Solicitors Fees

[Beth1908]

Hi all - I am in the process of sorting my late Father’s estate and trying to sell
his house.

I have just received the first bill from my solicitor - very little has been done to date but the bill is extortionate. Almost £5k which is all his savings.

I’ve been charged £35 for every email, even emails where I’ve merely been polite and acknowledged his email (ie thanks for your reply). No action or question asked. Is this normal? Doesn’t feel fair or just at all!

Do you have a copy of their charging schedule?

@SparklingLime Yes, they’ve provided the dates and times. I’ve crossed referenced/looked at the emails sent and lots of the charges are just ‘reading’ me saying thank you!

Is the Solicitor named in his will as the Executor? I believe they are entitled to charge a % of the Estate if so?

Ask for the rest to be dealt with as a fixed fee. That's ridiculous

Cheeky blighters!

I once sent a settlement agreement for an employee to get countersigned by a solicitor and he changed some of the terms including the amount she could pay for legal fees, ie him.

@BMW6 Yes the solicitor is the executor. My Dad organised it like that as I lost my DH a couple of years ago so he wanted to take the pressure off me. Not sure either of us understood what it meant … or how costly it would be!!

Yes this is exactly the same experience I am having sorting out my fathers estate. My first bill was 5000 and that is just the interim bill there is more to come.

You should have been made aware of the rates before you engaged their services. It's standard practice to charge for correspondence, but even at £35 per email/letter that's a long way off £5k. You've said they've 'done nothing'. Going forward are there things you could do yourself to save money?

@JudgeRudy to be honest, I can’t remember what the solicitor told me at the beginning - I was such an emotional mess!
The solicitor is the executor so I’m not allowed to do anything.
A lot of the £5k has gone on selling his car … it was only worth £1.5k!!

He might be doing things behind the scenes that aren’t obvious possibly and having to charge the time for those. Stressful time though sorry OP

Unfortunately solicitors charge a minimum of 6 minutes for just opening and documenting an email. £350 per hour is at the higher end but certainly not unheard of. It is advisable to keep communication to an absolute minimum and be very concise and precise at all times. Never send emails that don't require them to do anything.

At this point I'd suggest to try and negotiate a fixed fee for the rest of the work to be done. May e ask if a more junior solicitor can handle routine tasks.

I was afraid that would be the case. It can be really expensive to have Solicitors appointed as Executors, but on the other hand it saves a bereaved relative having to plough through it all.

Once the house and any other assets are sold the estate can be proved and the Solicitor will take his fee and disburse the residuary estate as I understand it.

I'm a little confused by you getting his bill and saying you've been charged though - none of these charges are payable by you. They are paid by the estate of the deceased.

Hi OP I’m a solicitor (not probate though). I would write a letter to the managing partner / complaints partner asking them to justify their charges. They may well agree a discount or agree to cap the remainder of the file rather than go through the formal complaints process.

We have to time record (6 minute units for everything…) but at the same time the bill should be proportionate and fair. Even on a complex matter which has taken ages I personally wouldn’t expect to charge for every single unit spent. It does depend on the individual and the firm though. However, if the fees are genuinely not justified, many will back down (to some extent) if challenged.

Their Client Care letter should set out their hourly rate. If you don't have a copy, ask for another. It's their duty to make sure the fees are transparent and clear. Don't be shy to question bills! That's a huge issue in our Professional Code and people get disciplined or even struck off if they don't comply.

Agree with the above that you could ask for a fixed fee. Another thing you could do is pay a certain amount on account, and ask for monthly invoices so you can keep an eye on charges.

A couple of points:

1. The hourly rate of your solicitor is not anything near what the solicitor actually takes home. It pays for insurance, practising certificate, admin, office, storage, etc etc etc.
2. It's standard to charge six minutes for a routine email or phone call. They have to log and store all correspondence for at least six years. An email from you saying "Thanks" is also evidence that you received something or understood their advice, and a little email like that could end up being important if there's a dispute.

Idgaff
Am I wrong in thinking the Solicitors charges are paid from the deceased estate though? The OP shouldn't be paying for anything?

Another one saying challenge the bill. I'm a solicitor (litigation) and we're not supposed to charge for reading emails that come in.

Which is exactly why they should be totally amenable to discuss the fees with you again. Solicitors dealing with bereaved clients have a special duty to ensure they're being transparent around fees.

It's perfectly okay to say you're not really clear on why it cost the estate thousands of pounds to sell a second-hand car, or why an email from you saying "thanks" is being billed at £35.

I'm not saying they're crooks or anything but sometimes they get caught up in the work itself and don't realise you're concerned.

You deserve clarity, which will put your mind at rest. And if they're anything like my old firm, they'll knock a percentage off the bill as a gesture of goodwill (that's cheaper than being brought before the Ombudsman).

Another solicitor here. Incoming email from the client that is 2 pages long and I need to read and digest? Yes I’ll charge a unit for that. Incoming email that says “thanks” or “understood” or “speak tomorrow” - no of course you don’t record time for reading that. So do query it.

Presuming that the OP is the beneficiary of the estate, effectively they're paying for legal fees as it reduces the amount they'll receive.

I believe the legal fees are paid from the estate before it's distributed so you don't have to pay for them personally. But you're still paying for them from your proceeds.

I would ring and email and challenge.