At Nelsons, we believe you deserve complete transparency when it comes to legal costs. Whether you’re an individual, family, or business, you should feel confident about both the service you’re receiving and what you’ll pay for it.
We know many clients want to understand potential costs before they get in touch. That’s why we’ve outlined our pricing for key services below—helping you make informed decisions from the very start.
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Debt Recovery Services
Pre-Court action debt recovery services and fees (including Statutory Demands)
Our debt recovery service for pre-court action includes the following:
- Taking your instructions and reviewing documentation.
- Sending correspondence to your debtor and dealing with any response(s).
- Receiving payment and sending it on to you, or if the debt is not paid, advising you on the next steps.
Our fees for this service are as follows:
- On debts of £1,000 or less, we charge fixed fees of £75 + VAT plus 10 % + VAT of the gross sum recovered.
- We charge fixed fees of £150 + VAT plus 7% + VAT of the gross sum recovered insofar as the sum recovered is up to £25,000 plus an additional 3% + VAT of any part of the sum recovered which exceeds £25,000. By way of example:
- Example 1 – A recovered debt of £10,000 would generate a fee of £850 being £150 plus £700 (7% of £10,000).
- Example 2 – A recovered debt of £40,000 would generate a fee of £2,350 being £150 plus £1,750 (7% of the first £25,000) plus £450 (3% of the balance of £15,000).
Statutory Demands
A Statutory Demand is a direct route to starting insolvency proceedings. Before you can serve a bankruptcy or winding-up petition upon a debtor without a Court judgment, you must serve a Statutory Demand for the outstanding debt. You can only use a Statutory Demand if the debt is more than £750 and is not disputed.
If a debtor fails to pay within the time limit, then insolvency proceedings may be started without notice to the debtor. A Statutory Demand can be a very powerful collection tool, so it has to be used carefully, as there are risks of penalties in costs if misused.
We charge an additional fixed fee of £750, including service by post, whether the debt is recovered or not. If personal service is required, the additional expenses incurred will also be charged.
Court action debt recovery service and fees
If your debt cannot be collected through pre-court action correspondence and telephone calls, we may advise you that it is commercially viable to issue Court proceedings. If you decide to do so, then our team will sue the debtor for the original debt plus any interest or compensation you are due.
Through Court action, we will continue to pursue your case and liaise and advise you throughout the process. We would most likely recommend that appropriate searches are carried out to check the credit rating of your debtor before you start Court action in all cases. Additional fees will be payable for these searches, but we will discuss them with you before they are incurred.
Depending on the value of the debt, we will charge a fixed fee of between £150 to £850 in addition to the fee permitted by the court rules. A more detailed breakdown of our costs can be found here:
Debt Court fee Our fee Total Up to £300 £35.00 £150.00 £185.00 £301 – £500 £50.00 £150.00 £200.00 £501 – £1,000 £70.00 £170.00 £240.00 £1,001 – £1,500 £80.00 £280.00 £360.00 £1,501 – £2,000 £115.00 £280.00 £395.00 £2,001 – £3,000 £115.00 £200.00 £395.00 £3,001 – £5,000 £205.00 £380.00 £585.00 £5,001 – £10,000 £455.00 £400.00 £855.00 £10,001 – £200,000 5% of the value of the claim £600.00 £600.00 plus 5% of the claim value Exceeds £200,000 £10,000.00 £850.00 £10,850.00 There is an additional charge of £125 plus VAT for the service of a claim outside of the jurisdiction of the Courts of England and Wales.
Where the amount of the judgment exceeds £25 but does not exceed £5,000 Where the amount of the judgment exceeds £5,000 Where judgment in default of an acknowledgement of service is entered £22.00 £30.00 Where judgment in default of a defence is entered £25.00 £35.00 Where judgment is entered on an admission £40.00 £55.00 Where judgment is entered on an admission (or an admission of part of the claim), and the court decides the date or time of payment £55.00 £70.00 Obtaining a Court judgment
When obtaining a County Court Judgment within England and Wales, there is a fee payable to us of £100 plus the recoverable fixed fee plus VAT as outlined below:
The fee for requesting a Judgment outside of the jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales is £250 plus the recoverable fixed fees within the above table, plus VAT.
The court rules allow you to recover some of these sums from the debtor, though the exact amount you can recover can change from time to time.
Fees for additional services
We will always confirm the fees for each case with you prior to taking action.
The fixed fees include an element of our time in processing the application, as well as our payment to a third-party supplier. The fees below are intended as a guideline only as the expenses we pay may vary from case to case.
