Making a No Win, No Fee TOLATA claim.
ACTAPS practitioner Naomi Ireson, who leads our property ownership dispute team, looks at No Win, No Fee funding for TOLATA claims.
Property Ownership Disputes
If you are involved in a dispute about the ownership of a property, you may be wondering whether it is possible to pursue a TOLATA claim on a No Win, No Fee basis.
At Slee Blackwell Solicitors, we specialise in TOLATA claims and property ownership disputes. Our trusts disputes team works closely with our family law department to deal with disputes between unmarried couples, family members, executors, beneficiaries and others where there is disagreement about who owns what share of a property.
What is a TOLATA Claim?
TOLATA stands for the Trusts of Land and Appointment of Trustees Act 1996.
A TOLATA claim is the legal framework that is used to resolve disputes about the ownership of property in England and Wales. These disputes commonly arise when:
- Someone contributed towards the purchase price or deposit on a property but is not named on the title deeds;
- An unmarried couple separates and disagrees about ownership shares;
- Family members contribute towards the purchase of a property and cannot agree on ownership shares;
- Parents help children buy a home;
- Siblings inherit property together;
- A loved one dies, leaving property.
TOLATA claims frequently involve arguments about:
- Deposit contributions;
- Mortgage payments;
- Renovation and improvement costs;
- Gifts versus investments;
- Resulting trusts;
- Constructive trusts;
- Proprietary estoppel and broken promises;
- Declarations of trust;
- Applications to force the sale of a property.
Can a TOLATA Claim Be Funded on a No Win, No Fee Basis?
While many law firms refuse to deal with TOLATA claims on a No Win, No Fee basis, we are willing to do so in appropriate cases.
We regularly fund TOLATA claims by way of a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA), commonly known as a No Win, No Fee agreement.
Whether a case is suitable for No Win, No Fee funding will depend upon a range of factors, such as:
- The strength of the evidence;
- The value of the claim;
- The likely legal costs involved;
- The prospects of recovering the legal costs from the opponent;
- The ability to enforce any judgment.
Each case is individually assessed by our specialist solicitors.
What Success Fee Will I Pay if I Win?
We charge a success fee if we win your TOLATA claim. The success fee uplift is assessed at the outset of the case following a detailed risk assessment.
The success fee is based on a percentage uplift on the legal costs; not the amount recovered. That uplift can be set at up to 100%, depending on the level of risk involved. Most No Win, No Fee cases attract a success fee in the region of 40% to 80%.
Our success fees are not capped.
We will explain the likely success fee and how it is calculated before any agreement is entered into.
By way of example, if you win your claim and recover £100,000, with legal costs of £20,000, then taking a success uplift of 50%, the success fee would be £10,000 plus VAT.
If I Win, Will I Have to Pay Any Shortfall?
Possibly.
In most successful TOLATA claims, the losing party is ordered to contribute towards the winner’s legal costs. However, it is unusual for all legal costs to be recovered.
There can therefore be a shortfall between the legal costs recovered and the fees actually incurred.
Many disputes settle before trial, and settlement agreements often involve a global settlement figure which takes account of both the substantive claim and legal costs.
We will advise you fully on the likely costs position before any settlement is agreed.
Is After the Event (ATE) Insurance Required?
If you are at risk of having to pay your opponent’s legal costs if the claim fails, you may wish to consider obtaining After the Event (ATE) insurance.
We can assist with ATE insurance applications.
Applications are usually subject to:
- Minimum claim values;
- Sufficient prospects of success, typically at least 60%.
ATE insurance premiums are frequently:
- Deferred until the end of the case;
- Self-insured, meaning they are only payable if you win;
- Staged, with premiums increasing as the case progresses towards trial.
What Disbursements Will I Have to Pay?
Disbursements are expenses incurred during the claim in addition to solicitor’s fees.
These may include:
- Court fees;
- Barristers’ fees;
- Expert valuation evidence;
- Land Registry documents;
In some cases, we may agree to fund disbursements on your behalf. In others, payments may be required during the course of the claim.
Where we act on a No Win, No Fee basis, we will also seek to retain a barrister on a No Win, No Fee basis wherever possible.
What Happens if I Decide to Stop My Claim?
If we stop acting because:
- The case no longer has reasonable prospects of success; or
- The likely costs outweigh the likely benefits,
Then you will not be responsible for our fees. That is a risk we accept when entering into the agreement.
However, if you choose to discontinue the claim against our advice, when we believe there remains a reasonable prospect of success, then you may be liable for our basic charges incurred up to that point.
The precise position will be explained in the Conditional Fee Agreement before it is signed.
Why Choose Slee Blackwell?
Clients choose us because we are:
- Genuine specialists in this niche area of law;
- Highly experienced with an established track record of success;
- SRA-regulated solicitors you can trust;
- Recommended by both the Legal 500 and Chambers directories;
- Rated the top firm in the UK for contentious probate claims by ReviewSolicitors*;
- Lexcel accredited by the Law Society;
- Members of ACTAPS and ConTrA.
Contact Our No Win No Fee TOLATA Solicitors For a Free Initial Consultation
If you are involved in a dispute over the ownership of a property and would like to know whether your case qualifies for No Win, No Fee funding, contact our specialist team today for a free initial consultation.
A member of our specialist team will review your case, assess the evidence available and consider whether it is a case we can deal with on a No Win, No Fee basis.
