Dispute Assessment & Action Plan
Identify what is preventing progress, what the evidence supports and whether to act now, obtain information or pause. Stage 01 gives you a practical assessment and recommended route before you commit to further work.
Independent review of your proposed approach
You may already have researched your position or decided what you think should happen next. The assessment can test that approach against the relevant documents, identify weaknesses or risks, and explain whether a different course would be more appropriate.
Contact Justin directly → An initial enquiry does not commit you to payment.
Your Stage 01 review at a glance
Your review combines:
Document review
Up to 40 selected core pages to establish the position, evidence and information gaps.
Consultation with Justin
A focused 30-minute discussion of the blockage, your objectives and points needing clarification.
Written Action Plan
A concise two-page assessment of risks and proportionate next options, including identifiable holding costs where records permit.
Your Action Plan covers:
- Principal blockage: the main issue preventing progress, based on the selected documents and your instructions.
- Evidence and gaps: the supporting material, missing information and uncertainties that could change the advice.
- Recommended approach: whether to act now, obtain information or pause, with reasons, material risks and urgent steps identified.
- Pathway and costs: the recommended route and alternatives, who should act, the review point and your proposed financial commitment.
The written Action Plan is normally delivered within three working days after the consultation and receipt of all required documents, whichever is later.
What an Action Plan can look like
See how an Action Plan brings together the issue, evidence, recommendation and proposed costs.
View a complete illustrative two-page Action Plan →
The sample uses fictional facts and illustrative fees. It is not advice on your estate or a quotation. Your assessment will depend on your documents and consultation.
Your financial proposal after Stage 01
Where the recommended work can be defined confidently, we offer an overall fixed fee for the package, with staged payments where agreed. The proposal specifies included work, reasonable follow-up allowances and the endpoint. It is a commitment to complete that work, not a promise of settlement.
Where later steps remain uncertain, we give a fixed next-stage fee and an indicative overall budget, explaining assumptions, foreseeable contingencies and anything not yet reliably estimable. Possible additional work is priced where practicable and requires your approval before it begins.
We distinguish the £480 Stage 01 fee already paid, further fees and the anticipated cumulative total, including VAT, with identified external costs shown separately. Later quotations take account of assessment already completed. How the overall price is agreed →
Questions about costs after Stage 01
Do I have to instruct further work?
No. Stage 01 is a standalone paid assessment. You can use the written Action Plan yourself or with another adviser, without instructing Human Law further. Any further stage or package requires your agreement to its scope and price.
Will I pay twice for work already done in Stage 01?
Stage 01 is a standalone service, and its fee is not deducted from later fees. Subsequent quotations take account of the assessment already completed, so the same assessment is not charged again.
Documents, Scope and Further Work
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.
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.
What clients say about Human Law
“Very efficient and caring people at Human Law.”
Read client reviews on ReviewSolicitors (opens in a new tab)
Request Your Stage 01 Review
Send Justin a brief outline using the form below or by emailing advice@human-law.co.uk, mentioning any deadlines. We first check suitability and conflicts. If we can help and you wish to proceed, we confirm the proposed scope, engagement terms, £480 fee including VAT and payment arrangements. Once agreed, we explain which documents to send and how to send them, and arrange your consultation. Your written Action Plan follows the document review and consultation, within the timetable explained above. Sending an enquiry does not instruct Human Law or commit you to payment.
Want to start with free guidance? Use the seven-route Problem Finder.