Court fees may be payable in addition.
Service Guideline fee for our time Guideline expense Overall fixed fee plus VAT Trace of person/business £50 £37 Positive Trace – £87 Additional administrative charge to appoint lawyer agents for recovery outside of England and Wales £75 N/A £75 Land Registry search £21 £7 £28 Winding up petition search £25 N/A £25 Bankruptcy search £25 Free £25 Instalment monitoring £15 N/A £15 per instalment Bailiff’s warrant £125 £94 – court fee £219 High Court Enforcement Officer (HCEO) £125 £80 – court fee (debts over £600 only) £205 Attachment of earnings £400 £135 – court fee £535 Charging orders £400 £135 – court fee £535 Third-party debt order £400 £135 – court fee £535 UK lawyer agents Chargeable by time Various N/A Questioning debtor about means £400 £67– court fee £467 plus costs to serve Certificate of money provisions £125 £80 £205 21-Day LBA warning of commencement of bankruptcy/winding up proceedings (Statutory Demand) £750 N/A £750 + costs for personal service Hourly fees for our debt recovery services
If the debt you are pursuing becomes disputed or, in instances where you may benefit from additional advice/services, your file may be referred to a member of our Dispute Resolution team.
Matters will only be referred and fees will only be incurred in this way, having obtained your express instructions to do so. As we cannot always know in advance precisely what work is going to be involved, we will provide you with the best information possible about the likely cost at the beginning of the matter and at intervals while the matter proceeds.
Our hourly rates are as follows:
- Partner / Consultant – £390 plus VAT
- Legal Director – £350 plus VAT
- Senior Associate – £315 plus VAT
- Associate – £255 plus VAT
- Trainee Solicitor / Senior Paralegal – £215 plus VAT
- Paralegal – £155 plus VAT
The above fees cover all work done, including:
- Time spent in meetings with you and others (including others from Nelsons).
- Preparing documents.
- Preparing advice.
- Reading and preparing letters, emails and faxes.
- Telephone calls made and received.
- Any other activity necessary to progress your matter.
Sometimes we may increase the rates outlined above – we will notify you of the changes before they take effect.
The hourly rate is specific to the work you have asked us to undertake and may reflect the value of the property or assets involved, unusual complexity, levels of responsibility, an exceptional value of our work to you, working unsociable hours or unusual speed applied to your matter.
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Probate Services
Grant of Probate/Letter of Administration & Estate Administration
If you wish, we can assist with all aspects of the estate administration for you.
You will appreciate that the size and complexity of estates and the work we are required to do to administer these can vary substantially from case to case. To reflect this, our charges are calculated in general terms on the basis of the time we spend working on the matter, applying the hourly rate charged by the legal professional acting.
Our fees for estate administration
As a guide, we estimate our fees for dealing with the administration of an estate will be in the region of:
- Where there is no Inheritance Tax payable, no IHT accounts are required by HMRC, there is a maximum of one property and three financial institutions and three UK-based beneficiaries and the estate administration is straightforward – our fees would be 1.5% to 2.5% of the gross value of the estate assets for Inheritance Tax purposes plus VAT – subject to a minimum fee of £4,000 plus VAT.
- In other circumstances, our fees would be 2.5% to 3.5% of the gross value of the estate assets for Inheritance Tax purposes plus VAT – subject to a minimum fee of £8,000 plus VAT.
Our estate administration service
As part of our service, we will usually:
- Meet with you to take your instructions and advise you regarding the estate administration.
- Agree with you about what work you require us to undertake in the estate administration and what work you wish to carry out yourself.
- Consider the paperwork you provide us with to identify the actual or potential estate assets and liabilities.
- Contact the institutions with whom the estate assets and liabilities are or may be held or owed to obtain the information and paperwork required from them.
- Collate the information we receive from those institutions into an Estate Account.
- Prepare the Probate application paperwork and any Inheritance Tax accounts required by HMRC. Claim any Inheritance Tax allowances available and calculate the amount of Inheritance Tax due.
- Send the application paperwork to you for approval and provide you with an update regarding the estate administration.
- Arrange to pay the Inheritance Tax due from the deceased’s bank accounts.
- Obtain the Grant of Probate or Letters of Administration.
- Once the Grant has been issued, collect in the monies due to the estate and pay out the estate liabilities.
- Contact the estate beneficiaries to check their identity and, once funds are available, pay out the legacies/distributions due to them.
