What you might expect to pay at Setfords

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The exact costs will depend on the individual circumstances of any matter. It is important that we are able to provide you with as much guidance and certainty as to the likely costs involved in your matter. So that we can give you certainty about pricing we ask you to provide us with as much information as possible at the beginning of the matter.

The fee earners within Setfords have varying levels of experience and knowledge which can be applied to best match the needs of your matter. Each fee earner will charge at a different hourly rate and the range of these rates start from £250 plus VAT (£420) up to £420 plus VAT (£504) depending on the level of experience and geographical location of the fee earner involved. The fee earner working on your case will charge at their hourly rate and record their time for undertaking the work involved. We base our charges on the time spent. For maximum transparency, we divide an hour into ten blocks of six minutes to record the time spent on your case. This breakdown is what you will see in our time records and on all the invoices we send you where the matter is quoted based on a time estimate rather than a fixed fee.

Example of applying for the grant, collecting and distributing the assets
We anticipate this could take between 20 and 30 hours of work at a rate which will not exceed £420 (plus VAT) per hour. Total costs will range between £4000 (plus VAT) – £12600 (plus VAT).
Please bear in mind, there may be circumstances that could mean costs sit outside of the anticipated range. We will always provide a transparent breakdown of costs in our letter of engagement.
There is an additional fee of £25 plus VAT for each executor to carry out anti money laundering checks, a requirement for all clients of Setfords to prevent financial risk to you and the firm.
The exact cost 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 range. If there are multiple beneficiaries, a property and multiple bank accounts, costs will be at the higher end. This quote example is for estates where:
There is a valid will
There is no more than one property
There are no more than 3-5 bank or building society accounts
There are no other intangible assets
There are up to 5 beneficiaries
There are no disputes between beneficiaries on division of assets. 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

Disbursements likely to be included in this fee:
Probate application fee of £300
Bankruptcy-only Land Charges Department searches (£6.45 per beneficiary)
Post in The London Gazette – Protects against unexpected claims from unknown creditors. £150-£250 (plus VAT)
Post in a Local Newspaper – This also helps to protect against unexpected claims. £150-£250 (plus VAT)

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 share holdings (stocks and bonds) 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.
If any additional copies of the grant are required, they will cost £16 (1 per asset usually).
Dealing with the sale or transfer of any property in the estate is not included.

How long could this take?
On average, estates that fall within this range are dealt with within 8-18 months. Typically, obtaining the grant of probate takes 4-9 months. Collecting assets then follows, which can take between 3-6 months. Once this has been done and all tax finalised, we can distribute the assets, which normally takes 2-4 months weeks.

The exact costs will depend on the individual circumstances of any matter. It is important that we are able to provide you with as much guidance and certainty as to the likely costs involved in your matter. So that we can give you certainty about pricing we ask you to provide us with as much information as possible at the beginning of the matter.

The fee earners within Setfords have varying levels of experience and knowledge which can be applied to best match the needs of your matter. Each fee earner will charge at a different hourly rate and the range of these rates start from £120 plus VAT (£144) up to £225 plus VAT (£270) depending on the level of experience and geographical location of the fee earner involved. The fee earner working on your case will charge at their hourly rate and record their time for undertaking the work involved. We base our charges on the time spent. For maximum transparency, we divide an hour into ten blocks of six minutes to record the time spent on your case.

This breakdown is what you will see in our time records and on all the invoices we send you where the matter is quoted based on a time estimate rather than a fixed fee.

In some circumstances we are able to offer a fixed fee for the work which we carry out for you. This work includes the following:

- Guilty plea hearing & Mitigation: £750 (plus VAT)
- Trials: £1200 (plus VAT) not including disbursements i.e expert reports, medical reports, medical records etc if required
- Exceptional hardship / special reasons hearing: £850 (plus VAT).

Please bear in mind, there may be circumstances that could mean costs sit outside of the anticipated range. We will always provide a transparent breakdown of costs in our letter of engagement.

