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Our Prices

What will all this cost me?


At Matthew Waite & Co we strive in offering services to our private clients towards openness and transparency in respect of our professional legal fees and charges.


Set out below are our typical professional legal fees charged in delivering our private client services for those planning for the future and/or where sadly a bereavement has occurred.

 

Your individual circumstances may be such that a review of our pricing is better or more appropriate for you, therefore should you require a more tailored costing of your matter please contact us.

 

 

What Will a Will Cost Me?


Although every Will feels unique to every client, there are some recurring themes or patterns of gifting that permit us as professional legal advisers to give you some idea of likely cost as set out below.

 

In some cases, though, your Will or your personal or tax circumstances may be so unique or may create such a requirement for specialist advice that we must tailor our costs; in such cases we shall agree a costs package with you before we start work on your behalf.


*All our fees are subject to an additional 20% VAT charge



Basic Will (Gifting everything to each other with a gift over to children):

  • Single                                                                    =          £400.00 plus VAT*

  • Mirror Will (married/unmarried couples)       =          £600.00 plus VAT*


Life Interest Trust Will (Ringfencing an entitlement to share in the proceeds of sale of your home or other property):

  • Single                                                                    =          £550.00 plus VAT*

  • Mirror Will (married/unmarried couples)       =          £800.00 plus VAT*


Discretionary Trust or Vulnerable Client Trust (Where a loved one risks losing their means tested benefits if they receive a gift from you):

  • Single                                                                    =          £800.00 plus VAT*

  • Mirror Will (married/unmarried couples)       =          £1100.00 plus VAT*



Disbursements may additionally be charged depending on your circumstances or to satisfy legal or regulatory requirements (see below).


For more information as to our Will services or to make an appointment please contact us on 01442 890 111 or email suzanne@matthewwaite.com or freddie@matthewwaite.com  


 

What will a Lifetime Trust cost me?

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Lifetime Trusts are useful tools of estate planning but whether they are right for you is something that our experts may need to advise you on; the types of lifetime trusts and their typical costs are set out below.


Again, your specific needs and requirements may require us to prepare a more tailored cost plan for you, if so, this will be agreed with you before we commence work on your behalf.

 

*All our fees are subject to an additional 20% VAT charge
 

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Declaration of Trust (defining who owns what percentage of shared property):

  • Simple                                                                    =          £450.00 plus VAT*

  • Bespoke (to your needs) Minimum Fee           =          £650.00 plus VAT* (May be chargeable additionally at the legal adviser’s hourly rate)  

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*All our fees are subject to an additional 20% VAT charge

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Disbursements may additionally be charged depending on your circumstances or to satisfy legal or regulatory requirements (see below).

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Lifetime Discretionary Trust:

  • Basic DT                                                                 =          £2,000.00 plus VAT*

  • Disabled/Vulnerable Client DT                           =          £2,000.00 plus VAT*

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(We draft, but do not provide advice on the taxation of, these trusts, nor do we register trusts under the HMRC’s Trustee Registration Scheme; we do, however, offer a referral service to our preferred tax adviser who provides such services at a competitive and reduced cost)

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*All our fees are subject to an additional 20% VAT charge

 

Disbursements may additionally be charged depending on your circumstances or to satisfy legal or regulatory requirements (see below).

Trust Administration:

 

Given the specialist nature of trusts, we limit our trust administration services to the provision of key legal documents only, we do not offer trust governance advice nor do we offer advice on disputes arising from trusts or the conduct of trustees.
 

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  • Deed of Appointment/ Retirement of Trustees (preparing relevant documentation):                =          £550.00 plus VAT*

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Disbursements may additionally be charged depending on your circumstances or to satisfy legal or regulatory requirements (see below).

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For more information as to our Will services or to make an appointment please contact us on 01442 890 111 or email suzanne@matthewwaite.com or freddie@matthewwaite.com 

 

 

What will a Lasting Power of Attorney Cost me?

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For Individuals:

 

A Lasting Power of Attorney or LPA is a document where you choose (you may think of it as employing) a trusted person to support your financial or health/welfare decision making.

 

It is worth noting that an LPA for Health & Welfare is not the same as a Living Will or Advance Directive; so, if you have one of these you are not covered in relation to decisions such as whether to put you into care or to deprive you of welfare support.

 

We do not provide or advise on general powers of attorney

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Lasting Power of Attorney:​​
 

  • Single (1 x Financial or Health/Welfare)          =          £550.00 plus VAT*

  • Double (2 x Financial or Health/Welfare)        =          £750.00 plus VAT*

  • Single x 2 (Unmarried/married couples)         =          £750.00 plus VAT*

  • Double x 4 (Unmarried/married couples)       =          £1,150.00 plus VAT*

 

 

*All our fees are subject to an additional 20% VAT charge

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Our prices include our professional legal costs for submitting your LPA for registration.

 

Disbursements may additionally be charged depending on your circumstances or to satisfy legal or regulatory requirements (see below).

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For Businesses:

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If you own or run a business, you may need an LPA to cover a scenario where you become incapable of participating in its day to day running either due to illness or due to your being absent from the UK on business.

 

In such circumstances you may require a Business LPA.