- Submit a corrective account, if needed, to HMRC to finalise the Inheritance Tax position.
- Prepare Final Estate Accounts and provide the executors/administrators and residuary beneficiaries with a copy of these.
Assuming that everything proceeds smoothly, we would usually expect to be in a position to:
- Meet with you to complete the Probate application and Inheritance Tax paperwork approximately three to four months after our first meeting, where no Inheritance Tax is payable, or four to five months after our first meeting, where Inheritance Tax is payable.
- To complete the estate administration in approximately a further two to three months, where no Inheritance Tax is payable, or four to six months, where Inheritance Tax is payable.
We may, in certain circumstances, be able to meet with you to complete the matter much quicker than this. Alternatively, there are many factors, such as the time it takes to sell a property, negotiations with HMRC and delays in obtaining instructions from beneficiaries or information from institutions, which may, unfortunately, mean that it takes longer than this to deal with the matter.
All work will be carried out either by or under the supervision of an experienced solicitor.
Additional fees
Additional fees may be made if we are required to:
- Collect the medical certificate, register the death or organise the funeral.
- Visit the deceased’s property for any reason.
- Deal with any foreign assets.
- Advise upon or deal with any Capital Gains Tax/Income Tax matters relating to the deceased’s lifetime affairs or those relating to the estate administration.
- Deal with the sale or transfer of property or business assets.
- Advise upon or deal with any variation of the Will or Intestacy.
- Involve ourselves in any issues regarding the validity of the Will or Codicil and any disagreements or disputes, or claims affecting the estate in any way.
- Instruct genealogists to identify and/or locate beneficiaries.
- Negotiate with HMRC regarding the Inheritance Tax position.
- Assist in arranging a loan to pay the Inheritance Tax due if there are insufficient funds to pay this from the deceased’s bank accounts.
- Deal with more than one estate property, more than 10 estate assets, more than 10 estate liabilities, more than six legatees or more than six beneficiaries of the residuary estate.
Additional fees incurred in estate administration
Expenses that are or may commonly be incurred in the administration of an estate are:
- Where the value of the estate exceeds £5,000, the Probate Registry charges a fee of £300 for issuing the grant of probate. There is also a £1.50 charge for each sealed copy of the Grant you require.
- Inheritance Tax, which in general terms is charged at the rate of 40% upon the net estate for Inheritance Tax purposes after the deduction of available tax allowances.
- Land Registry fees to check the property title – £7 per property.
- Certainty Will search – £140 approximately.
- Estate Search asset and liability search – £234 approximately.
- Statutory advertisements for creditors – £250 – £300 approximately.
Additional expenses may be incurred if it is necessary to instruct experts to, for example, value, sell or otherwise deal with assets, such as property, personal effects, business interests and shares.
Income Tax, Capital Gains Tax and possibly other taxes plus accountancy fees may need to be paid to finalise the deceased’s lifetime tax affairs and the estate administration tax position.
Grant of Probate/Letter of Administration
If you would like to carry out most of the work in the estate administration yourself and instruct us to simply obtain the Grant of Probate, our charges will usually be £1,200 plus VAT and £300 Probate Registry fees plus £1.50 for each sealed copy of the Grant you require.
Our Grant of Probate/Letter of Administration service
Our Grant of Probate/Letter of Administration service includes:
- Meeting with you to take your instructions.
- Preparing the Probate application paperwork and sending this to you for approval.
- Submitting the completed paperwork to the Probate Registry.
- Sending out to you the issued Grant of Probate and sealed copies.
What our standard fees cover
We will charge our usual fee on the basis that:
- We already hold the last Will of the deceased or you are able to provide the original to us and there is no issue with the validity of this.
- You provide us with an original death certificate for the deceased and satisfactory identification evidence for yourself.
- You are the only executor(s) currently entitled to take out the Grant and there are no major discrepancies between your name(s) as it appears on the Will and your identification evidence.
- You provide us with a schedule of the estate assets, how they are owned and their value either at our initial meeting or in a single document shortly after the meeting.
- You provide us with a schedule of all declarable gifts made by the deceased during the last seven years of their life, including the amount, date and recipient of each gift either at our initial meeting or in a single document shortly after the meeting.
- The gross value of the estate assets, including the gross value of the declarable lifetime gifts does not exceed £325,000. The lifetime gifts do not exceed £150,000 in value and there are no Trust assets to declare.
- The deceased was domiciled in England and Wales and did not own any foreign assets, nor have a foreign Will.
- All executors meet with us together to complete the Probate application paperwork.
