plus valia - death of wife

[fyfin]

MY friend lost his wife 8 months ago and had to pay his solicitor over €3,500 . I was a bit surprised as they only own a duplex, in a small town, worth about €100,000 max. They have been residents (fiscal etc) for 12 years so I was a bit surprised at the amount, and he has been trying to get a breakdown of fees from his solicitor.
Today they finally contacted him to say he was due a refund of €400 but he also has to pay plus valia tax - they didn't say how much.

Apart from the fees being very high, is it right that plus valia is payable? Hopefully the itemised bill will let him see if other taxes had been paid.

[costakid]

Send a pm to beachcomber. He will have the answers for you.