Fixed fees for probate dispute advice and Registry work
Every fee is fixed and agreed with you in writing before work starts.
For the work agreed in your quotation, the fee stays the same even if it takes longer than expected. Additional work needs your approval.
How our fees work
- We tell you the fee before any work starts, and you approve it in writing.
- The fee covers the agreed work. It can’t guarantee that the other side will cooperate.
- Court and Registry fees, and any other outside costs, are shown separately before you commit.
- The assessment is not compulsory. Where the work is clear, we can quote for it directly.
If more than one stage may be needed, your quotation gives the fixed fee for each stage that could follow, the total for each route, and anything that can’t be priced yet. How our stage fees work →
If you end work already under way, our terms of business and any applicable cancellation rights apply.
Published fees
| Service | Fee including VAT |
|---|---|
| Dispute Assessment & Action Plan | £480 |
| Beneficiary accounts: formal letter | £780 |
| Beneficiary accounts: Registry application, if needed | £2,340 |
| Initial caveat preparation and approach | £1,740. Other stages are priced separately. See caveat fees → |
| Professional File Review (for practices) | £1,020 |
Other work is quoted for your situation before it starts.
Services for executors and administrators → · Services for beneficiaries →
See a sample two-page Action Plan → Fictional facts; sample fees are not a quotation.
How we agree your fixed fee
Justin Patten explains how we agree fees before starting work and discuss further work with you. About 37 seconds.
Read the video transcript
In terms of our firm's pricing, we're very distinctive in that what we offer is fixed fee pricing and that everything that you incur as a fee, you have to agree before we actually do the work.
We take a collaborative approach with our clients in that we don't want to give you surprises.
What we do is we tell you what the fee will be and then provided that's satisfactory from your point of view, then we go ahead with the ongoing work.
Questions about fees
Do I have to start with the £480 assessment?
No. If you already know what needs doing, such as a caveat or a request for estate accounts, we can quote a fixed fee for that work directly. The assessment is for when you need advice on which route to take.
Do I have to continue after the assessment?
No. The Action Plan is yours to use, with us, with another adviser or on your own.
Will I pay twice for work already done?
No. The £480 pays for the standalone assessment and is not credited against later fees. Any further work is priced separately, and we explain what the next fee covers and how it builds on the assessment.
What if the other side ignores a letter or raises something new?
Your quotation says what follow-up is included. Silence doesn’t trigger a new charge. If new work is needed, we explain it and ask you first.
What if I have more than 40 pages?
Extra review costs £360 including VAT for each additional 30 pages, agreed before we read them. Much larger files are quoted individually.
Select the core documents about your main issue, leaving out duplicates, blank pages and unfiltered email chains. A page means one side of A4. If you are unsure what to include, send a brief description first.
Brief clarification of the recommendations is included. New documents, later replies, further advice, letters and negotiation need a separately agreed scope and fee.
Professional File Review: what is included?
Professional File Review
Focused external analysis for a private-client practice that remains the instructing client.
- Review of up to 60 selected core pages and any concise chronology supplied.
- A 30-minute consultation with the responsible fee-earner.
- Identification of one main procedural or contentious issue.
- Concise written recommendations on immediate options, risks and next steps.
- A recommended route: retain the matter in-house, instruct a defined Human Law stage or refer to an appropriate litigation practice.
This is a standalone service. The practice can use the recommendations without further instruction. The review fee pays for this completed service. Further work is quoted separately, taking account of the review already done.
What Human Law handles
Advice, negotiation and Probate Registry work, including contested Registry applications, for stalled estates, with each engagement specifying preparation, issue, service and attendance. Wider litigation, routine administration, conveyancing and forensic bank investigations require other providers. We can agree document and chronology preparation for a litigation handover; the specialist’s fees are separate.
Led by Justin Patten
Justin Patten is a practising solicitor with more than 20 years’ experience in dispute resolution and private-client law. He founded Human Law in 2002 and is the author of The Out-of-Court Executor.
His other books are A Practical Guide to Elderly Law (2nd edition) and A Practical Guide to Elderly Fraud, published by Law Brief Publishing.
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