Legal professionals in Yorkshire

Who We Are

Legal professionals in Yorkshire

Who We Are
Call The Garfitt Law Partnership LLP based in Yorkshire for knowledgeable and practical legal advice.

Prices

We want you to know the costs associated with our advice and the work we do for you and to be satisfied that our charges provide excellent value for money. 

Details of our charges are set out below; you will see that for some work we charge fixed fees whilst other work is charged for at hourly rates based on time spent. 

When you instruct us, we will advise if the fixed fees referred to below apply to your instructions and we will advise you of the applicable hourly rates for work not covered by fixed fees. Our hourly rates vary according to the complexity of the matter and the work being carried out, and will be from £200 per hour plus VAT to £275 per hour plus VAT. 

In all cases, we will be able to provide you with an estimate of the overall cost of the work or advice and we will confirm this in writing. 

All our charged time is recorded accurately and fairly so we are always able to keep you updated on the level of legal costs being incurred. To be fair to you, we will only record our time when work is undertaken if it is reasonable and justified. 

Wills

We charge for most Wills on a fixed fee basis and details of our fixed fees are set out below. 
Straightforward Will (no trusts and no more than five beneficiaries) for one person
 £600 plus VAT
Straightforward Mirror Wills (no trusts and no more than five beneficiaries) for a couple £900 plus VAT
Mirror Wills for a couple containing a life interest trust including any associated property work £1,200 plus VAT
Will for one person containing a trust with no business assets £1,000 plus VAT
Mirror Wills for a couple containing other trusts with no business assets £1,400 plus VAT
Will for one person containing a trust with business assets £1,400 plus VAT
Mirror Wills for a couple containing trusts with business assets £1,500 plus VAT




We will advise you if your requirements do not fall into the fixed fees above and either agree a fixed fee with you in relation to your specific matter or charge in accordance with our hourly rates. 


Our fixed fees include standard inheritance tax advice in relation to a Will but, if more specific advice or specific work or detailed tax calculations are required, this will be charged for separately based on our hourly rates. 

Inheritance Tax Planning

Our costs for inheritance tax and succession planning advice are based on hourly rates and we will always provide an estimate of costs for our initial advice and further estimates for any work arising from that advice. 

Lasting Powers of Attorney

We charge fixed fees for Lasting Powers of Attorney (LPA(s)) which include making the application to the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) for registration at that time. However, there is a separate fee payable to the OPG of £82 for each LPA registered.  

Our fixed fees are:
One Lasting Power of Attorney, whether Property and Financial or Health and Welfare for an individual £650 plus VAT
Property and Financial and Health and a Welfare Lasting Powers of Attorney for an individual  £900 plus VAT
For a couple each making one Lasting Power of Attorney, whether Property and Financial or Health and Welfare £1,000 plus VAT
For a couple each making Property and Financial and Health and Welfare Lasting Powers of Attorney £1,300 plus VAT

Grants of Probate and Administration of Estates

Grant Only

We charge fixed fees if you instruct us to obtain the grant of probate and complete the inheritance tax account and you deal with the administration of the estate yourself. 

Our fees will include meeting with you and providing initial advice, considering the date of death values of assets and liabilities provided by you, the preparation of the probate and inheritance tax papers, submitting the inheritance tax account to HMRC and lodging the probate application at the Probate Registry. 

Our work will not include obtaining the date of death value of assets; dealing with any enquiries raised by HMRC regarding the inheritance tax account; finalising the deceased income tax to the date of death; time spent in dealing with disputes between executors or beneficiaries or if a caveat is in force preventing the issue of the grant of probate; collecting assets; dealing with the distribution of funds; deeds of variation; the sale or transfer of property and the preparation of estate accounts.  

Our fixed fees are:
If no inheritance tax account is required £900 plus VAT
If a claim for the transferable nil rate band or residence nil rate band is required  £1,250 plus VAT
If a full inheritance tax account (IHT400) is required but no inheritance tax is payable and there are no business or agricultural property reliefs to claim £1,500 plus VAT
If a full inheritance tax account (IHT400) is required and inheritance tax is payable but there are no business or agricultural property reliefs to claim £3,000 plus VAT
If an estate includes claims for business or agricultural property relief, we will either agree a fixed fee or provide an estimate of our charges based on our hourly rates. 

In addition to our fees, you can expect to pay Probate Court fees of £273.00 for the Grant and £1.00 for each office copy required. 

We would expect to have the paperwork prepared and ready for signature by the personal representatives within four to six weeks of being instructed. From signature of papers, the Grant of Probate will normally be issued by the Probate Registry within two to three months. However, there have been delays with the Probate Registries issuing Grants. 

