Additional fees
There may be additional costs required to deliver our services.
These additional costs are not included in our standard service fees. Where applicable, additional costs will be charged on top of the standard service fees.
Additional costs may include:
- costs we may need to pay to other organisations to deliver our services, such as costs to obtain certificates from Births, Deaths and Marriages and costs to inspect and secure properties.
- costs we may need to pay to engage our internal specialists to deliver our services, for example if legal advice is required, if there are overseas assets involved, if the entitlement or Will is contested, or if we have to search for missing beneficiaries and/or prepare family trees.
- out-of-pocket expenses we may need to pay such as postage, phone and photocopying.
Legal Services
If legal work is undertaken for you by external legal service providers, their costs will be additional to our standard service fees.
If legal work is undertaken by our in-house solicitors, their fees are also additional and are set out as follows:
Role | Hourly fee (including GST) |
Director | $561 |
Principal Solicitor - Grade VI | $561 |
Senior Solicitor - Grade V | $456.50 |
Solicitor - Grade IV | $456.50 |
Solicitor - Grade I-III | $418 |
Legal Assistant | $165 |
Genealogy Services
Where we make enquiries to locate and identify persons entitled to share in an estate, including an intestate estate (there is no valid Will), a fee not exceeding 5% (ex GST) of the net value of the estate will be charged to the estate.
Taxation Services
Service | Fee (including GST) |
Lodgement of tax return |
$297 first hour $253 additional hourly rate (charged in 15-minute blocks) |
Tax investigation without lodgement |
$148.5 first hour $253 additional hourly rate (charged in 15-minute blocks) |
Financial Planning Services
If we provide financial planning services to you, the following additional costs will be charged.
Service | Customer asset value | Fee* (including GST) |
Create financial plan | $0 – 50,000 | $82.50 |
Create financial plan | Over $50,000 | $165 per hour |
Annual review of financial plan | $0 – 5,000 | No charge |
Annual review of financial plan | $5,001 – 50,000 | $41.25 |
Annual review of financial plan | $50,001 – 100,000 | $82.50 |
Annual review of financial plan | Over $100,000 | $165 per hour |
*For all financial management and private financial management customers, GST does not apply to these fees.
Property Inspection, Securing and Inventory Services
If we undertake property inspections, including securing a property or taking inventory, then a service provider may be engaged to do this work.
The following additional costs outline the cost to the client or estate to have this work completed.
Service | Fee (including GST) |
Minimum hourly rate | $220.00 (up to 4 hours maximum) |
Minimum hourly rate if additional person is required for the work | $80.00 (up to 4 hours maximum) |
Motor vehicle allowance for service provider | Can be claimed at 27 cents/km |
Travel allowance for service provider (other than by motor vehicle) | Travel allowance is claimable from the service providers workplace to the address of the property and return |
Overnight travel allowance for service provider | Travel allowance is capped at $150 per night* |
*NSW Trustee and Guardian must be notified and approval obtained by service provider prior to commencement of the travel.
Conveyancing Services
Costs for conveyancing services (sale or purchase of a property) will be charged to the client or estate. If any legal work is outsourced to a law firm, the fees charged by the law firm apply and are paid by the client or estate.
Residential transaction fees
Service | Fee (including GST) |
Standard sale/purchase for properties <$700,000 | $1,650 |
Standard sale/purchase for properties >$700,000 | $1,980 |
Aborted sale | $363 |
Rescission/Termination of Contract | $363 |
Application for new Certificate of Title | $424 |
Lodge/withdraw caveat | $275 |
Notice to complete | $286 |
Discharge of Mortgage | $286 |
Notional sale conveyance: without contract | $1,320 |
Notional sale conveyance: with contract <$700,000 | $1,650 |
Notional sale conveyance: with contract >$700,000 | $1,980 |
Notional sale: administration and collection of funds | $566.50 |
Minister’s Consent | $286 |
Novation Agreement | $286 |
Preparation of Licence Agreement | $286 |
Land tax:
|
Solicitor's hourly rate |
Sale/purchase of retirement village property | $1,870 |
Contentious matters | Solicitor's hourly rate |
Property owned as Joint Tenant transferred to survivor | $550 plus disbursements (expenses that need to be paid from the estate such as fees payable to valuers, court filing fees, insurance premiums, etc). |
Mortgage | $550 |
Production of Certificate of Title to 3rd party | $44 |
Commercial transaction fees
Service | Fee (including GST) |
Sale or purchase of commercial property | $2,200 |
Mortgage | $880 |
Discharge of mortgage | $286 |
Commercial lease | $1,815 – 3,630 |
Definitions
- intestate
When a person dies without a valid Will, they are said to have died ‘intestate’. In this situation, the law sets out how the estate is shared among relatives.
- Consent
Permission for something to happen or agreement to do something.