There is an additional fee of £25 (plus VAT) to carry out anti money laundering checks, a requirement for all clients of Setfords to prevent financial risk to you and the firm.

The fee would not include:
- instruction of any expert witnesses
- taking statements from any witnesses
- advice and assistance in relation to a special reasons hearing
- advice or assistance in relation to any appeal

The key stages of this example matter are based on the presumption that you have entered a guilty plea and have a date for your hearing.
- Meet with your solicitor to provide instructions on what happened.
- We will consider initial disclosure, and any other evidence and provide advice.
- Arranging to take any witness statements if necessary.
- We will explain the court procedure to you so you know what to expect on the day of your hearing, and the sentencing options available to the court.
- We will conduct any further preparatory work, obtain further instructions from you if necessary and answer any follow up queries you have.
- We cannot provide a timescale of when your hearing will take place, as this depends on the court listing for that day.
- We will attend court on the day and meet with you before going before the court.
- We will discuss the outcome with you. If advice is required on appeal, this will carry an additional cost.

The exact costs will depend on the individual circumstances of any matter. It is important that we are able to provide you with as much guidance and certainty as to the likely costs involved in your matter. So that we can give you certainty about pricing we ask you to provide us with as much information as possible at the beginning of the matter.

The fee earners within Setfords have varying levels of experience and knowledge which can be applied to best match the needs of your matter. Each fee earner will charge at a different hourly rate and the range of these rates start from £100 plus VAT (£120) up to £500 plus VAT (£600) depending on the level of experience and geographical location of the fee earner involved. The fee earner working on your case will charge at their hourly rate and record their time for undertaking the work involved. We base our charges on the time spent. For maximum transparency, we divide an hour into ten blocks of six minutes to record the time spent on your case. This breakdown is what you will see in our time records and on all the invoices we send you where the matter is quoted based on a time estimate rather than a fixed fee.

Our example pricing for bringing and defending claims for unfair or wrongful dismissal:
Simple case: £500 (plus VAT) to £5000 (plus VAT)
Medium complexity case: £2,500 (plus VAT) to £12,500 (plus VAT)
High complexity case: £5,000 (plus VAT) to £50,000 (plus VAT)

Factors that could make a case more complex:
- If it is necessary to make or defend applications to amend claims or to provide further information about an existing claim
- Defending claims that are brought by litigants in person
- Making or defending a costs application
- Complex preliminary issues such as whether the claimant is disabled (if this is not agreed by the parties)
- The number of witnesses and documents
- If it is an automatic unfair dismissal claim e.g. if you are dismissed after blowing the whistle on your employer
- Allegations of discrimination which are linked to the dismissal

There is an additional fee of £25 (plus VAT) to carry out anti money laundering checks, a requirement for all clients of Setfords to prevent financial risk to you and the firm.

There will be an additional charge for attending a Tribunal Hearing of up to £2,500 per day (plus VAT) where we are to attend. Generally, we would allow 2-5 days depending on the complexity of your case.

Disbursements
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.

Counsel’s fees estimated between £1,000 (plus VAT) and £5,000 (plus VAT) per day (depending on experience of the advocate) for attending a Tribunal Hearing (including preparation)

These costs apply where your claim is in relation to an unpaid invoice which is not disputed and enforcement action is not needed. If the other party disputes your claim at any point, we will discuss any further work required and provide you with revised advice about costs if necessary, which could be on a fixed fee (e.g. if a one off letter is required), or an hourly rate if more extensive work is needed.

The exact costs will depend on the individual circumstances of any matter. It is important that we are able to provide you with as much guidance and certainty as to the likely costs involved in your matter. So that we can give you certainty about pricing we ask you to provide us with as much information as possible at the beginning of the matter.

