A J Careless Solicitors

Our team

Tony Careless

Tony is the Principal of the Practice. He has a background in a number of different areas of legal practice but now concentrates on property work.

Tony is a first class honours degree graduate of the University of Wales and qualified as a solicitor in 1981. Ten years later he opened his Practice in Ventnor after moving to the Island in 1989, and has lived and worked here ever since.
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Sandra Brown

Sandra is a senior Solicitor practising in all aspects of Wills, Probate and Affairs of the Elderly.

Sandra obtained an Honours Degree at Trent Polytechnic in Nottingham in 1986 and qualified as a Solicitor in 1990.

After practising in London and the birth of her son, Sandra moved to the Island in 1999 and joined the practice in 2006.
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Wendy Webb

F.Inst PA, Residential Conveyancing

Wendy is a conveyancing executive dealing in all areas of residential conveyancing, having attained her Specialist Paralegal Practitioner's Qualification at the University of West England (Bristol) and is now a Fellow of the Institute of Paralegals.

Wendy has over 30 years experience within Solicitors Legal Practice and joined A J Careless in 1991.
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Ian Clark

FCILEx

Ian is a Chartered Legal Executive with over 30 years experience. He began his career on the Island in 1990 before qualifying as a Legal Executive in 1998.

Ian specialises in drafting Wills, Lasting Powers of Attorney and assisting families with the administration of estates. Over the years he is proud to have helped families from generation to generation.

Away from work, Ian is married with two young daughters and enjoys fell walking in the Lake District and family holidays in the Yorkshire Dales.
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Residential Conveyancing Pricing Guidelines

These are guidelines only, not quotes or estimates, and do not take the place of a proper estimate for a specific matter, which we will be glad to supply when in possession of the appropriate information. Please contact Tony Careless or Wendy Webb.

Our fees cover all of the work required to complete the sale and/or purchase of your home, including dealing with registration at the Land Registry and dealing with the payment of Stamp Duty Land Tax (Stamp Duty) if the property is in England, or Land Transaction Tax (Land Tax) if the property you wish to buy is in Wales.

VAT is charged at the prevailing rate (currently 20%).

Conveyancer's fees and disbursements

Freehold Properties

• Property Value £0 - £400,000: From £975 plus VAT
• Property Value £400,001 - £650,000: From £1200 plus VAT
• Property Value £650,001 - £1,000,000: From £1,450 plus VAT
• Property Value £1,000,001 - £1,500,000: From £1,750 plus VAT
• Property Value over £1,500,001: Please contact us

Additional Fees

• Freehold with Management Company: Add £150 plus VAT
• Leasehold (Sale): Add £200 plus VAT
• Leasehold (Purchase): Add £275 plus VAT
• Mortgage with Purchase: Add £275 plus VAT
• New Build: Add £300 plus VAT
• Help to buy ISA: Add £50 plus VAT
• Solar Panels (owned outright): Add £200 plus VAT
• Solar Panels (leased): Add £250 plus VAT
• Unregistered: Add £250 plus VAT

Disbursements

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

• Search fees (on purchase): from £260
• Bankruptcy Search (per person): £6
• Land Registry search: £7
• Official Copy Documents (on sale): £7-£28 on average
• Land Registry fee: Please visit the Land Registry website
• For leasehold properties landlords or their managing agents generally charge a fee for supplying the necessary information and documentation. Their fees vary and we would confirm the figure in any particular case once known.

Stamp Duty or Land Tax (on purchase)

This depends on the purchase price of your property and whether you own any other property (worldwide). You can calculate the amount you will need to pay by using HMRC's website or if the property is located in Wales by using the Welsh Revenue Authority's website here.

How long will my house purchase take?

How long it will take from your offer being accepted until you can move in to your house will depend on a number of factors. The average process takes between 6-8 weeks providing there are no complicating factors which cause delay.

Stages of the process

The precise stages involved in the purchase of a residential property vary according to the circumstances. However, below we have suggested some key stages that will usually be included:

• Take your instructions and give you initial advice
• Check finances are in place to fund purchase and contact lender's solicitors if needed
• Receive and advise on contract documents
• Carry out searches
• Obtain further planning documentation if required
• Make any necessary enquiries of seller's solicitor
• Give you advice and report to you on all documents and information received
• Go through conditions of mortgage offer with you
• Send final contract to you for signature
• Agree completion date (date from which you own the property)
• Exchange contracts and notify you that this has happened
• Arrange for all monies needed to be received from lender and you
• Complete purchase
• Deal with payment of Stamp Duty/Land Tax
• Deal with application for registration at Land Registry

Probate Pricing Guidelines

We tailor our service to meet your needs and therefore the cost of our work will depend on the individual circumstances of the matter. We offer the following guidelines but will be happy to answer any request for further information. Please contact Sandra Brown or Ian Clark.

