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STAGE 01 | INDIVIDUAL SOLICITOR REVIEW

Factual Audit & Action Plan

Understand what is blocking the estate and what to do next. Stage 01 reviews your key facts and documents before you commit to further procedural steps.

Fixed fee
£400 + VAT

£480 including VAT

A 30-minute consultation with Justin Patten, review of up to 40 selected core pages and a concise two-page Action Plan.

Request a Stage 01 review →

For executors, administrators and beneficiaries. Instructing on behalf of a practice? Use the professional review route.

Contact Justin directly → An initial enquiry does not commit you to payment.

Your Stage 01 review at a glance

After suitability and conflict checks, engagement and payment arrangements are agreed. The review combines:

  1. Document review

    Up to 40 selected core pages to establish the position, evidence and information gaps.

  2. Consultation with Justin

    A focused 30-minute discussion of the blockage, your objectives and points needing clarification.

  3. Written Action Plan

    A concise two-page assessment of risks and proportionate next options, including identifiable holding costs where records permit.

The document review and consultation inform one another. Further work, if appropriate, is scoped and priced separately.

What an Action Plan can look like

Illustrative extract from a fictional estate property disagreement. This is a layout example, not client work or advice on your estate.

HUMAN LAW · STAGE 01 · ILLUSTRATIVE EXTRACT

Factual Audit & Action Plan

The principal blockage
Co-executors disagree over the proposed sale price. The objection has not yet been set out against the valuation evidence.
Evidence and information gaps
Locate the Grant, agent’s appraisal, offer and correspondence. Clarify each executor’s position and whether an independent valuation is available.
Risks and identifiable costs
Check transaction dates, any solicitor’s deadline and recurring property costs. The available documents may not support a final assessment.
Proportionate next options
Consider a focused exchange of valuation evidence and a defined decision process. Identify whether negotiation, further fixed-fee support or separate litigation advice is appropriate.

An individual report depends on the selected documents and consultation. It does not guarantee agreement or predict a court outcome with certainty.

What You Receive

  • A clear starting point: the Grant position, principal blockage and missing information.
  • Individual assessment: relevant duties, procedural risks and identifiable holding costs where sufficient records are supplied.
  • A two-page Action Plan: proportionate next steps, including whether further Human Law support or separate litigation advice is appropriate.
  • A defined recommendation: if further Human Law work is appropriate, its scope and fixed fee are confirmed before that stage begins.

The written Action Plan is normally delivered within three working days after the consultation and receipt of all required documents, whichever is later.

How procedural options are assessed

Steps depend on the Grant position, entitlement and the evidence. For example, an inactive executor may call for assessment of citation options under NCPR Rule 47, with the general machinery in Rule 46. This is an option for solicitor review, not an automatic next step.

NCPR mapping: Rule 41 — amendment/revocation of grant; Rule 44 — caveats; Rule 46 — general citation machinery; Rule 47 — citations to accept/refuse or take a grant; Rule 48 — citations to propound a will; Rule 50 — examination or subpoena to bring in a will. Official rules.

Documents, Scope and Further Work

The review is a standalone paid service. You can use its recommendations without instructing further work. Any further work is quoted separately, taking account of the assessment already completed.

The direct-client fixed fee includes review of up to 40 selected core pages relevant to one principal issue. Please exclude duplicates and avoid entire email archives or unfiltered files. A page means one side of A4. If you are unsure what to include, send a brief description of the issue first. Any additional document review or separate issues are scoped and priced for your approval before that work begins.

The fee includes reasonable, brief clarification of the Action Plan’s recommendations. Reviewing new material, addressing separate issues, drafting correspondence and negotiation require a separately agreed scope and fee.

See scope, exclusions and full terms.

Stage 01 is an initial assessment. Further correspondence and Probate Registry work are separately scoped and agreed, including any issue, service or hearing work. Wider contested litigation and trial representation require an appropriate practitioner. If there is a deadline or immediate asset risk, seek prompt advice; do not wait for Stage 01.

What clients say about Human Law

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Request Your Stage 01 Review

Send a brief outline. After suitability and conflict checks, engagement and payment arrangements are confirmed, followed by document provision, consultation and review.

You can adjust or delete this before submitting. If carried from the Problem Finder, it records your selected answers and has not been verified. Sending a request does not instruct Human Law.

Is there a deadline or immediate risk? *

If a deadline or immediate risk applies, seek prompt appropriate advice. This enquiry does not stop a deadline; do not wait for Stage 01.

Are the key documents available? (Optional)

You do not need all the documents before enquiring. Stage 01 includes review of up to 40 selected pages. After suitability and conflict checks, we will explain which documents to provide and how to send them.

Before sending: Give a brief overview only. Do not upload or paste documents or detailed sensitive information here. This is a request for review; it does not instruct Human Law or stop a deadline. We will check suitability and conflicts before confirming engagement, payment and how to provide your documents. Privacy policy.

Sending this enquiry does not instruct Human Law or commit you to payment. If we agree to proceed, scope, terms and payment arrangements are confirmed. Any further work is separately scoped and agreed.

Want to start with free guidance? Use the seven-route Problem Finder.