- There is no dispute regarding the estate that we are to be involved in.
- You deal with all other aspects of the estate administration yourself.
Once you have provided us with the information we need, we would usually expect to have prepared the Probate application within two weeks. Once we have met with you to complete this, assuming all proceeds smoothly, we would expect to be able to send out to you the issued Grant of Probate and sealed copies within 20 weeks (the Probate Registry is currently estimating 16-20 weeks from submission of the Probate application to them to issue of the Grant). We can ask the Probate Registry to speed up the issue of the Grant where this is needed urgently.
All work will be carried out either by or under the supervision of an experienced solicitor.
Where the circumstances are as set out above, except:
- The deceased died without leaving a Will, then, assuming you are the only people entitled to take out the Grant of Letters of Administration under the Intestacy rules, our charges for carrying out the above work would usually be £1,200 plus VAT and £300 Probate Registry fees plus £1.50 for each sealed copy of the Grant you require.
- No Inheritance Tax is payable upon the deceased’s estate but additional Inheritance Tax accounts are required by HMRC then our charges for carrying out the above work, including the completion of those additional accounts, would be in the region of £3,000 to £5,000 plus VAT and £300 Probate Registry fees plus £1.50 for each sealed copy of the Grant you require.
- Inheritance Tax is payable upon the deceased’s estate then our charges for carrying out the above work, including the completion of the IHT400 account and arranging for payment of the tax from a single bank account held by the deceased, would usually be in the region of £5,000 to £7,000 plus VAT and £300 Probate Registry fees plus £1.50 for each sealed copy of the Grant you require.
Hourly fees for our Wills & Probate team
- Partner / Consultant – From £390 plus VAT
- Legal Director – From £350 plus VAT
- Senior Associate – From £315 plus VAT
- Associate – From £255 plus VAT
- Trainee Solicitor / Senior Paralegal – From £215 plus VAT
- Paralegal – From £155 plus VAT
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Employment Tribunal Claims (Unfair/Wrongful Dismissal)
Our fees for making or defending unfair or wrongful dismissal claims
As a guide, we estimate our fees for advising and assisting in bringing a claim to be in the region of:
- £11,550 – £24,500 + VAT for standard claims, e.g. constructive/unfair dismissal
- £32,450 – £53,350 + VAT for complex claims, e.g. discrimination/whistleblowing
For advising and assisting in defending a claim, we estimate:
- £13,750 – £28,050 + VAT for standard claims, e.g. constructive/unfair dismissal
- £32,450 – £57,750 + VAT for complex claims, e.g. discrimination/whistleblowing
That excludes time representing at any Tribunal hearings and/or disbursements such as counsel’s fees.
Factors that could make a case more complex include:
- If it is necessary to make or defend an application to amend a claim or to provide further information about an existing claim.
- Defending a claim brought by a litigant in person (a person or business that has the right to address a Court (rights of audience) and is not legally represented by a solicitor or barrister).
- Making or defending a costs application.
- Any preliminary issues, such as time limits or whether the claimant is/was an employee.
- The number of witnesses and documents involved in the claim.
Our service
The fees listed in the previous section cover all of the work concerning the following key stages of an unfair dismissal claim, which include:
- Taking your initial instructions, reviewing the papers and advising you on the merits and likely compensation (this is likely to be revisited throughout the matter and is subject to change).
- Entering into pre-claim conciliation, where this is mandatory, to explore whether a settlement can be reached.
- Preparing a claim or response.
- Reviewing and advising on a claim or response from the other party.
- Exploring a settlement and negotiating a settlement throughout the process.
- Preparing or considering a schedule of loss.
- Exchanging documents with the other party and agreeing on a bundle of documents.
- Taking witness statements, drafting statements and agreeing on the content with witnesses.
- Preparing a bundle of documents.
- Reviewing and advising on the other party’s witness statements.
- Agreeing on a list of issues, a chronology and/or a cast list.
The stages set out above are an indication, and if some of the stages are not required, the fee will be reduced. You may wish to handle the claim yourself and only have our advice concerning some of the stages. This can also be arranged according to your individual needs
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Residential Conveyancing
We offer clear, transparent pricing for all residential conveyancing services. You can obtain a detailed estimate using our online conveyancing calculator or by calling us on 0800 024 1976.
Buying Property
Whether you’re purchasing your first home or expanding your portfolio, we handle all legal aspects of your property purchase.
