At Ella Millett Legal we offer upfront and transparent information about our fees for the services we provide. We try and always provide you with fixed fees for our services that are fairly priced when we act for you so you can be certain of what you will pay from the start.

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You will normally be asked to pay a deposit on account of our charges before we do any work on you matter and this will be in the region of £500 which will then be deducted from your final bill for the work we do for you, or if the matter does not complete for any reason this will cover our costs incurred and/or disbursements up to that point. This shows your commitment to us acting on your behalf and we will also ask you to read and sign our terms of business before we proceed with work on your behalf and carry out an anti-money laundering search in accordance with our regulatory requirements.  

 

As a Solicitors firm we charge for our time as we sell legal advice - we do not have a product to sell and therefore, we do expect our clients to understand that when they decide to instruct us. For free legal advice there may be firms out there who do offer this, or it may be worth speaking to the Citizens Advice Bureau if it is free legal advice you are after. We do not offer free legal advice as we are a business and our insurance would not allow for this.   

 

All of the charges below include free home visits within a five mile radius of our office (where appropriate if you cannot get to our office ). We can also offer appointments by telephone or Microsoft Teams/Zoom if it's not possible to provide you with a home visit. All our charges are subject to VAT at 20%.

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Wills

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• For a Simple Single Will we charge from £350 plus VAT

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Typically a simple Will, appoints one or more executors to administer the estate. Specifies beneficiaries who are to receive the estate, in uncomplicated terms (e.g., “I leave my entire estate to my children in equal shares”). May include basic provisions for guardianship of minor children and specific gifts or legacies but no more than two of each. A simple Will does not involve complex arrangements such as more than two specific gifts, or legacies, complex default beneficiary clauses, trusts, business assets, foreign property, or advice about foreign property, or tax planning mechanisms. 

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• For Mirror Wills for a couple (a matched pair) we charge from £500 plus VAT.

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Typically Mirror Wills refer to two separate but almost identical Wills, usually made by a couple (married, civil partners, or cohabiting partners) whose testamentary wishes are substantially the same. In essence each partner makes their own Will, but the terms “mirror” each other. Each Will normally leave the entire estate to the surviving partner, and if the partner has predeceased, to the same substitute beneficiaries (commonly, their children in equal shares). The Wills may also appoint the same executors and guardians and may include specific gifts or legacies but no more than two of each. No complex provisions such as complex default beneficiary clauses, trusts, business assets, foreign property, or advice about foreign property, tax planning mechanisms or conditional gifts are included.

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• For a Single Life Interest Trust Will we charge from £795 plus VAT. If a letter of wishes needs to be drafted we will charge an additional £100 plus VAT. 

 

This is a type of trust created by a Will, which allows a named beneficiary (the "life tenant") to benefit from certain assets—most commonly a property or income from investments—for the duration of their lifetime. The life tenant has the legal right to use or receive income from the trust assets, but does not own them outright. When the life tenant dies (or if another specified event occurs, such as remarriage), the trust ends and the remaining assets (the "capital") pass to other beneficiaries, known as the "remaindermen" (often the children or other family members of the person who made the will). 

 

• For Mirror Life Interest Trust Wills we charge from £995 plus VAT. If a letter of wishes needs to be drafted we will charge an additional £150 plus VAT. 

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A mirrored pair of Life Interest Will Trusts refers to two wills—one for each partner (usually spouses or civil partners)—that are almost identical in their terms. Each will sets up a life interest trust for the benefit of the surviving partner.

How it works:

• When the first partner dies, their will creates a trust that allows the surviving partner (the "life tenant") to use certain assets (most commonly the family home or income from investments) for the rest of their life.

• The surviving partner does not own these assets outright; they simply have the right to benefit from them during their lifetime.

• When the surviving partner dies, the assets held in trust pass to the ultimate beneficiaries (often the couple’s children), as specified in both wills.

• The other partner’s will contains the same provisions, so whichever partner dies first, the same arrangement applies.

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• For a Single Discretionary Trust Will we charge from £1,100 plus VAT and this will include a letter of wishes. 

 

A Discretionary Will Trust is a type of trust created by a Will, where the assets are held by trustees who have the power to decide how, when, and to which beneficiaries the trust assets or income are distributed. The Will usually lists a group of potential beneficiaries (such as children, grandchildren, or other family members), but no individual beneficiary has an automatic right to receive anything from the trust. This type of trust is often used to provide flexibility, protect assets, and manage tax planning.

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• For Mirror Discretionary Will Trusts we charge from £1,660 plus VAT and this will include a letter of wishes.

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A Mirror Discretionary Will Trust refers to two Wills—one for each partner (usually spouses or civil partners)—that are almost identical and each creates a discretionary trust on the death of the testator. The main features are:

• Each partner’s Will sets up a discretionary trust for the benefit of a group of potential beneficiaries (such as children, grandchildren, or other family members).

• The terms of both Wills are “mirrored,” meaning they are the same except for the name of the testator and possibly individual funeral wishes.

• The trustees named in each Will have full discretion to decide which beneficiaries receive assets or income from the trust, how much, and when.

