We are open and transparent about our fees. Legal costs are often a concern. We will always provide a realistic estimate and advise you of any significant changes as the matter progresses.
We offer a no-cost initial interview of up to 30 minutes to provide advice of a general nature regarding family law matters. Advice beyond this is charged at the current Higher Courts Scale, as set annually by the Supreme Court rates.
We ordinarily request an initial amount of money in our Trust Account to commence working. Of course, every case is taken on it’s merits. In appropriate cases we will hold our costs to the end of the matter – including all deceased estate matters.
Fixed fee matters
We charge on a fixed fee basis for Wills, Powers of Attorney and Advanced Care Directives. This is our current Schedule and advice about our costs generally.
All other matters
Unlike most firms that charge purely based on time, the basis of our fees is the current Higher Courts Scale, as set annually by the Supreme Court. The scale is activity based – meaning that (for example) letters are charged per page, and only face to face, or phone called are charged on time.
The basis of our fees is the current Higher Courts scale. We attach an extract from the current scale. As of 1 September 2023, the scale rate for work done by a Solicitor is charged at scale +10% per hour plus GST. Work done by the Firm Principal is charged at scale + 35%. We also charge an administrative flat fee of $130 plus GST to open your file and store it for five years.
We will advise you at the end of the initial interview the estimated cost of your documents or your matter to a defined stage.
If your anticipated costs may exceed the initial estimate, we will give you a further, revised estimate of the additional costs. Ordinarily we will agree that clients can “pay as they go”, provided a positive Trust Account balance is maintained.
Trust Accounts are highly regulated. We cannot take money from the Trust Account to apply it to an outstanding invoice until you have either given consent in writing, or 7 clear days have elapsed without your objection.
All invoices a re line-itemised with enough detail to identify each piece of work that has been done.