FORMS AND FEES
Your family law lawyer will bill you on a monthly basis, based on the lawyer’s hourly rate (plus disbursement expenses and taxes) for the time spent on their case. Clients who want an estimate in advance of the total fees are bound to be disappointed because, in most cases, it is extremely difficult to give a reliable estimate. No one can predict all the variables involved. Your lawyer will keep you informed about costs in the monthly invoices and billing reports. At times, the legal fees and costs are foreseeable but this is rare.
When being retained by a client, all family lawyers will ask you to pay them a deposit in “trust” to be applied towards the costs of your case. This deposit is the "retainer". You will also sign a Retainer Agreement with your lawyer. Your retainer fund must be replenished on request of your lawyer.
Complexities such as child custody and access and support and division of pensions or corporate shares increase the cost of legal proceedings and negotiations due to increased time required to deal with the issues and details.
These are long-term, final court orders or agreement and therefore have great impact on your life.
There are varying rates for agreements among different lawyers. In my experience, such agreements are not “standard” or boilerplate as each has individual requirements and terms.
Legal costs will increase, depending on the agreement’s complexity, parties’ cooperation (or lack of cooperation) and preparedness of documentation.
Our discussions are bound by lawyers' duty of client confidentiality.
FORMS:
