The Law Society has issued guidance to promote price transparency in the legal sector with the aim of encouraging law firms across Scotland to make details of potential costs for work to be carried out by them more accessible for consumers. Details of our pricing structure are set out in this section of our website. More details of the services we provide and the work that may be involved in providing those services can be found here.

Prices on our website are a guide only and more information can be requested by contacting either of our offices to ask for more detailed guidance which will be tailored to fit your particular circumstances. Terms of Business will be issued at the start of a transaction, which will include more details of the fees to be charged in each individual case.

Fixed fees

Some of the work we carry out will be done on a fixed fee basis. This will often include the preparation of Wills, Powers of Attorney, discharges of standard securities (mortgages) and the sale and purchase of residential property (including estate agency fees). Some of our more typical fixed fees for straightforward transactions are listed below. These are legal fees only and do not include outlays that may apply to your particular transaction with us. If it is clear from the outset your particular circumstances are more complex, or if the matter becomes more complex during the course of the transaction, we may require to revise our fee or a fee may instead be assessed based on our hourly rate and table of charges, details of which are below.

Wills
Individual Will: £180 plus VAT
Mirror Wills: £300 plus VAT (Wills prepared for a couple which are almost identical)

Codicils (a document that makes an amendment to your existing Will)
Individual Codicil: £100 plus VAT
Mirror Codicils: £150 plus VAT

Living Will/Advance Directive: £150 plus VAT

Powers of Attorney (POA)
Individual POA: £300 plus VAT
Mirror POAs: £480 plus VAT

Discharge of Standard Security: £100 plus VAT

Residential sales and purchases
Prices typically range from £750 plus VAT to £4,000 plus VAT and operate on a sliding scale based, in part, on the value and complexity of the transaction.

Estate Agency
The exact fee to be charged will usually depend on two elements: (1) whether viewings are to be conducted by a member of our Estate Agency team and (2) the value of the property.

If viewings are to be carried out by a member of our Estate Agency team, our fee will usually be 1.25% of the sale price achieved. There are occasions, where our Estate Agency Team are carrying out accompanied viewings, depending on the location of the property, where the fee may be 1.5% of the sale price achieved. If our Estate Agency team are not required to conduct viewings our fee will generally be 1% of the sale price achieved.

Notarial Acts/Certifying documents
Standard notarial act / certification only: £30 plus VAT
Where an Apostille is required: £75 plus VAT
(The exact fee to be charged will also be determined by the number of documents that require to be notarised/certified.)

Hourly rate

The nature of some areas of law means it is hard to know at the outset the level of work that is required, as each case varies considerably depending on the circumstances. This typically includes Executries (the process of winding up someone’s estate when they die) and acting on your behalf in a court matter. It is therefore very difficult to provide a fixed fee quote in such cases. In these circumstances, a fee structure is used based on our hourly rate (currently £240 plus VAT per hour) and a table of charges will be issued as part of our Terms of Business. The table of charges sets out the number of units to be charged for each aspect of work that may need to be carried out. For these purposes, our hourly rate is split into ten units so our current charge is £24 per unit. Our table of charges will set out the applicable unit charges for items such as correspondence, telephone calls and drafting documents, as well as commissions payable on funds held in our client account on behalf of a client and any element of fee based on the level of complexity/responsibility involved in a particular transaction.

If a fee is to be based on our hourly rate and table of charges, our file will be sent to an independent law accountant for a fee to be assessed as the transaction is nearing completion. In some circumstances it may be appropriate to have an interim fee assessed during the transaction, sometimes this will be to keep track of the overall fee and in other cases this will require to be paid and fees brought up to date before further work is carried out by us for you.

Outlays

Any outlays incurred will be payable on top of our fees. Outlays are costs payable to third parties as part of a particular transaction. We only charge you for costs that have been or will be paid by us on your behalf. Any outlays that are anticipated will be detailed in the Terms of Business issued to you. It may be that additional outlays are incurred during the course of a transaction, however.

More information

For more information relating to fees or the services we offer please contact either of our offices where our solicitors or other members of staff would be happy to discuss your particular needs with you.