Full Administration of Estates

We charge for dealing with the full administration of an estate based on hourly rates, but we can charge on a fixed fee basis if you prefer. 

Hourly Rates

If we charge based on hourly rates, we will advise of the applicable hourly rates at the 
start of the matter; we will provide an estimate of our charges based on those hourly rates; we will keep you updated on the level of legal costs and provide updated estimates if more time is involved than originally estimated. As an initial guide we normally find that, except for low values estates, legal costs for the administration of an estate fall between 1% and 3% of the gross value of the estate for inheritance tax.

Fixed Fees

If you prefer a fixed fee, this will be agreed with you at the commencement of the matter. 

Our fixed fees will include meeting with you and providing initial advice; obtaining date of death values of assets and liabilities; the preparation of the probate and inheritance tax papers; submitting the inheritance tax account to HMRC; lodging the probate application at the Probate Registry; dealing with any enquiries raised by HMRC regarding the inheritance tax account; collecting assets; dealing with payment of legacies and the distribution of funds and the preparation of estate accounts. 

Our work will not include finalising the deceased income tax to the date of death; time spent in dealing with disputes between executors or beneficiaries or if a caveat is in force preventing the issue of the grant of probate; deeds of variation; the sale or transfer of property or dealing with and finalising household utility bills.  

We would expect to have the paperwork prepared and ready for signature by the personal representatives within three months of being instructed and for the administration of a straightforward estate to be completed within six to nine months from the issue of the Grant of Probate. 
Our fixed fees are based on the value of the gross estate for inheritance tax and examples are set out below:
Gross IHT Value of Estate No Inheritance Tax Account Inheritance Tax Account (IHT400)
Not exceeding £250,000 £2,500 plus VAT £5,000 plus VAT
Not exceeding £500,000 £5,000 plus VAT £7,500 plus VAT
Not exceeding £750,000 £7,500 plus VAT £10,000 plus VAT
Not exceeding £1,000,000 £10,000 plus VAT £12,500 plus VAT
Not exceeding £1,500,000 £12,500 plus VAT £15,000 plus VAT
Not exceeding £2,000,000 £15,000 plus VAT £20,000 plus VAT
In addition you can expect to pay the following expenses:
  • Probate Court fees £273.00 plus £1.00 for each office copy required. 
  • Bankruptcy search fees £2 plus VAT per payment per beneficiary (unless resident abroad where higher expenses will be involved)
  • Trustee Act notices where required – to be advised but in the region of £350.00 
  • Land Registry fees where relevant based on property value.  

Trusts

We charge fixed fees for the preparation of some trust documentation and these are as follows:
Lifetime Discretionary Trust for one person £1,250 plus VAT
Lifetime Discretionary Trusts for a couple  £1,750 plus VAT
For each transfer or assignment of assets into a trust  £500 plus VAT
Deeds of Appointment for appointment of life interests from a Discretionary Trust  £350 plus VAT
All other trust work and documentation, including the administration of trusts, is charged for at our hourly rates.  

Property

Residential conveyancing: purchases

Our charges will depend on the price you are paying for the property, whether the property is a leasehold or a freehold property and the complexity of your particular transaction.

Our charges will include the work required following completion of your purchase, including handling your payment of your Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) and dealing with registration of your purchase at HM Land Registry.  

The table to the right sets out the basic fee we will charge for a freehold residential purchase. The purchase price is only one factor we will take into account in determining the amount of our basic fee. We will take into account other factors that are likely to necessitate additional work, for example, 
  • you may be buying only part of the seller’s property which means we will need to draft a Transfer of Part
  • you may be buying an investment property subject to a tenancy agreement which means we will have to review the tenancy agreement and raise additional enquiries
In addition to the basic fee, there may be factors which mean that we will charge an additional fee - see below.