 

Given that the needs of each business vary you will need to contact us for guidance as to our professional legal fees based on your specific needs and the time, we are required to expend in assessing the same; contact us for further information.

 

Disbursements may additionally be charged depending on your circumstances or to satisfy legal or regulatory requirements (see below).

 

For more information as to our Will services or to make an appointment please contact us on 01442 890 111 or email suzanne@matthewwaite.com or freddie@matthewwaite.com 

 

 

What will registering an Enduring Power of Attorney (or EPA) cost me?

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Where a subsisting Enduring Power of Attorney is required to be registered, we are happy to assist you for a fixed fee as follows:

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Registering an Enduring Power of Attorney    =          £750.00 plus VAT*

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*All our fees are subject to an additional 20% VAT charge

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Disbursements may additionally be charged depending on your circumstances or to satisfy legal or regulatory requirements (see below).

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For more information as to our Will services or to make an appointment please contact us on 01442 890 111 or email suzanne@matthewwaite.com or freddie@matthewwaite.com 

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What will a Deputyship Application cost?

 

Where a loved one loses mental capacity and they have not executed a Lasting Power of Attorney, if you are to protect and preserve their financial assets you will need to make an application to the Court of Protection for an order appointing you as Deputy.

 

The Court of Protection prescribes the fees a solicitor may charge (Practice Direction 9B); these start at £1,204.00 plus VAT* and are subject to official review.

 

*All our fees are subject to an additional 20% VAT charge

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A solicitor may charge additionally in professional legal fees where the needs of the “patient” require additional effort or time spent in accommodating them although any such additional charges are subject to the approval of the Court of Protection.

 

Disbursements may additionally be charged depending on your circumstances or to satisfy legal or regulatory requirements (see below).

 

For more information as to our Will services or to make an appointment please contact us on 01442 890 111 or email suzanne@matthewwaite.com or freddie@matthewwaite.com.

What will Probate cost me?

 

It is not our charging policy to reward ourselves for taking on your matter by charging a reward fee equivalent to a percentage of the value of your estate.

 

At Matthew Waite & Co we believe in charging our clients fairly, and our professional legal fees are therefore based on our actual commitment in time as per your specific requirements as follows:

 

*All our fees are subject to an additional 20% VAT charge

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Grant Only Application (where no inheritance tax (IHT) falls due):

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  • Our minimum professional legal charges        =          £1,350.00 plus VAT*

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Grant Only Application (where inheritance tax (IHT) falls due):

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  • Our minimum professional legal charges        =          £2,750.00 plus VAT*

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Full Estate Administration:

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To include all professional legal work carried out in:

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  • Taking initial instructions from you and notifying interested parties..

  • Assessing the date of death value of the estate for inheritance tax purposes.

  • Preparing IHT400 tax return if required.

  • Liaising with HMRC re any calculation of or dispute over any IHT payable.

  • Preparing and submitting an online application for probate.

  • Circulating Grant among asset holders to procure closure/settlement of assets.

  • Receiving and holding funds on client account pending completion.

  • Preparing estate accounts.

  • Making interim distributions, if required,

  • Settling the income tax/capital gains tax liabilities of the estate#

  • Liaising with beneficiaries and making final distributions

 

* Please be advised that we do not provide advice on the Deceased’s liability for income tax nor on the taxation of estates, nor do we register estates (where relevant) under the HMRC’s Trustee Registration Scheme; we do, however, offer a referral service to our preferred tax adviser who provides such services at a competitive and reduced cost

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The following fees assume a minimalist and/or reasonable level of discourse between us and our instructing clients and further that no unexpected issues arise such as a claim on the estate (by a disappointed beneficiary) or a disputed liability to a third-party creditor

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Non IHT Estates:                                                          =          £3,500.00 plus VAT*

IHT Liable Estates:                                                       =          £7,000.00 plus VAT*

Deed of Variation document:                                    =          £450.00 plus VAT*

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We do not offer advice or guidance on will disputes or actions against executors or estates.

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Disbursements may additionally be charged depending on your circumstances or to satisfy legal or regulatory requirements (see below).

 

For more information as to our Will services or to make an appointment please contact us on 01442 890 111 or email suzanne@matthewwaite.com or freddie@matthewwaite.com 

 

 

What are disbursements and why am I being charged these?

 

Disbursements refers to those unavoidable charges or costs that either the law or our regulators require to be charged if we are to progress your matter to its intended outcome.

 

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Typical disbursements include (but may not be limited to):

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  • ID Check: £25.00 plus VAT* per client (this is a regulatory requirement)

  • Probate Application/Grant Issue Fee: £300

  • Copy of the Grant: £1.50 each

  • Bankruptcy search per beneficiary: £3.90

  • Land Registry property title search: £2.90

  • Certainty National Will Register search: £95 plus VAT*

  • Asset Search costs – from £155 plus VAT* to £185 plus VAT*
     

 

* VAT charged at 20%

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These disbursements may change, or additional disbursements may be required, depending upon your circumstances and/or where there are changes in the law and regulatory policy.

 

You will be notified of any disbursements before they are incurred.

 

For more information as to our Will services or to make an appointment please contact us on 01442 890 111 or email suzanne@matthewwaite.com or freddie@matthewwaite.com 

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