The fee earners within Setfords have varying levels of experience and knowledge which can be applied to best match the needs of your matter. Each fee earner will charge at a different hourly rate and the range of these rates start from £150 plus VAT (£180) up to £450 plus VAT (£540) depending on the level of experience and geographical location of the fee earner involved. The fee earner working on your case will charge at their hourly rate and record their time for undertaking the work involved. We base our charges on the time spent. For maximum transparency, we divide an hour into ten blocks of six minutes to record the time spent on your case. This breakdown is what you will see in our time records and on all the invoices we send you where the matter is quoted based on a time estimate rather than a fixed fee.

The exact costs will depend on the individual circumstances of any matter. It is important that we are able to provide you with as much guidance and certainty as to the likely costs involved in your matter. So that we can give you certainty about pricing we ask you to provide us with as much information as possible at the beginning of the matter.

The fee earners within Setfords have varying levels of experience and knowledge which can be applied to best match the needs of your matter. Each fee earner will charge at a different hourly rate and the range of these rates start from £150 plus VAT (£180) up to £350 plus VAT (£420) depending on the level of experience and geographical location of the fee earner involved. The fee earner working on your case will charge at their hourly rate and record their time for undertaking the work involved. We base our charges on the time spent. For maximum transparency, we divide an hour into ten blocks of six minutes to record the time spent on your case. This breakdown is what you will see in our time records and on all the invoices we send you where the matter is quoted based on a time estimate rather than a fixed fee.

Example simple application: £1,200 (plus VAT) to – £3,500 (plus VAT).

Example medium complexity application: £2,500 (plus VAT) to- £5,500 (plus VAT).

Example high complexity application: the cost could start from £6,000 (plus VAT) but may be higher depending on the complexity of the work involved.

Please bear in mind, there may be circumstances that could mean costs sit outside of the anticipated range. We will always provide a transparent breakdown of costs in our letter of engagement.

There is an additional fee of £25 (plus VAT) to carry out anti money laundering checks, a requirement for all clients of Setfords to prevent financial risk to you and the firm.

Disbursements
Disbursements are costs related to your matter that are payable to third parties, such as the application fee. We will pay the disbursements on your behalf to ensure a smoother process.

- Application fee (payable to licensing authority) £100-365*
- Advertising fee £150-450 plus VAT*
- Enquiry agent fees to display public notices £150-450 (VAT may be chargeable in addition)*
*These fees vary depending on the individual premises and where it is located. The fees can on occasion be higher than the ranges given above. We will give you an accurate figure for each item as soon as we are able to do so.

Fee includes:
- Taking your instructions and advising you as to how you can promote the licensing objectives within your application
- Advising you as the type of plans you are required to submit with your application.
- Completing the application form for a new premises licence (including the operating schedule) in accordance with your instructions and submitting this to the local licensing authority alongside suitable plans. You must provide suitable plans.
- Providing guidance on the fee levels payable to the licensing authority.
- Preparing copies of the premises licence application for disclosure to the responsible authorities and serving copies of the application on the responsible authorities.
- Drafting the notices advertising the premises licence application and submitting the notice to the local newspaper.
- Arranging with you for you to display the notice(s) advertising the premises licence application and advising as to where and how this should be done by you in order to comply with the requirements of the Licensing Act 2003.
- Providing a Designated Premises Supervisor (DPS) consent form for signature by a personal licence holder proposed by you.
- Checking the licence once granted and correcting any errors with the licensing authority.

The fee does not include:
- obtaining suitable plans
- attending pre-consultation meetings with the Licensing Authority or Responsible Authorities, nor their fee for this meeting.
- dealing with or advising you in relation to queries or representations received from either the responsible authorities or other interested parties
- advising on varying the licence
- attendance and representation at a licensing sub-committee hearing of the responsible authority. If representations are received and attendance and representation at a licensing sub-committee is required then we will provide a separate fee estimate for this work which will be charged at an hourly rate.

How long will my application take?
Matters usually take 6-14 weeks from receipt of full instructions from you. This is on the basis of the application being relatively straightforward and you being able to provide all the necessary documents promptly. If your matter is more complex, for example, if there is substantial opposition from interested parties, or if there is a delay in receiving the documents we need, it may take longer.