We wholeheartedly support the Law Society of Scotland’s efforts to ensure transparency in the fees charged for legal work. This section of our website looks at the costs associated with different types of legal work we carry out for clients. These pages have been prepared in accordance with the Law Society of Scotland Price Transparency Guidance.

The legal fee is only one aspect of the cost of dealing with a legal case or transaction on your behalf. The overall cost of a case or transaction will be higher when we are required to collect payments we then have to pass over to third parties. We will clearly explain our legal fee for each legal service we deliver as well as the expenses and outlays incurred. We believe this will enable our clients and potential clients to properly evaluate the costs they will incur when they engage our firm.

Whilst we charge fixed fees for a large number of legal services, there are occasions where the costs might increase. When this happens, we will explain how and why. In other cases, it is not possible to provide an accurate estimate of the cost of your case because we do not know the extent of the work that will be required in advance. We will, however, where possible provide a typical example showing the fee as well as the outlays and expenses of the case.

By reviewing the cost of legal work, you will be able to budget for the work you wish us to deal with for you.

We are pleased to set out our legal fees for the following work we carry out:

The cost of estate agency for marketing a house

The first stage in selling a house is to get it onto the market. We will present our charges in a straight-forward, easily understood way. There are no hidden costs and we will be completely transparent in what it will cost to market your house through our estate agency service.

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The cost of letting a house

Whether you wish to find a tenant or are looking for a fully managed letting service, we will set out the costs for each stage of the process. Our aim is to match the cost to the service you need.

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The cost of buying a house

The legal fee involved in buying a house is only one part of the overall cost. There are a number of other costs involved which we are obliged to pay to third parties on your behalf. That is why it is very important to understand all of the costs and who receives these.

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The cost of selling a house

When you sell your house, you will incur costs. Our legal fee only forms part of the overall cost of selling a house. We will provide you with details of all the costs involved in the sale of a house to ensure you can budget properly for your sale.

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The cost of re-mortgaging a house

When you re-mortgage a house, you incur some outlays you would incur in a purchase and others you would incur in a sale. In addition, we will charge a fee for the legal work we carry out for you. We will provide you with a comprehensive breakdown of all the costs involved in the re-mortgage of a house.

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The cost of discharging a Standard Security

When you finally repay your mortgage, you then need to remove the Standard Security held by your lender over the property. As with other types of legal work, the fee is only part of the overall cost of discharging the Standard Security over a house. We will provide you with a note of all the costs involved to deal with the discharge work.

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The cost of making a Will

When you make a Will, you set out what should happen after your death. Many clients ask us to prepare Wills for them every year. We will explain the costs involved when you ask us to prepare a Will for you.

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The cost of making a Power of Attorney

When you draw up a Power of Attorney, you appoint someone to deal with your affairs should you become unable to deal with them yourself. We detail the costs involved in drawing up a Power of Attorney, including the registration costs incurred by the Office of the Public Guardian (Scotland).

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The cost of dealing with Estates

Dealing with the estate of someone who has died involves investigating the extent of the estate, applying to the court for Confirmation and then gathering in the estate before distributing this to the beneficiaries. Whilst this seems straight-forward, it seldom is. It is not possible to give a precise figure to deal with an estate but we can provide you with an example of a typical cost for this type of work.

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The cost of Guardianship

Unfortunately, some people become incapable of looking after their own affairs. When this happens, unless they have a Power of Attorney already in place, someone needs to be appointed to deal with the affairs of the individual. This person is called a Guardian and they are appointed by the court. We will provide you with a clear estimate of cost for carrying out this work.

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The cost of separation and divorce

Separation and Divorce is always associated with stress with emotions running high. It is important to understand the likely costs when you need to deal with this situation. There are a number of options in the approach to how a separation or divorce is dealt with. We will explain the options and the associated costs involved.

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The cost of Civil Court Cases

Civil court covers a wide range of cases and, as a result, it is impossible to give a clear indication of the costs involved. However, we will explain the basis of our charges and the likely outlays you need to pay in addition to our fee. Please note these charges are for private clients only and not to legally aided clients.

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The cost of Criminal Court Cases

Whether you are facing a minor road traffic charge or a serious criminal charge, our fee will reflect our likely involvement for the different stages of the case. Clearly, if you are legally aided, these charges will not apply to you. Where possible, we will give you a clear indication of the likely costs to enable you to budget for your defence.

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The cost of General Business

There are a number of areas of law that do not fit neatly into a specific category. We can provide you with help and advice across a number of these areas and when that occurs we will explain the basis of our charges for carrying out work on your behalf.

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Please note that the Law Society of Scotland does not apply to commercial legal work. However, if you have a commercial transaction we are happy to discuss budget costs for carrying out that type of work on your behalf. In addition, the basis of charging for this type of work will be outlined in our Terms of Engagement letter we send to you at the start of your case or transaction.

Do you operate on a fixed legal fees basis?

Where we offer a fixed legal fee service, we will say so. If we are unable to offer a fixed fee service, we will outline our fee charging basis.

We will provide you with a wide range of information on costs on the specific pages relating to each work type. If you have any questions about any aspect of the costs, please contact us to discuss these and how you might be affected.

You should remember that every case is different and the final fee we charged will be based on the work we actually carry out. The fixed fee we quote envisages that the case will be carried out without complications. However, on occasions, circumstances which are outwith our control cause additional time to be spent in their resolution which will result in an adjustment to the final fee. If such issues arise, we will explain these to you.

Our Terms of Engagement will be issued to when you ask us to deal with a legal matter on your behalf. The Terms of Engagement will clearly explain the fee charging basis and likely costs for your particular case.

Is there anything over and above the legal fee that you will have to pay?

In most types of legal work, the fee is only one element of the costs. Additional costs are incurred in most of the areas we deal with and we will explain these clearly to you. We should also point out that legal fees are subject to VAT. When we explain our fee for carrying out a particular piece of work, we will detail our fee and the VAT separately. We will account to HM Revenue and Customs for the VAT that is charged on the fee.

We hope the information on the fees we charge will enable you to make an informed decision. If, however, you have any questions at all about any aspect of the costs, please contact us as soon as possible.