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What’s the average cost of a lawyer for separation?

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  • Solicitors commonly charge from $350 to $650 per hour
  • Barristers (required if you go to court) charge between $1,500 and $6,000 a day
  • A DIY agreement may cost as little as a few hundred dollars for a lawyer to review
  • Litigation can cost anywhere between $50,000 and $100,000 or more
  • Arbitration typically offers a 20%-30% savings compared to litigation
  • Mediation is even cheaper – you can expect it to cost about $2,500 per person
  • how much the fees will be
  • when the fees will be due
  • the basis for any variation in the feeswhether you can defer the fee, pay via a payment plan, or a combination of both
  • Paying outright
    Paying for a lawyer with funds you have makes sense if you have the money available. However, sometimes the money you have may be tied up in your property settlement. You may need to seek an interim (short-term) order from the court to be given a lump sum of funds from the property pool prior to the final settlement.
  • Personal loans
    If you’re short on funds or you want to keep your money for other things, a personal loan can be a good option if you don’t have a settlement to worry about and you’re confident you can meet the loan terms. You can repay the money over time – lenders usually offer loan terms between 1 and 7 years. However, you should remember that you’ll need to start making your monthly repayments straight away. You’ll also likely have to pay an upfront fee to establish the loan. And it’s a good idea to make sure you understand what penalty fees may apply (say, if you miss a monthly repayment) and if you will be charged an early repayment fee if you repay the loan in full prior to the end of the loan term.
  • Legal loan
    A legal loan is a type of personal loan, but as it’s designed specifically to help you pay for family law matters, it works a little differently. A form of asset-based lending, it helps you unlock cash tied up in your assets by securing them against your loan. You can usually borrow up to 30% of your expected property settlement. You don’t need to draw down the full amount upfront – you can borrow what you need, when you need it, and then you only pay interest on what you use. And unlike typical personal loans, you’re not required to make regular repayments for legal loans. Instead, you repay the loan in full once you’ve received your property settlement.

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