Pricing

Transparency Rules require us to publish price information if we assist clients in specified areas of law. In our context, we are pleased to share with you our fees and charges for Immigration (excluding asylum applications) and Probate (uncontested cases with all assets in the UK). Our professionals are dedicated to the services we provide. Profiles of our senior staff can be found here.
You are of course still most welcome to contact us for our prices and quotes for work that we do in all other areas listed in our website. Please email: law@chess-solicitors.co.uk

IMMIGRATION

We typically charge an agreed fixed fee for most immigration applications. Our fee is based on what we consider reasonable considering the time that will likely be required to complete the matter based on our hourly rates, level of expertise involved, the urgency of the matter and the circumstances of your case, such as:

• The amount of supporting evidence we need to consider;
• Whether you are applying with dependants;
• Whether you have any adverse immigration history, including but not limited to a previous visa refusal, criminal convictions, period of overstaying, breach of a condition of leave
• Whether expert evidence or specialist advice is needed
• Whether there is a pending deadline for your current immigration status
• The need for a tribunal or court hearing.

If the circumstances of your application are more complex – and/or there are unforeseen complications – then the cost may well exceed the fees specified in the table. Any such additional costs will depend on the time spent at the applicable hourly rates and will be agreed prior to commencing the work .

How we calculate our charges

Our fees are charged based on an agreed hourly rate structure dependent on the experience of the professionals working on your matter and the complexity of the issues we need to address. Our hourly rate ranges (exclusive of VAT and disbursements) depending on experience and our lawyer’s specialisms are £225 to £450. The hourly rate for a lawyer/paralegal with more than 3 years’ experience, working under supervision of a Senior Solicitor, will be £225 plus VAT. A Solicitor with more than 3 years’ Post Qualification Experience, will be £350 plus VAT per hour. The hourly rate for a Senior Solicitor with more than 10 years’ Post Qualification Experience should be £450 plus VAT.
On some discrete matters we may offer a fixed fee option. In those cases, we will assess your circumstances and the work necessary for your claim and provide you with a fixed fee. Where we do this, we will set out what work we will do for that fee in our Client Care Letter. If additional complexities arise these may incur additional costs, but we will discuss this with you we feel this approach is suitable to your matter.

Immigration Services Pricing, March 2019

Would there be other costs?

In addition to our fees there may also be additional costs which are payable to third parties who we may instruct to prepare and support your case. We call these disbursements. We may pay only in exceptional situations some of the disbursements on your behalf to ensure a fast and smooth process and will always request funds on account to cover these disbursements. We will inform you of any significant disbursements before they are incurred. Such disbursements may include:

• Mandatory Visa Application Fees payable to UK Visas and Immigration. The level of fees varies depending on the type of application and we will let you know what fees apply to your application. You can review the range of fees at on the UK Visa and Immigration site including current and historic fees.For up to date visa fees, follow the link below:
  https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/visa-regulations-revised-table/8-october-2018
• London based Barrister’s Fees. Hourly rates for Barristers typically range between £250 to £750 (plus VAT) but depending on the seniority and experience of the Barrister, can be even higher. We will advise you of these beforehand.
• Expert Reports or Expert Witnesses. The extent of any fees will be dependent on the type of expert relevant to your application, whether a report is required and similarly whether they need to attend any hearing to give evidence in person. Examples, of experts needed in such cases are independent social workers, medical experts, including, for example a psychiatrists or psychologists.
• Translator Fees. This can vary according to the need for the translations (whether written or verbal) in question.
• Other Fees. In some circumstances, other fees will be payable as part of an application, including but not limited to the Immigration Health Surcharge and visa submission fees (in relation to the different submission options, example fast-tracking if the option is available). We may also need to use the services of couriers for the delivery of private and confidential documents. We will assess all other fees on a case by case basis and will let you know these, if any, as part of the instructions.

How much time will an application take?

The time it takes from you initially contacting us to the conclusion of your application depends on the nature of your application, how quickly you are able to gather all of the necessary documentation to support your application, how quickly any third parties are able to assist, processing timeframes at UK Visas and Immigration and whether there are any complexities which could affect your application. In some matters where urgency is paramount applications can be prepared within a matter of days (subject to our capacity). Taking on emergency work may incur premium rates in respect of the above. In other straightforward applications documentation can usually be assembled within 1-2 months and the application processing time will vary subject to the submission method. In more complex matters, if the issues to be addressed are complex then preparation and application process can take longer.
We cannot guarantee how long the Home Office will take to process your application. Current processing times are available here: https://www.gov.uk/visa-processing-times

Is VAT payable on our Fees?

All our fees shown in our Website exclude VAT. We are a VAT registered company (VAT No: 245 7242 06) and where applicable, VAT, currently in force at 20% will be applicable to all our fees and most disbursements, unless otherwise advised.
Note that UK Visas and Immigration and Home Office fees do not usually attract VAT unless the applicant is habitually residing in the UK.

PROBATE

Below is information relating to our fees for probate work (uncontested cases) where all the assets are in the UK. This includes both testate and intestate and taxable and non-taxable estates. Please note that we do not assist with the preparation of tax returns and you should seek independent advice from an accountant for this.

How much does this service cost?

We can help you through this difficult process by obtaining the Grant of Probate on your behalf. We will also undertake the collecting and distributing of assets.
A fixed fee range of £2,000 to £30,000 (incl. VAT).
This includes: obtaining the grant, collecting assets and distributing them.
Breakdown of costs:
Our Legal fees
VAT on legal fees 20%

Disbursements: :

• Probate court fee
• Swearing of the oath (per executor).
• Bankruptcy-only Land Charges Department searches.
• Post in The London Gazette – Protects against unexpected claims from unknown creditors.
• Post in a Local Newspaper – This also helps to protect against unexpected claims.

Disbursements are costs related to your matter that are payable to third parties, such as court fees. We handle the payment of the disbursements on your behalf to ensure a smoother process.

What is included the fee?

As part of our fixed fee we will:

• Provide you with a dedicated and experienced probate lawyer to work on your matter
• Identify the legally appointed executors or administrators and beneficiaries
• Accurately identify the type of Probate application you will require
• Obtain the relevant documents required to make the application
• Complete the Probate Application and the relevant HMRC forms
• Draft a legal oath for you to swear
• Make the application to the Probate Court on your behalf
• Obtain the Probate and securely send two copies to you
• Collect and distribute all assets in the estate

How much time will my matter take?

On average, estates that fall within this range are dealt with within 3 to 6 months. Typically, obtaining the grant of probate takes 4 to 6 weeks. Collecting assets then follows, which can take between 2-4 weeks. Once this has been done, we can distribute the assets, which normally takes 2-4 weeks