• No beneficiary has an automatic right to any part of the trust; the trustees can adapt their decisions to suit changing family circumstances or needs.

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Lasting Powers of Attorney

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• For a Single Lasting Power of Attorney for Property and Financial Affairs or Health and Welfare we charge £600 plus VAT.

• For both Lasting Powers of Attorney for Property and Financial Affairs and Health and Welfare we charge £750 plus VAT.

• For two Single Lasting Powers of Attorney for Property and Financial Affairs or Health and Welfare we charge £750 plus VAT.

• For both Lasting Powers of Attorney for Property and Financial Affairs and Health and Welfare for a couple (a matched pair) we charge £950 plus VAT.

 

We offer a discount of £100 plus VAT in total on the above fees when preparing Lasting Powers of Attorney at the same time as your Will(s).

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In addition to the above charges for Powers of Attorney, there are registration fees payable to the Office of the Public Guardian of  between £41-£82 per Lasting Power of Attorney registered depending on financial circumstances (to be assessed by the Solicitor dealing with your case).

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Inheritance Tax Planning (IHT)

 

We can offer bespoke inheritance tax planning and this advice starts from £1,000 plus VAT for an IHT report and we can then advise you what Wills you need, and any other estate planning measures you need to take and these services would be chargeable in accordance with our fixed fees below or where appropriate (if your matter is complex) our hourly rate of £270 plus VAT.

 

Asset Protection and Life Time Trusts

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We offer Care Fees advice, Asset Protection advice starting from £1,000 plus VAT at 20%. This includes the initial meeting and a follow up report. If you then proceed with Trust(s) - this fee is deducted off the total cost of the Trust(s), but trusts do need registering with the HMRC and there is an additional charge of £500 plus VAT if you would like us to register the Trust(s) for you.

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• For a Single Trust we charge from £1,500 plus VAT at 20%;

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• For Two Trusts for a couple (a matched pair) we charge from £2,000 plus VAT at 20%.

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In addition to the above charges, for Trusts receiving property there will be disbursements of Land Registry fees depending on the value of your property normally between -£30-£80 and Office copies of £10 plus VAT. When the Trust property needs to be registered for the first time with the land registry - there will be additional fees that will apply and will be discussed with you at your initial meeting.​

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Grant of Probate/Letters of Administration and Administration of Estates

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Grant only services

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• For Grant of Probate/Letters of Administration only, when you provide the details of the assets in the estate, we charge from £995 plus VAT at 20%.

• For Grant of Probate/Letters of Administration only and form IHT 400 (when no Inheritance Tax is payable), when you provide the details of the assets in the estate, we charge from £2,500 plus VAT at 20%.

• For Grant of Probate/Letters of Administration only and form IHT 400 (when Inheritance Tax is payable), when you provide the details of the assets in the estate, we charge from £3,500 plus VAT at 20%.

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Grant and Full Administration services 

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For grant and full administration, we charge the above and will provide an agreed fee, where appropriate for the remainder of the work once we have assessed what work needs to be done. Alternatively, this will be in accordance with our hourly rate of £270 plus VAT if we cannot provide a fixed fee. This can often work out to be in the region of 2% of the value of the estate. The exact cost will depend on the individual circumstances of the matter.  For example, if there is one beneficiary and no property, costs will be at the lower end of the range.  If there are multiple beneficiaries, a property and multiple bank accounts, costs will be at the higher end. We do provide 6 monthly costs updates for administration of estate matters that take in excess of 6 months.

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When we assist you with the full administration, the disbursements and our fees can be deducted from the estate to ensure a smooth process so there is no upfront costs to you.

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In addition to the above charges, there will be the following disbursements:

 

•  Probate Registry fees of £300 and each certified copy of the Grant is an additional £1.50;

•  A bankruptcy search fee of £10 plus VAT at 20% for each beneficiary;

• Anti-money laundering search of £10 plus VAT for each executor, administrator and beneficiary.

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If you instruct us as recommended best practice to conduct an Estate Research Asset Search and place Trustee Act Notices, these disbursements start from £185 plus VAT each.

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For some estates, we may also charge an additional fee to reflect the complexity and value of the matter and/or if we are named executors of the Will.  This is usually between 0.5% & 0.75% of the property value plus between 1% and 1.5% of the value of other assets in accordance with Law Society guidelines.

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Other Matters

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We can also provide the following services:

 

• Trust Registration starting from £500 plus VAT.

• Severance of Joint Tenancy £150 plus VAT.

•  Letter of Wishes £150 plus VAT.

•  Transfer of Equity £600 plus VAT and in addition, Land Registry fees depending on the value of your property-normally between -£30-£80 and Office copies of £10 plus VAT.

• Court of Protection application our hourly rate of £270 plus VAT and there will be Court Fees of £408. There are other disbursements which will be discussed with you at your initial meeting.

• We can also offer assisting you with Blue Forms (Grave Deeds) and our fees start from £5.00 for these services.

• For Home Visits outside of a five mile radius, there will be a charge of £50 plus VAT per out visit.