Menu
At ABMS Lawyers, our philosophy is to manage legal matters in a cost-effective and efficient way. We are small enough to deliver good value and excellent services to our clients without compromising the quality of our services. We also work collaboratively with other professionals to ensure a good value experience for our clients.
Here comes the million-dollar question!
One of the first questions clients ask us at initial meetings is regarding the fees they must pay for their legal issues. There are two main types of legal fees; the Fixed Fee and the Hourly Fee.
You have probably heard the saying, “You get what you pay for “, which is true sometimes when it comes to Legal fees. Don’t risk your case by having substandard work simply because you did not want to pay more for good quality work.
Fixed Fee for Family Court Matters
Some legal services can be provided to a client paying what is called a ‘fixed fee’. This type of fee is a one-time fee that does not change no matter how many hours of work are allocated to the case between when we start and finish the service.
In the Family Law realm, fixed fees are usually provided for all types of Divorce Applications and disbursements. These Applications range from $770 to $2770 inclusive of GST. If your Divorce Application is contested or involves separation under one roof, more work is required, and the fee will be on the higher end of the scale. The amount does not include actual Court fees.
Fixed fees are also provided for drafting, negotiating and finalising Separation Agreements or Cohabitation Agreements. These agreements’ fees range, for example, between $3550 and $8000 plus taxes and disbursements, depending on complexity and the number of hours spent.
Fixed Fee for Commercial Matters
Some legal services in Commercial matters can also be fixed. This includes the preparation and review of Contracts and Deeds and other types of Agreements, such as the sale or purchase of a business.
Hourly Fee
This type of fee is most commonly used in family law. The Hourly fee suggests that you pay based on the number of hours the lawyer works on your file. Depending on the complexity of your case, you may start and finish your case with a few hundred dollars. Sometimes the fees are in the tens of thousands of dollars if your matter is complicated and involves all sorts of issues such as custody, child support, spousal support and property division. If your case is taken all the way to trial, your legal fees can be more expensive.
Please note that your lawyer has an obligation to spend days, months or even years learning about your life. If your marriage or cohabitation lasted 15 years, we have to understand what happened during those years and get to know you more. We need to know your personality, all aspects of your finances and your wishes.
We treat all of our clients like family and care about their cases. We provide the same level of service to all our clients and expect respect and value for our services. Our focus is to effectively and efficiently deal with your case to keep your costs low and your results high. Our fee ranges are reasonable and are charged according to scale.
A valid client concern people may have is not knowing just how much they should pay because they themselves are not lawyers and do not know the legal complexity of their case. We can ease their concern by providing reasonable estimates for what can be expected. However, estimates are to be taken as informal only, as so much can happen during the life of the case that is entirely outside of our control and makes it difficult to predict a true and final cost.
Litigation, specifically family litigation, is similar to one getting into an accident and having no insurance to pay for the damage. You have to pay the fees and have a resolution for a situation that could not have been foreseen. Understandably, many clients want to have some certainty regarding the fees they will be paying. For this reason, we have created an innovative option for our clients to allow them to choose what services they need and how much they want and are able to spend on their lawyer. We also review Legal fees at every different stage of the case to ensure you are aware of how much you have paid and what you can do to reduce the cost if possible.
We offer both fixed fee and hourly fee options to our clients at all stages of litigation.
This means that before every stage of litigation, we provide the client with an option to choose a fixed fee for a particular procedure, such as commencing their claim, applying for temporary relief, attending the trial, etc. We do this by calculating the average fee for similar cases and using the average for the fixed fee. The actual fees may end up less or more than we have quoted you, but the client taking the middle ground can be sure he or she does not have to pay more than the expected fixed fee.
We also provide the client with a choice to choose the hourly fee option. This option suggests that they will pay us as we go and per our hours of work.
Legal costs are usually the elephant in the room. Separation and Divorce can be expensive, both financially and emotionally, and the fallout can be devastating for all concerned. However, there are ways in which you can minimise your costs. Given that the general rule in Family Court proceedings is that each party pays their own costs, it is important to learn how you can lower your legal costs. These actions will ensure you have some money left-over to be divided between the two of you. Below are some of the tips you can employ.
