The role of fixed legal fees in family law cases

Fixed fee family law and divorce services in Devon and Somerset.

We offer fixed fees for some family law services in Devon and Somerset.

Contact our team for further details of fixed fee family law in Devon and Somerset.

Unlike many firms, we can offer some fixed fee options for family law matters in Devon and Somerset where the circumstances allow us to judge from the outset the amount of work that might be required.

One example of a fixed fee scheme we operate is our fixed fee divorce service, which starts at just £325 plus VAT court fees and disbursements.

The cost of legal work will depend on what steps are involved, how long it will take to complete them, whether you need to issue court proceedings/attend court or negotiate outside of court or in correspondence, and a number of other factors which are not always clear from the outset.

We can talk the various options through with you at the start of your case and help you understand what costs might be involved, give you a fee range and an estimate, and, where possible, offer fixed fees – for example, a fixed fee for a one-off attendances at court. We will always clearly set out what would be included and what would be charged separately. You can then decide to use an ‘unbundled’ service and only ask us to complete certain tasks for you, taking on other tasks yourself to save costs.

Legal cases are usually open ended. The steps that have to be taken can often be dictated by what your opponent says or does, and each party has to react and take further steps to make progress. The aim is always to try and reach a resolution where possible, but that is not always possible. It is impossible to anticipate and plan for every future step, or to be in control, but we will guide you and give you honest and straightforward advice.

Some family law disputes appear to be highly contentious but turn out to be relatively easily resolved. By contrast, other family disputes start out looking like they can be settled early on when in reality they become protracted and very argumentative, emotive and stressful.

It is dangerous to encourage people to focus solely on how cheaply they can get a particular legal service carried out. It is all too likely that they will be wasting money at a time when what they really need is cost-effective, proactive, and realistic legal advice and support. Family lawyers know all too well that the instructions they receive are understandably and inevitably bound up with the distress of a relationship breakdown. People are trying to sort out things that they need to think about with their head, at a time when they’re pretty much focussed on their heart. The picture you start with may well be very different from the final picture that emerges at the end. And sometimes, people going through divorce or separation behave very, very badly.

So while we can offer fixed fees in family law in Devon and Somerset, we cannot offer fixed fees for all the work that might be required.

However, if we can’t give you a fixed fee for sorting out finances or issues relating to your children then talk to us about what we can achieve for you and what it is likely to cost.

Call us now on 0333 888 0404 or send us an email.

Picture of Jen Law

Jen Law

Jen qualified as a solicitor in 2010 and specialises in family and criminal law.
Picture of Jen Law

Jen Law

Jen qualified as a solicitor in 2010 and specialises in family and criminal law.

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