Family Law Costs

We try to provide you with as focused a service as possible to help you keep family law costs down.  You need to be aware of the following:

1. On a divorce the losing party can be ordered to pay the other side's costs of pursuing the divorce.  Often a divorce will be agreed on the basis that each party pays their own costs or the respondent pays half the legal costs of the other side.

2. When dealing with the financial disputes following a divorce it is unusual for either party to recover their costs.  The other side must have acted unreasonably for this to change. The costs usually come out of what that party receives instead. If you receive nothing your solicitor will still want paying.

3. On children matters costs are very rarely recovered and all parties generally pay their own.  Costs Orders will normally be made only where there is unreasonableness in the manner in which the litigation has been approached, with a wide margin of leeway normally being given.

4. If you are arguing over property you lived in as co-habitees then either the loser pays or the costs come out of the equity before this is distributed.

5. Where an injunction is applied for due to domestic violence the losing party pays. Injunctions are often compromised by undertakings, in which case, unless there is a specific agreement on costs or an Order, you have to pay your own costs.

Our rates are considerably lower than most of our competitors due to the fact that we are able to pass our efficiency savings on to you.  We also offer options for paying as you go or paying at the end.

The main methods of funding family cases are as follows:

1. Private funding - you or someone, who is prepared to pay on your behalf, agrees to pay a lawyer for the work done in representing you;
2. Public funding - formerly known as Legal Aid, you may qualify for State funding of your case provided you meet both cost and benefit tests.

You may have heard of conditional or contingent fees, where a lawyer is paid based on results.  Neither methods of funding are permitted in family cases.

Failing to seek legal advice may mean that you settle for less than you are entitled to or run up a large legal bill to the other side in arguments that should have been avoided. We believe in providing prompt advice to enable our clients to make the best decision possible, both in terms of outcome and the costs of achieving this.

We are here to help 24 hours a day 365 days a year.  Either e-mail us anytime, call (01296) 662770 (Nick) or (01525) 373322 (Richard) during the normal working day or (07973) 424178 in an emergency.