Costs and Fees

For many people, being involved in a family law matter is not by choice. We understand that our clients have not planned for family law legal costs to become part of their life. The prospect of entering family law proceedings without knowing exactly what it will cost you can be stressful.

Our Fees for Family Law Services

Every family law matter is unique. Two similar-looking matters can involve very different legal costs due to a range of factors, including:

The complexity of the matter, such as the makeup of the property pool or the relationships between parents and children involved
The time required to negotiate a settlement or outcome between parties
The conduct and responsiveness of the other party or the solicitor representing them
Delays caused by the Court or other third parties such as superannuation funds

Although we cannot provide a guaranteed quote for most matters, we are often able to provide a fee estimate as part of our client engagement process. The estimate will be based on the specific circumstances of your matter and can usually be provided only after an initial consultation has taken place.

Any estimate that we provide to you remains an estimate only, unless we determine that your matter is eligible for a fixed fee. Fixed fee services are available for:

Divorce, where specific criteria have been met. See here for more information.
Consent orders for property, where an appropriate agreement has already been reached by the parties. We can discuss this option with you during your initial consultation.

Otherwise, legal services will be provided to you under a general retainer.

Initial Consultations

Our initial consultations are provided at a fixed fee for up to 90 minutes of initial legal advice about your matter. You can call our office on (07) 5499 2900 to enquire about our initial consultation rates.

Follow-up Appointments

General appointments, whether to follow up on an initial consultation or throughout the progress of your matter with us, are charged at standard hourly rates for the solicitor who is handling your matter.

Professional Services

General professional services throughout your matter, such as drafting letters, reading correspondence from other solicitors, and preparation of Court documents, are charged using a combination of fixed fee and time-based billing depending on the task. A detailed explanation of our fees will be provided to you in a retainer and cost agreement after your initial consultation, if you choose to engage us to represent you in your family law matter.

Third Party Costs and Fees

For many family law matters there are additional costs such as Court filing fees, mediators, barristers, and process servers. If your matter involves any of those, or other third-party costs to be passed on to you, we will advise you what they are ahead of time.

Frequently Asked Questions

A retainer is a sum of money paid into our trust account that is used to pay for your legal costs. The retainer is paid in advance, and then our fees are deducted from the retainer as work is performed on your matter.

You will be required to maintain a minimum amount of funds in our trust account so that your matter can progress without delay. In effect, this means you will “top up” your retainer each time you receive a bill from us. At some stages of your matter you may also be asked to deposit funds to cover upcoming costs, such as Court or mediation attendance. At the conclusion of your matter, any unused funds held in trust will be returned to you.

We invoice on a weekly basis, and you will receive an itemised invoice if more than $99 of billable work has been performed on your matter in the week prior. Similarly, at the conclusion of your matter an invoice will be raised for any remaining work that has yet to be billed. After 7 days, the invoice amount will be deducted from the funds held in our trust account on your behalf.

Not necessarily. Generally speaking, any time that your solicitor spends dealing with your matter will be charged. This includes phone calls and emails. However, most of your interactions with our support team are not charged. So, if you are ever in doubt about whether you need to email or speak with your solicitor, feel free to call our support team to ask first.

It is unfortunate that one of the factors that influences legal costs is the conduct of the other parties involved. This means that if the other side is being stubborn, combative, disorganised, or in any way delaying the progress of your matter, it may result in additional costs to you.

If you are having trouble maintaining your retainer with us, please discuss as soon as possible with our accounts team so that the progress of your matter is managed appropriately.

Some family law matters come to an end, or are “put on hold”, due to a change in circumstances. If you decide that you no longer need our services, you may instruct us to terminate your retainer and cost agreement and close your file. In such a case, you will still be required to pay for any work in progress or time that has not yet been billed to you. Therefore, we recommend that if you do choose to close your file with us, that you advise us immediately to prevent unnecessary costs from being incurred on your matter.

We do not offer deferred payment, and will require a retainer to be paid before we begin acting for you. At any stage of your matter if you are experiencing financial pressure, please discuss as soon as possible with our accounts team so that the progress of your matter is managed appropriately.

If you are interested in deferred payment due to financial constraints, we can discuss the possibility of third-party legal financing with you at your initial consultation.

In family law the concept of “no-win, no-fee” does not work. The main reason is that a “win” is almost impossible to define. Family law matters generally involve property, parenting, or both. Each party will have some notion of what they consider themselves to be entitled to. In negotiating an outcome, both parties will need to make compromises, and it is rare that either party gets everything they wanted from the start.

If you are interested in no-win, no-fee due to financial constraints, we can discuss the possibility of third-party legal financing with you at your initial consultation.

We are not a Legal Aid supplier. If you think you are eligible for Legal Aid you may contact them to submit an application, and a Legal Aid supplier will provide you with legal services under that arrangement. An application for Legal Aid can take up to 6 weeks to be assessed, so if you feel that you need urgent legal advice you can still see us for a fixed-fee initial consultation.

Ready to Get Started?

If you’re ready to proceed call us on (07) 5499 2900 during our office hours of 9:00am to 5:00pm, Monday to Friday, and one of our friendly staff will help you make an appointment. Or, you can send us a confidential enquiry by email using our contact form.

Get in Touch

“I cannot say enough about my experience with Family Law Group. From the warm greeting every time on entering the premises to the professional, caring solicitors who, not only took care of my legal matters, but also watched over me as a person during a very untidy time.”

Ron

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