VAT is charged at the prevailing rate (currently 20%).

Applying for Grant, collecting and distributing the assets

Depending on the size of the estate we anticipate this will take between 10 and 15 hours work at £225 per hour making average fees between £2,250 and £3,375 (plus VAT). Estates of greater complexity may take longer and an estimate can be provided on request.

Factors which determine which end of the scale costs will fall include the number of bank accounts and other assets, whether there is a property and the number of beneficiaries. If there is one beneficiary and no property, our costs will be at the lower end of the range. If there are multiple beneficiaries, property and multiple bank accounts or other assets, our costs will be at the higher end.

We will handle the full process for you. These guidelines are for estates where:

• There is a valid Will
• There is no more than one property
• There are no more than 5 bank or building society accounts
• There are no other intangible assets
• There are 2 - 4 beneficiaries
• There are no disputes between beneficiaries on division of assets. If disputes arise this is likely to lead to an increase in costs
• There is no inheritance tax payable and the executors do not need to submit a full account to HMRC
• There are no claims made against the estate

Disbursements which may be incurred in addition to this fee:

• Probate application fee of £276 (to include two office copies)
• £3 for obtaining an office copy of the Land Registry title to the property
• Bankruptcy-only Land Charges Department searches (£2 per beneficiary/legatee)
• £230.00 Advertisement in the London Gazette and Local Newspaper - Protects against unexpected claims from unknown creditor and also helps to protect against unexpected claims

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

Potential additional costs

• If there is no Will or the estate consists of a greater number of assets including share holdings (stocks and bonds) there are likely to be additional costs that could range significantly depending on the estate and how it is to be dealt with. We can give you a more accurate quote once we have more information.
• Dealing with the sale or transfer of any property in the estate is not included but can be quoted for separately.

How long will this take?

On average, estates which fall within this range are dealt with within 4 - 6 months. Typically, obtaining the Grant of Probate once an application has been submitted takes 4 - 8 weeks. Collecting assets then follows. Once this has been completed, we can distribute the assets, subject to the expiry of statutory notices.

Probate only (non-taxable estates)

If you wish we can help you through this difficult process by making the application and obtaining the Grant of Probate on your behalf.

How much does this service cost?

TOTAL: fixed fee of £945.00 inclusive of VAT plus disbursements.

This includes: obtaining the Grant based on valuations of assets and liabilities provided by you.

Breakdown of costs:

Legal fees £787.50

VAT on legal fees £157.50

Disbursements (£276.00 in total) These include:

• Probate court fee £276.00 (to include 2 office copies).

Disbursements are costs related to your matter payable to third parties, such as court fees.

As part of our fixed fee we will:

• Provide you with a dedicated and experienced probate practitioner to work on your matter
• Identify the legally appointed executors or administrators and beneficiaries
• Accurately identify the type of Probate application you will require based on the financial information you supply to us
• Complete the Probate Application through HMCTS online portal and the relevant HMRC forms
• Provide the legal statement for your signature
• Obtain the Probate and securely send two copies to you

On average, obtaining Probate will take 4 - 8 weeks from completion of the application through the HMCTS portal.

Complaints

We want to give you the best possible service. However, if at any point you become unhappy or concerned about the service we have provided then you should inform us immediately, so that we can do our best to resolve the problem.

In the first instance it may be helpful to contact the person who is working on your case to discuss your concerns and we will do our best to resolve any issues at this stage. If following this you are still not satisfied we can provide you with a copy of our full complaints procedure. Making a complaint will not affect how we handle your case.

What to do if we cannot resolve your complaint

The Legal Ombudsman can help you if we are unable to resolve your complaint ourselves. They will look at your complaint independently and it will not affect how we handle your case.

Before accepting a complaint for investigation, the Legal Ombudsman will check that you have tried to resolve your complaint with us first. If you have, then you must take your complaint to the Legal Ombudsman:

• Within six months of receiving a final response to your complaint

and

• No more than one year from the date of act or omission being complained about; or
• No more than one year from when you should reasonably have known there was cause for complaint.

For more information about the Legal Ombudsman contact:

VISIT: www.legalombudsman.org.uk
CALL: 0300 555 0333 between 9am to 5pm
EMAIL: enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk
Legal Ombudsman PO Box 6167, Slough, SL1 0EH

What to do if you are unhappy with out behaviour

The Solicitors Regulation Authority can help you if you are concerned about our behaviour. This could be for things like dishonesty, taking or losing your money or treating you unfairly because of your age, a disability or other characteristic.