Make sure you have the right advice for your case.
Do your research. Don’t just go with any Lawyer simply because they are cheap. On the other hand, just because a Lawyer is expensive, it doesn’t mean she or he is good. Also, don’t simply go with a lawyer your friend or family members went to when they were going through a separation. Each case is different, so do your own research and make sure you engage a lawyer who is experienced in Family Law and knows what works and what doesn’t. Otherwise, you will end up changing lawyers in the middle of your case because the case gets too complicated for them, or you get frustrated with them. It may be too late to repair the damage done because of bad advice in some situations.
Don’t make decisions when you are emotional or very distressed.
Separation is a very emotional time for parties. Emotional decisions can be costly in the long run. Think about the consequences first. Sometimes it’s hard not to let your emotions get in the way of your decision-making after separation or Divorce or when matters are on foot in Family Court, especially after receiving bad news or Court documents from the other party. However, this can be expensive. Seek some counselling if you need to from a qualified family therapist, psychologist, or counsellor to assist you in managing your situation.
Refusing to agree to reasonable proposals.
This can lengthen the process or the proceedings. You can also be susceptible to paying the other party’s costs. Alternatively, if you do not agree to sell certain assets at a particular time, you might find the value drops considerably, which can be to your disadvantage.
Be organised with your documents.
During Family Court proceedings, your lawyer will no doubt ask you for documents – current documents, historical documents, or many other types of documents. Collating these documents for your lawyer will help reduce your bill if you organise them first. Group them into categories and put them in date order. For example, put your documents in a file if you can. If you need to retain the originals, make the copies yourself. Lawyers charge according to time spent working on your case. This is all work you can reasonably do that your lawyer doesn’t have to do, which you then won’t be charged for.
Communicate with your lawyer wisely.
If you have a question or an issue you want to discuss with your lawyer, the best approach is to consider the matter carefully and either make an appointment to see them or telephone them. Alternatively, send them an email.
What you should avoid is sending them one email and then thinking of something further, resulting in sending another email and another email until you have sent 10 emails in the space of half an hour. Unless it is necessary, put your questions in one email or letter and send them together rather than one by one. It is a better way to communicate with your lawyer and will help lower your costs.
Use an experienced family lawyer.
It’s not only family lawyers who conduct Family Court proceedings. Often solicitors who typically practice in other jurisdictions or who are part of a general practice firm appear in the Family Court. Family law is a specialised area of practice. It’s also an area of law that continues to evolve with society. Having a lawyer who specialises in family law generally means they are more up to date with the current state of play and means they can spend less time on certain issues because they are issues they deal with every day. If less time is spent working on your case, then costs are kept to a minimum.
Yes, you can and if they agree, then good on you!
It is possible to make an application in Court for the other party to pay your legal fees but don’t get your hopes up. The Court will have to consider all the circumstances in your case, and then, only if warranted, the Court may make an Order for one party to pay for or contribute towards the other party’s cost.
In civil matters, yes, it is possible that you may be ordered to pay the costs of the other party if you lose. It depends on a number of factors, including the way you have run your case etc.
In Family Court, each party pays for their own legal costs as a starting point. However, there are situations where parties can agree to pay for joint costs, or the Court makes an order for a party to pay for the cost of another party. It is best to seek advice prior to commencing any litigation in any Court.
Get In Touch
Mobile: 0488 100 320
(strictly for urgent / after hours calls only)
Disclaimer: All information provided on this website is of a general nature and it is not intended to be taken or construed as legal advice. You should not rely on this information for legal purposes. In providing this information, there is no intention on behalf of ABMS Lawyers Pty Ltd to create or otherwise imply a client-practitioner relationship. You should seek legal advice to obtain appropriate advice for your specific case or personal situation.
Copyright © 2022. ABMS Lawyers Perth. All rights reserved. Website by Net Search.