All figures are exclusive of VAT.  VAT will be charged at 20% and is payable on top of our fees and, as applicable, disbursements (unless stated to the contrary).
Purchase price Our basic fee for a freehold purchase


Up to £300,000 £1,500 plus VAT
£300,000 to £500,000 £1500 - £1,850 plus VAT
£500,000 to £750,000 £1,850 - £2,000 plus VAT
£750,000 to £1,000,000 £2,000 - £2,500 plus VAT
£1,000,000 to £1,500,000 £2,500 - £2,750 plus VAT
Over £1,500,000 We will discuss the fee with you

  • Additional fees

    For some transactions, or if some factors apply, we will charge an additional fee on top of our basic fee.  These transactions or factors are as follows:

    • If the property you are buying is a leasehold property, we will add £350 to our basic fee set out above.
    • If the property you are buying is a new build property or a newly converted property we will charge an additional £250 
    • If the title of the property you are buying is not already registered at HM Land Registry we will charge an additional fee of £250 
    • If there is more than one buyer and the way you wish to own the property requires a separate declaration of trust we will charge an additional fee of £250 for preparing the declaration of trust
    • If the lease or another provision in the title documents requires you to enter into a deed of covenant and the form of the deed is not provided we will charge an additional fee of £100 for drafting the deed of covenant
    • If there is a defect in the title of the property, for example, the whole or part of the title has a possessory title or a title based on adverse possession, or the title does not have necessary rights of way, and requires us to draft a statutory declaration (it is also likely that indemnity insurance will be required which you may have to pay for  if the seller will not meet the cost) we will charge an additional fee of £150 for the extra work

  • Disbursements

    Disbursements are costs related to your transaction that are payable to third parties.  We handle the payment of the disbursements on your behalf.  Disbursements may include the following:

    Search fees: these are generally between £300 to £350 (inclusive of VAT).  We will ask you to pay £350 to us on account of searches at the start of the transaction


    HM Land Registry registration fee: this is charged on the HM Land Registry fee scales https://www.gov.uk/guidance/hm-land-registry-registration-services-fees


    If the property is leasehold, there are likely to be fees payable to the landlord or management company to register your purchase with them and to comply with any requirements in the lease, for example, entering into a deed of covenant. These fees will not be known until the transaction progresses but can range from £50 to £300 plus VAT 

  • Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT)

    SDLT is paid on the purchase of a property.  The amount payable is calculated as a percentage of the purchase price of your property. You can calculate the amount you will need to pay by using HMRC’s website: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/stamp-duty-land-tax-calculator-service-availability-and-issues/stamp-duty-land-tax-calculator-service-availability-and-issues


  • What work is included in our fees?

    Our fees are designed to reflect the average conveyancing transaction and do not take account of unexpected difficulties or more complex issues which may arise. Conveyancing is not always straightforward, but in general, this is what we will do during a typical purchase of a residential property: 

    • Take your detailed instructions and provide initial advice
    • Check finances in place to fund the purchase and verify your identity to comply with money laundering requirements
    • Review the title documentation and other property information provided to ensure that everything is satisfactory.  If a leasehold property, this should include service charge accounts and other estate management information
    • If the property is leasehold, review the lease under which the property is held  
    • Review and amend the sale contract 
    • Carry out searches
    • Obtain further planning documentation, if required
    • Raise enquiries with the seller’s solicitors about anything which requires clarification or any information or documents which are missing or incomplete
    • Report on, and advise you about, all documentation received, replies to enquiries and search results
    • Send the contract to you for signature and obtain from you the deposit payable on exchange of contracts
    • Liaise with your seller’s solicitors to agree the completion date
    • Exchange contracts
    • Draft the Transfer Deed to transfer the property to you
    • Obtain undertakings from the seller’s solicitors to discharge any mortgages affecting the property 
    • Prepare a Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) Return for you to sign
    • Send you the Transfer deed and the SDLT return for you to sign
    • Prepare a completion statement and obtain from you any additional money needed to complete your purchase, pay SDLT and Land Registry fees
    • Carry out pre-completion searches at HM Land Registry and, if applicable, at HM Land Charges Department
    • Deal with completion of the purchase 
    • Submit the SDLT return to HMRC with the payment of SDLT
    • Apply to register your purchase at HM Land Registry
    • If a leasehold property, comply with registration requirements contained in the lease which might include serving Notice of Transfer/Mortgage on the Landlord/Management Company and/or completing a Deed of Covenant
    • Report to you once registration has been completed  

  • How long will my house purchase take?

    The time taken from your offer being accepted until completion will depend on a number of factors. The average transaction takes between 6-8 weeks. It can be quicker or slower, depending on other parties in the chain and the particular circumstances of your transaction. For example, if you are buying a new build property that is not yet built or you are buying from somebody who has not yet found a property to buy or there are defects in the property title which need resolving. 


  • Who will handle my house purchase?

    Your house purchase will be handled by Sally Robinson.

Residential conveyancing: sales

Our charges will depend on the sale price of your property, whether the property is a leasehold or a freehold property and the complexity of your particular transaction.
 