Complete Service for Freehold & Leasehold Properties
Core legal services included:
- Party coordination: Liaising with the seller’s conveyancer, estate agents, and mortgage providers
- Document review: Comprehensive analysis of contracts, title documents, and mortgage offers
- Property searches: Local Authority, drainage, environmental, and other required searches
- Due diligence: Raising and reviewing enquiries, analysing search results
- Legal completion: Preparing Land Registry transfers and Stamp Duty Land Tax returns
- Transaction management: Coordinating the exchange of contracts and completion
- Post-completion: Registering your ownership with the Land Registry
- File retention: Secure storage of your documents for a minimum of 7 years
Additional Leasehold Services
When buying a leasehold property, we also provide:
- Lease analysis: Detailed review of lease terms, ground rent, and service charges
- Management liaison: Communication with landlords and management companies
- Legal compliance: Serving required notices and obtaining compliance certificates
Selling Property
Maximise your sale proceeds with our comprehensive legal support throughout the selling process.
Complete Service for Freehold & Leasehold Properties
Core legal services included:
- Documentation: Obtaining title documents and preparing complete contract packs
- Enquiry management: Responding promptly to the buyer’s solicitor enquiries
- Stakeholder coordination: Liaising with mortgage providers and estate agents
- Transaction completion: Managing exchange of contracts and sale completion
- Financial settlement: Distributing sale proceeds and redeeming existing mortgages
- File retention: Secure document storage for a minimum of 7 years
Additional Leasehold Services
For leasehold property sales, we also:
- Management pack: Obtaining leasehold resale packs from landlords/management companies
- Financial calculations: Preparing accurate apportionments for ground rent and service charges
Remortgaging
Switch to a better mortgage deal with our streamlined remortgaging service.
Complete Remortgage Service
Everything you need:
- Offer analysis: Thorough review of your new mortgage offer terms
- Financial coordination: Obtaining redemption figures from the existing lender
- Risk assessment: Conducting required searches or arranging search indemnity insurance
- Legal documentation: Preparing and submitting mortgage deeds
- Completion management: Coordinating the remortgage completion process
- Registration: Registering the new mortgage charge with the Land Registry
Disbursements (Third-Party Costs)
Disbursements are essential third-party fees, including:
- Land Registry fees
- Local Authority and specialist searches
- Stamp Duty Land Tax (where applicable)
- Bank transfer fees
All disbursements are clearly outlined in your initial estimate and may vary based on your specific transaction
Our Standard Assumptions
Our fee estimates are based on:
- Standard residential transactions without unforeseen complications
- Single mortgage arrangement
- Registered property title
- Individual clients (not corporate)
Additional fees may apply for complex matters or where indemnity policies are required
Additional Work
When a matter becomes more complicated or additional work is required on our part, it may be necessary to adjust our fee estimate to reflect our additional costs. In the spirit of full transparency, we have prepared a list of the most common occurrences not included in your fee estimate, along with an explanation of the additional work required and our associated fee for carrying out the extra work. A copy of this list is provided with your fee estimate at the outset and can also be found here.
Unless expressly stated, our fee estimates apply only to individuals and not to corporate clients.
Onboarding & File Opening Fee
All new matters require a thorough compliance and administrative process to ensure we meet regulatory standards and deliver a seamless client experience. This includes identity verification, conflict checks, and secure file setup. To support this, we apply a one-time onboarding fee for each new instruction:
| Client Type | Fee (inc. VAT) |
|---|---|
| Individual | £42.00 |
| UK Company | £60.00 |
| International Company | £96.00 |
| Other Legal Entity | £60.00 |
| Source of Funds Check | £42.00 |
The fee covers:
- Identity verification and anti-money laundering (AML) checks
- Conflict of interest screening
- Secure setup of your matter within our systems
This fee is not recurring and is applied only at the outset of each new matter. It enables us to begin substantive legal work promptly and in full compliance with our professional obligations. It also reduces the risks of legal or regulatory issues arising, which can cause delays.
Our Commitment to You
- Transparency: We provide clear cost breakdowns upfront and keep you informed throughout your matter.
- Flexibility: Every client is different. We’ll recommend the most cost-effective approach for your specific needs.
- No surprises: We’ll always discuss additional costs before incurring them and obtain your approval first.
- Quality: All work is carried out by or under the supervision of experienced solicitors.
Disbursements (third-party costs like court fees, searches, and expert reports) are in addition to our fees. We’ll identify these upfront and obtain your approval before proceeding.
Ready to get started? Contact us today for a no-obligation discussion about your legal needs.