Answers to Common Questions About Family Lawyers Fees

Is there an additional charge for court?

John, and the lawyers he works with, do not have extra charges for appearing in court. It is just the usual hourly rate. If you want a more senior lawyer to appear in court, then you would pay the senior lawyer’s hourly rate instead of the hourly rate of the more junior lawyer. While you are paying the bills, it is always up to you whether you have a more senior or more junior lawyer appear in court because that affects how much you will pay. For more complicated or difficult matters, you probably want a more senior lawyer going because you will get better results and save money in the end.

How much is the retainer fee?

The retainer fee for John to be the “main lawyer” on your file starts at $5,000.00 for all files except marriage contracts. (For marriage contracts, the retainer is $3,000.00). How much the retainer is, depends on how complicated your matter is and how much your fees will be. For child protection matters, the retainer is usually at least $10,000.00. For John to do a trial, the retainer is usually at least $10,000 per anticipated day of trial. Some of the lawyers that John works with have retainers that start at $5,000.00. You really need to meet with a lawyer to find out what the retainer will be. The lawyer may lower the retainer for simple matters or have to raise it if your matter is going to be in court and require a lot of work.

What does the retainer fee cover?

At John’s law office, the retainer fee is applied against your last bill or bills. It goes against whatever fees are owned when we close your file and then if there is anything left over, we give it back to you. For our work, we provide detailed monthly bills and our bills are due within 30 days. We do not charge an administrative fee for opening your file or having you as a client. All the money you give us goes towards fees and disbursements (such as copying, couriers, etc.). There is a disbursement for opening your file on the software that creates all the court forms, but no administrative fees, room fees, etc.

Are there other expenses to pay besides the lawyer’s hourly rates?

There are other expenses. There are photocopying and maybe fax charges. There are court filing fees and process server fees if you go to court. There can be courier fees. If you need an accountant to figure out how much your spouse makes, there will be fees for that. However, your lawyer should only involve such a professional if he or she feels that you will “make money” on it in the end by getting more support or a better result on the property issues. There may be fees for a mediator or arbitrator if you choose that route. (The fees for a mediator or arbitrator are often small compared to the expenses involved with going to court). If you are seeking support, or trying to enforce support, everything you spend in relation to support is tax deductible, which may make a big difference – especially if you are receiving spousal support because spousal support is taxable to the recipient. If you are defending a claim for support, then your fees are not tax deductible in Canada.

Can I be billed as a contingency fee or a percentage of what I get in my divorce?

The Law Society of Upper Canada does not permit contingency fee arrangements in family law matters. This is because in family law cases, the amount of money involved is often not related to how complex the case may be or how much time a lawyer must spend to complete it. First, in custody/access cases, what parents decide and how much they spend is not related to how much money they will recover in the end – it is based on what they believe is in their children’s best interests. Second, in family law and divorce cases, many separated spouses want to “teach the ex a lesson” and spend more to fighting over things than those things are worth out of “principle.” Good family lawyers always advise against that, but separated spouses do not always listen. And, even if one spouse is acting completely reasonably, that does not mean the other spouse is also acting reasonably. Once all the facts are known, the determination of many financial issues can be predictable and good family lawyers will know what the range of fair settlements will be. That is why disclosure is so important in family law cases. When two separated spouses act reasonably, listen to their lawyer’s advice, provide disclosure early and negotiate rather than litigate, they can finish their separation or divorce for far less than a lawyer would charge as a contingency fee. On the other hand, if they litigate aggressively over small matters, the cost that they pay will be much more. 

Will there be only one lawyer working on my case? What would other people do? 

The lawyer you retain to be your “main lawyer” should be the lawyer doing most of the work on your case. The lawyer’s law clerks may work on parts of your case, such as preparing your financial statement, disclosure or briefs. They charge a lower rate. Junior lawyers or articling students may do the first draft of other documents, answer some of your questions or do some other lower tasks at a lower hourly rate, but under the supervision of your main lawyer. If there is an emergency, and your main lawyer is not available, one of the other lawyers in the firm will step in – usually one who has heard something about your case.

Will I be charged for speaking to the secretary or receptionist?

At John’s office, you are not charged for speaking to our receptionist. Due to automation, we do not have any assistants doing Family Law or Education Law cases, we only have law clerks. Law clerks charge for their time when they are doing substantive work on your file, such as drafting documents, doing calculations, or talking with you about issues in your case. Law clerks do not charge for “administrative tasks” such as scheduling meetings, photocopying, etc.

Are there ways to keep the legal costs down in my divorce or other cases?

You can keep your costs down by providing the necessary disclosure and providing the information we need. You can also keep your costs down by not calling us “just to talk” as we charge for our time. If you need some additional assistance with the emotions surrounding divorce, or some personal support, we can refer you to people who are excellent at that and charge less than we do. Avoiding unnecessary fights with your spouse will also keep your costs down, as will staying out of court if that is possible. The biggest way you can keep your costs down is to listen to your lawyer’s advice as his or her goal is to get you through your divorce or other legal matter as quickly and inexpensively as possible. Lawyers want you to be happy at the end so you refer other clients to them. 

Does my lawyer give me copies of letters and other documents in relation to my case?

At John’s office, everything that comes in or of our office is sent to you as a PDF attachment to an email. You can direct us to send you things a different way if you want. Because we have a “paperless” office, we do charge 25 cents per page to make paper copies, but most people prefer PDFs. You will be reviewing all court documents before we send them out and probably almost all letters that we send on your behalf. There are some simple letters that say things like “Please find enclosed” or that are asking to schedule an event that your lawyer may not ask you to review – and you probably would not want to spend the time to review. 

Will you require that I have paid everything that I owe you before you go to court with me or finish my case?

Lawyers will not continue to do work on your file if you owe them money unless alternative arrangements have been made in writing. In cases where a spouse is short on money after separation, one of the first goals should be to get that spouse the money he or she needs to pay ALL expenses. Grocery stores sell food. Lawyers sell legal services based on the time it takes to provide those services. Lawyers have to pay their staff, their rent, their utilities and equipment charges, and other expenses, and then provide for their own family after paying all those expenses. There is not much room for them to work for free.

Can clients have payment plans to pay their lawyer’s fees?

At John’s office, our goal is to make sure our clients have enough money. It is possible that if the circumstances merit it, we will give a client additional time to pay bills, but we would discuss that as the need arose.

Will you put our agreement about fees and what work you will perform in writing?

Whenever you hire a lawyer, you should have a formal written retainer agreement that sets out what type of work the lawyer will be doing, what type of work the lawyer will not be doing, what you will be charged for, what the lawyer’s fees are, how you communicate with the lawyer and other people in the law office, what happens if special circumstances arise and how you can “fire” the lawyer or how the lawyer can stop working for you. At John’s office, we have a written agreement that we provide to you, and explain to you, before you decide whether to hire us. You should know exactly what the arrangements are before you and your lawyer start working together.