family members to a share – or not – of the estate. So this Firm’s work 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 charges.

For a basic job of consultation, advice, preparation of the single straightforward Will, completion, execution and storage, the fee may be £150 plus VAT £30, or £250 plus VAT £50 for a couple of matching Wills. Where Wills are more complicated, the fee may be £250 plus VAT £50 for a single Will or £350 plus VAT £70 for a couple of matching Wills.

There are usually no outlays associated with this process.

There are various kinds of Powers of Attorney (POA). The most used is a document that supports a person who is incapacitated 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 Public Guardian Scotland (OPG) to take effect.

For a basic single POA, the fee may be £350 plus VAT £70, or £500 plus VAT £100for a couple of matching POAs. There may be an additional fee if a home or hospital visit is required. The outlay is currently £ 83 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 £2,300 plus VAT £460.

Outlays may include Sheriff Court initial dues £ 135, psychiatric fee £295, medical report £ 100, sheriff officers for service of application etc £ 86.

The Firm deals with transactions for clients buying a home, whether it be a flat, house, new-build property, land to build upon. The work may involve communications and advice by the solicitor with the client, correspondence with estate agents 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 £200,000 may be £1,500 plus VAT £ 300, but will depend largely on the price of the property.

Outlays are (for a transaction with price of say £200,000 part-funded by a mortgage) £400 to Registers of Scotland for registration of the title, £80 for registration of the mortgage, £20 for Advance Notice for mortgage, £1,100 for LBTT (though less if first purchase and more – if buying a second property Payment of Additional Dwelling Supplement/ADS 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 home, whether it be a flat, 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 £200,000 may be £1,500plus VAT £300, but will depend largely on the price of the property.

Outlays are £80 for registration of the mortgage discharge, £20 for Advance Notice for title and £177 for title, property and mining searches.

The Firm deals with transactions for clients who are remortgaging a home. 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 £650 plus VAT £130.

Outlays are £80 for registration of the mortgage discharge, £80 for registration of the new mortgage security, £20 for Advance Notice for the security, and £177 for title, property and mining searches (where necessary).

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 £200 plus VAT £40.

The outlay is a charge of £80 payable to the Registers of Scotland.

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, financial maintenance – even who gets the dog.

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 £1,650 plus VAT £330.

Outlays may include a share of the registration dues of the Minute of Agreement £44 if paying for both extracts (copies), £22 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 are 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.

As general practice solicitors this Firm takes on a range of clients and cases/transactions. Sometimes the work is preliminary advice, or assistance with a minor or brief legal issue requiring correspondence with other parties or solicitors, and/or creating legal documentation. There really is no limit to the range of needs of clients when it comes to legal services and processes.

We often offer preliminary consultations without charge for a discussion or meeting though we reserve the right to charge for all services and advice. Some examples of miscellaneous charges are:-

For notarising/certifying documents a fee may be £50 plus VAT £10 per document. No outlays.

For advising on and corresponding with a neighbour who is encroaching on a boundary the fee may be based on an hourly rate of £ 250 plus VAT £48, but set as an initial of £500 plus VAT £ 100. No outlays.

For advising on planning for retirement, property and wealth management, succession/inheritance planning, care costs and related matters, the fee may be based on an hourly rate of £ 250 per hour plus VAT £48, but set as an initial maximum of £400 plus VAT £80. No outlays.

Executry is the name used by lawyers for the work required in 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 money), accounting to the executor and distributing the bequests and shares of estate among beneficiaries.

There may also be a home/heritable property to sell or settle. Calculating and dealing with Inheritance Tax will affect 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 and the basis of our charges will be outlined in the Terms of Engagement.
Outlays may include Court Confirmation dues which will depend on the value of the estate plus £8 for each individual certificate if needed.

This Firm have vast experience of liquor licensing in all sectors of the market. For instance the fee for a new Licence may be £2,000 plus VAT £400. Outlays will depend on Rateable Value of premises and will be a minimum of £800 fee payable to the Licensing Board.

In Scotland many firms of solicitors, including Black Hay, also provide property estate agency services. The Firm’s work for a client who instructs us to market property may include our staff consulting with the client, advising on value and marketing strategy/process, valuing the property, preparing a sale schedule, registering it on online property portals, arranging a Home Report, dealing with enquiries, arranging/conducting viewings, negotiating with prospective buyers and processing offers received. Commission may be based on a percentage of the sale price of the property or a fixed fee agreed beforehand.

As an example, a property sale of £150,000 at a percentage sales commission of 1% would incur a cost of £1500 plus VAT £300, or at 1.5% would occur a cost of £2250 plus Vat £450.

Any optional outlays (such as Marketing Fee, Virtual Tour etc) would be agreed in advance. A standard Home Report Survey fee payable to the surveyors may be £594 plus VAT. Outlays are variable dependent upon property type/size etc. However these are always agreed in advance. Estate Agency Clients will pre-agree our Terms of Business prior to marketing, whilst any subsequent options selected by the client will also be clearly agreed in writing.