How much will my Family Law Case cost?

When a client first meets a family lawyer, one of the biggest questions asked is “How much will it cost me?”

In Family Law, there is a requirement that lawyers provide a “disclosure of costs” to all clients.¹ As a part of this disclosure, lawyers have a duty to advise how costs will be worked out (e.g. scale of costs and costs of disbursements), advise the client of their right to negotiate their costs and receive an itemised invoice, provide an estimate of total legal costs, as well as keep the client updated in writing of any “substantial change to anything included in the disclosure.²

In the initial meeting between a prospective client and family lawyer, we at elringtons provide an estimate of costs, which we then confirm in writing.

Family Law matters have clear stages or “Court events” and we confirm in writing the total estimate of costs for each estimate, namely:

An early agreement before court proceedings commence

This includes the paperwork required to formalise the family law agreement legally. This stage may include financial agreements, a limited or binding child support agreement and/or consent orders about parenting or financial issues.

Initiating Court Proceedings

This includes meeting with you and drafting the required documents, which may include a Notice of Intention to commence proceedings, an Initiating Application/Response, Affidavit, and Genuine Steps Certificate and other documents.

Compulsory mediation after commencement of court proceedings

Early in Family Law proceedings, the Court requires parties attend a compulsory mediation session except in exceptional circumstances including but not limited to urgency, family violence, or risk of abuse to a child (see section 60I(9) of the Family Law Act 1975). Often, our matters settle at the conclusion of the mediation/counselling stage, and we include in our written estimate the costs to complete required paperwork to formalise the agreement legally.

Costs of interim hearings

Sometimes, during court proceedings one or both parties seek interim orders. Normally, these are urgent applications. For instance, to stop a party disposing of assets before the final hearing. Interim hearings add to the overall cost of a family law matter. Our written estimate of costs will include information about the costs of interim hearings.

The final hearing

The number of days of the hearing, barrister’s fees, expert’s fees (psychologists, forensic accountants) all contribute to the costs of a final hearing.

Damage Control Exercise – We advise our clients very early in the negotiations process of a Family Law matter to make a reasonable offer of settlement in writing regarding all outstanding matters in dispute. This is known as a “Calderbank offer”,³ that is, an offer by Party A to settle a dispute which puts Party B on notice that if the ultimate outcome of the court proceedings is similar to the offer or less favourable to Party B, Party A will rely on the original offer to ask that Party B pay his or her legal costs and disbursements of having to pursue the case.

Clients in control about costs – Throughout the life of their case, we invite our clients to communicate with us frequently about the up-to-date Work-in-Progress (“WIP”) to ensure that the client is at all times making informed decisions regarding the costs of their case.

For more information, contact our Family Law solicitors in either our Deakin or Queanbeyan offices.

Legal Profession Act (ACT) 2006, Section 269. ↩︎
Legal Profession Act (ACT) 2006, Section 276 ↩︎
In reference to the High Court decision in a family law matter named Calderbank v Calderbank [1975] 3 All ER 333 (EWCA). ↩︎