Fixed-Fee Probate Dispute Pricing & Procedural Milestones
Probate disputes can often be addressed through defined stages. Human Law identifies the appropriate route, confirms the work included and fixes the price before each stage begins. No further milestone is undertaken without your written approval.
* The £400 Stage 01 fee is credited once against the first qualifying milestone instructed within 14 days.
Universal Diagnostic Entry Point
Stage 01 — Factual Audit & Action Plan (£400 + VAT)
Individual client matters normally begin with a structured factual review to establish the nature of the blockage and identify the available procedural and non-court options.
- 30-minute solicitor consultation
- Document review (≤20 pages)
- 2-page written Action Plan
- Quantification of estate carrying and holding costs where records permit
- Fixed-fee recommendation for the appropriate subsequent milestone
- £400 Stage 01 Fee Credit: The £400 Stage 01 fee is credited once against the first subsequently instructed Zone 1 or Zone 2 milestone, provided we are instructed within 14 days.
The audit routes personal representative matters into one of two operational pathways:
- Zone 1: Caveat Resolution — for estates blocked before the Grant.
- Zone 2: Estate Dispute and Deadlock Tracks — for co-executor standstills, accounting demands, and financial provision claims.
For professional advisers, the Structural Clarity Report™ provides a separate B2B strategic product.
Zone 1: Caveat Removal Ladder (Fixed Fees)
A caveat prevents a Grant from issuing. It may be extended, withdrawn, challenged by warning or resolved by agreement.
| Milestone | Service | Fixed fee |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pre-Warning Preparation: Review the evidence, establish the client’s position and make one formal approach to the caveator. | £1,450 + VAT |
| 2 | Warning and Response Management: Prepare the warning, manage service, and monitor the response period. | £1,950 + VAT |
| 3 | Post-Appearance Strategy Assessment: Review the formal Appearance or summons, evaluate evidential gaps, conduct one consultation, deliver a written post-Appearance strategy, and prepare one defined settlement proposal or litigation handover note. | £2,450 + VAT |
| 4A | Agreed Caveat Disposal: Preparation and execution of formal consent terms, deed, or withdrawal notice to clear the caveat without a contested hearing where the caveator agrees to withdraw. | £1,450–£1,950 + VAT |
| 4B | Registrar Application and Evidence Pack: Preparation of formal Rule 44(6) summons for directions before the District Probate Registrar, supporting witness statements, indexed documentary bundle, and hearing preparation pack. | £3,850 + VAT |
Milestones 4A and 4B represent alternative routes depending on whether resolution is consensual or contested before the Registrar. The appropriate route and fixed fee are confirmed before further work is authorised.
Milestones are instructed and funded individually. If an issue resolves earlier—for example, following an initial formal warning or an agreed withdrawal—no further milestones are required or charged. Court litigation, hearing representation and substantive Grant administration are not included.
Zone 2: Estate Dispute and Deadlock Tracks (Fixed Fees)
For inactive-executor blockages and other estate disputes requiring a separately defined advisory, accounting or settlement route.
Executor Standstill
For named executors who have not proved, renounced or responded. The appropriate route is confirmed following Stage 01.
| Service | Fixed fee |
|---|---|
| Formal Pre-Citation Notice | £1,150 + VAT |
| Citation Preparation and Service Management | £1,950 + VAT |
| Default or Registrar Application Preparation | £2,250 + VAT |
Financial Provision Response
For personal representatives responding to threatened Inheritance Act 1975 claims before proceedings are issued.
| Service | Fixed fee |
|---|---|
| Standstill Proposal and Negotiation | £1,950 + VAT |
| Evidence Review and Position Statement | £3,250 + VAT |
| Defined Settlement Negotiation | £5,500 + VAT |
Estate Information and Accounts
For beneficiary information requests, accounting disagreements and personal-representative protection. Based on organised records supplied by the client or existing adviser.
| Service | Fixed fee |
|---|---|
| Estate Inventory | £1,450 + VAT |
| Estate Accounts—Standard | £2,450 + VAT |
| Estate Accounts—Complex | £3,250 + VAT |
Disputed Assets, Gifts and Promises
For disputed lifetime transactions, alleged gifts and promises concerning estate assets.
| Service | Fixed fee |
|---|---|
| Evidence and Valuation Review | £2,250 + VAT |
| ADR Preparation Pack | £3,250 + VAT |
| Settlement Documentation Support | £5,500 + VAT |
Additional Scope Modules
Each milestone includes a defined document and correspondence allowance confirmed before work begins. If unusually extensive documents or correspondence require additional work, the following fixed-price modules may be offered:
- Document Expansion: £300 + VAT per additional 30 pages
- Additional Analysis and Response Module: £950 + VAT for review of new substantive correspondence, appraisal of its legal implications, and preparation of up to two strategic outward responses concerning the defined blockage
✓ No additional module is charged without your prior written approval. There is no open-ended hourly billing within the published pathway and no open-ended drift.
Fee Commitments
Fee Certainty
Every procedural milestone has a published, fixed fee confirmed before work begins.
Stage 01 Credit
£400 credited once against the first qualifying milestone instructed within 14 days.
No Waiting Charge
We do not impose recurring monthly charges merely because a matter is awaiting a Registry response, third-party disclosure or a counterparty reply.
Personal Representative Alignment
Services are structured around administrative functions. Cost recoverability depends on authority and proportionality.
Operating Model & Practice Boundaries
Human Law provides solicitor-led advice and defined non-court probate-dispute support. We do not conduct contested litigation, represent clients at trial or undertake routine estate administration, conveyancing or forensic bank investigations. If litigation becomes necessary, we can prepare an organised handover to an independently instructed litigation solicitor.