In Children Act Proceedings, each party is usually responsible for their own legal fees.
At McAlister Family Law, we understand that such cases can be overwhelming and difficult to navigate and we will therefore offer you an initial meeting to discuss your case in full and advise you on your options.
Following your initial meeting you will have made a choice as to the funding option that is right for your case. Part of our moving forward plan is to keep a check on costs and ensure that we are all on the same page as to the costs incurred to date. If you are on a full representation package, then we will keep a close eye on the estimate that we have provided.
Disputes in relation to child law can be expensive and if you are on a tight budget or are looking for certainty in relation to how much your case will cost, then you may wish to take advantage of our children disputes fixed fee packages. For example, we offer a Children dispute fixed fee package and also a Parental Responsibility fixed fee package.
Our fixed fee does not cover cases which proceed beyond the first court hearing. If the case does progress beyond this then we will either charge an hourly rate or will discuss an alternative fixed fee arrangement. You may also be interested in using our pay as you go service.
There is a court fee of £232 to issue your C100 form for your Children Act application. There will also be additional mediation costs, a service the court encourages you to engage in before making your application. During the proceedings, depending on the complexity of your case there might be fees to instruct an expert, such as: drug/alcohol testing, psychological assessment or an Independent Social Worker. These will all carry fees and the starting point is that expert fees are divided equally between the parties.
We will keep you regularly updated with regards your costs in your case and so that you can budget for the proceedings. Normally Children Act Proceedings consist of three hearing: a First Hearing Dispute Resolution Appoint (FHDR), a Dispute Resolution Appointment (DRA) and a Final Hearing. However, if your case is complex and Finding of Fact hearing is needed or more evidence/reports are needed then you might have more hearings that the above list and this may involve more work and higher costs.
