The processing fees are nonrefundable, so an unsuccessful case means those amounts are lost for every person included. Professional, translation, medical and travel expenses have their own payment and cancellation terms. The larger gift is only made when instructed after vetting, so it is not usually at risk at this stage, but no refund of anything should be assumed.
Put the number in front of the household
Write the total of all processing fees on one line and ask whether the household would accept losing it. Families sometimes discuss the million-dollar figure endlessly while treating the fees as administrative detail, even though the fees are the sum genuinely exposed at the outset. Add the professional and medical costs expected before any decision point.
A budget that shows both the committed spend and the conditional spend supports a clearer choice. Set out two figures side by side: the amount committed the moment the fees are paid, and the amount that becomes payable only if the case succeeds. The first is the sum genuinely at risk at the outset and is the one households tend to discuss least.
Add the professional, translation, medical, and travel costs expected before any decision point, together with their own cancellation terms. The later gift is made when instructed after vetting, so it is not usually exposed at this stage, but nothing should be assumed refundable without a document saying so. Ask what the household would do if the whole committed figure were lost, and answer that question before paying anything.