COHABITATION DISPUTE FEES
It is always difficult to give an estimate of costs with respect to dealing with your cohabitation matter. Much will depend on whether an agreement can be reached amicably on the property in dispute, division of assets or whether an application will have to be made to court. We try to give the best estimate we can and so we have broken it down into the following sections:
|
Description |
Fee Basis |
Fee Range |
|
|
Compromised Voluntarily |
Negotiating a written agreement without going to Court |
Time spent basis |
£2,000 to £5,000 +VAT (subject to the complexity of the matter) |
|
Contested Proceedings |
Making an application to Court, preparing for and dealing with any Court hearings. |
Time spent basis |
In addition to the above £8,000 to £35,000 +VAT |
Although these types of cases still come under the umbrella of family work, the court would usually deal with them under the CPR (Civil Procedure Rules). There are certain risks on costs in such cases to consider.
The general rule is that the loser must pay the winner’s costs, and liability to pay costs to another party in litigation (i.e. court cases) only arises once court proceedings are commenced. The liability then may, however, 'date back' and include costs arising before the litigation starts.
These cases can involve applications under TOLATA and/or Schedule 1 of Children Act.