The table to the right sets out the basic fee we will charge for a freehold residential sale. The sale price is only one factor we will consider in determining the amount of our basic fee. We will consider other factors that are likely to necessitate additional work, for example,
  • you may be selling only part of your property which means we will need to draft a transfer of part
  • you may be selling an investment property subject to a tenancy agreement which means we will have to deal with additional enquiries
In addition to the basic fee, there may be factors which mean that we will charge an additional fee - see below.

All figures are exclusive of VAT.  VAT will be charged at 20% and is payable on top of our fees and, as applicable, disbursements (unless stated to the contrary).
Sale price Our basic fee for a freehold sale


Up to £300,000 £1,500 plus VAT
£300,000 to £500,000 £1,500 - £1,850 plus VAT
£500,000 to £750,000 £1,850- £2,000 plus VAT
£750,000 to £1,000,000 £2,000- £2,500 plus VAT
£1,000,000 to £1,500,000 £2,500 - £2,750 plus VAT
Over £1,500,000 We will discuss the fee with you

  • Additional fees

    For some transactions, or if some factors apply, we will charge an additional fee on top of our basic fee. These transactions or factors are as follows:

    • If the property you are selling is a leasehold property, we will add £350 to our basic fee set out above.
    • If the title of the property you are selling is not already registered at HM Land Registry we will charge an additional fee of £175
    • If the lease or other provision in the title documents require your buyer to enter into a deed of covenant which we have to provide we will charge an additional fee of £100 for drafting the deed of covenant
    • If there is a defect in the title of your property, for example, the whole or part of the title has a possessory title or a title based on adverse possession, or the title does not have necessary rights of way, and requires us to draft a statutory declaration (it is also likely that indemnity insurance will be required which you may have to pay for if the buyer requires) we will charge an additional fee of £150 for the extra work

  • Disbursements

    Disbursements are costs related to your transaction that are payable to third parties. We handle the payment of the disbursements on your behalf. Disbursements may include the following:

    • HM Land Registry fees for obtaining copy documents: generally £6 to £10 plus VAT, but can be more (we will ask you to pay £50 to us on account of disbursements at the start of the transaction)
    • If the property is leasehold, there are likely to be fees payable to the Landlord or Management Company to obtain the service charge and other leasehold information your buyer’s solicitors will require. These fees will not be known until the transaction progresses but are generally in the region of £300 to £500 plus VAT
    • All figures given above are exclusive of VAT. VAT will be charged at 20% and is payable on top of our fees and, as applicable, disbursements.

  • What work is included in our fees?

    Our fees are designed to reflect the average conveyancing transaction and do not take account of unexpected difficulties or more complex issues which may arise. Conveyancing is not always straightforward, but in general, this is what we will do during a typical sale of a residential property:

    • Take your detailed instructions and provide initial advice
    • Verify your identity and ownership of the property to comply with money laundering requirements
    • Send you the necessary property information forms for completion and signing
    • Review your title documentation and draft the sale contract. If the property is leasehold, check the requirements for a sale of the property contained in your lease
    • If a leasehold property, contact the Landlord or Management Company or any managing agents to obtain copies of the service charge accounts and other requisite estate management information
    • Provide your buyer’s solicitors with the contract, copy title documentation and property information forms
    • Obtain further planning documentation, if required
    • If your property is mortgaged, obtain a redemption statement from your lender
    • Respond to enquiries raised by your buyer’s solicitors in accordance with your instructions
    • Send the contract to you for signature
    • Liaise with your buyer’s solicitors to agree on the completion date
    • Exchange contracts
    • Approve the transfer document to transfer the property to the buyer
    • Provide undertakings to your buyer’s solicitors to discharge any mortgages affecting the property and to deliver title documents to your buyer’s solicitors following completion
    • Prepare a completion statement calculating the balance of sale proceeds that will be payable to you
    • Deal with the completion of your sale
    • If applicable, redeem your mortgage from the sale proceeds
    • Account to you for the net sale proceeds

  • How long will my house sale take?

    The time taken from your offer being accepted until completion will depend on a number of factors. The average transaction takes between 6-8 weeks. It can be quicker or slower, depending on other parties in the chain and the particular circumstances of your transaction. For example, if there are defects in the property title which need resolving.


  • Who will handle my house sale?

    Your house sale will be handled by Sally Robinson

Other transactions and property advice

Our charges for property transactions other than residential sales and purchases, for example, commercial property sales and purchases, business leases, transfers of equity and deeds of easement, will be based on hourly rates. Our charges for providing property advice will also be based on hourly rates. In all cases, we will provide you with an estimate of our charges before you instruct us.

We do not act on re-mortgages.

Call us on 01423 368185

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