Family Law
Issues over arrangements for our children are, by their very nature, emotionally charged proceedings. Our barristers understand the importance of the outcome in these proceedings and recognize that family court judgements have a very real effect on lives.
Financial divorce can be acrimonious and the finances at stake can quite often be swallowed up in legal fees. Our lawyers seek to find a sensible conclusion within the shortest possible timeframe in order to achieve a fair and sensible resolution.
Family issues covered include:
Children – Contact and Residence Finance – Ancillary relief, Civil partnerships, Co-habitee, CSA payments, Inheritance claims, Maintenance, Married couples, TOLATA
Public Access – Financial Disputes in Divorce
Our barristers can advise you if you and your former partner cannot agree on financial matters during, or after, a divorce. For example, you may not be able to agree on how assets should be divided, whether to sell your home or other assets, maintenance payments, or pension sharing.
If you cannot agree, you can apply to a court for a financial order. You may need to attend a number of court hearings – our barristers can represent you in these hearings.
Timescales
Timescales for your case may vary depending on factors such as barristers’ availability, the value and complexity of your assets, whether you have children, how much you have already agreed with your former partner, and their approach. Written advice on your financial dispute will be available within two to four weeks where possible. As a guide, court hearings for a financial order tend to take six to twelve months. This does not include possible appeals.
Additional costs
If required, travel and hotel expenses are charged at cost and included within the fixed fee unless stated.
For court fees please see https://www.gov.uk/court-fees-what-they-are
Rates
We charge fixed fees, which means that we will charge you a set amount of money for the work. Below we provide estimates based on the ranges of fixed fees for barristers at Quartz Barristers Chambers. All fees include VAT (where applicable), each barrister profile states if they are VAT registered.
The fixed fees may vary depending on your needs – for example, your fees may be towards the higher end of the range if you need a more experienced barrister and/or you have a more complex case. If you have a particularly complex case, your fees may also be higher than the estimates below.
There are also likely to be additional costs for time spent in correspondence via telephone/video conferences or drafting documents. The cost will be fixed and agreed in advance based upon the barrister’s hourly rate as stated on their profile.
An indication of our range of typical fixed fees are listed below:
| Stage of Case | Ranges of fixed fees (estimates) |
| Written Advice | £750 – £1770 |
| Drafting Court Application | £750 – £885 |
| Drafting Statement | £750 – £1770 |
| Review of Statement | £500 – £1180 |
| First court hearing (to see if the parties can agree) | £750 – £1180 |
| Directions Hearing (If parties cannot agree, to arrange final hearing) | £750 – £1180 |
| Interim Hearing | £750 – £1180 |
| Pre-hearing review (to ensure the case is ready for the final hearing) | £875 – £1500 |
| First day of final hearing | £2000 – £5000 |
| Court appearances per day, after the first day of the final hearing | £1250 – £2500 |
All information is correct as of 21/12/22, but fees are estimates only. For the most accurate fee estimate, please contact the clerks on 0115 8961983 or clerks@quartzbarristers.co.uk
| Stage of Case | Ranges of fixed fees (estimate) |
| Written advice on your financial dispute | £750 – £3000 |
| Advising in a face to face conference | £750 – £1950 |
| Advising by telephone/video conference | £250 – £1950 |
| Drafting of any court documents such as Form E, Questionnaire | £500 – £1625 |
| Drafting statement | £750 – £2600 |
| First directions appointment (first court hearing exchanging financial information) | £1000 – £2500 |
| Financial dispute resolution hearing (second court hearing to reach a financial settlement) | £1500 – £4000 |
| First day of final hearing (if no settlement was reached in the FDR) | £2000 – £5500 |
| Court appearances per day, after the first day of the hearing | £1250 – £2500 |
All information is correct as of 21/12/22, but fees are estimates only. For the most accurate fee estimate, please contact the clerks on 0115 8961983 or clerks@quartzbarristers.co.uk</strong
Case Studies
High Court Decision: Parental Rights of Same-Sex Civil Partners
Striking decision given by the Court of Appeal over the parental rights of same-sex civil partners The Court of Appeal handed down the landmark judgment in Re S (Children: Parentage and Jurisdiction) on 27 July 2023. As stated by Byron James, partner at Expatriate Law Limited and instructing solicitors for the successful Appellant: “With this
15th September 2023 Read moreHow to Choose the Right Barrister for Family Law
When family issues need legal support it can make an emotionally challenging time even more difficult. Here we’ll take a look into the kind of matters that might need legal support, and important things to consider when you’re looking for a barrister to help. What kind of cases would be considered family law? Family law
23rd May 2023 Read moreFamily Law: How could a barrister help with divorce proceedings?
Here are some ways in which a barrister could help during a divorce A barrister can assist with divorce proceedings by providing legal advice and representation to one or both parties involved in the divorce. Legal advice: A barrister can provide expert legal advice on the divorce process, including the grounds for divorce, the procedures
28th January 2023 Read moreNeed help with child custody proceedings? Here are 5 things to know.
What are child custody proceedings? If you need help with child custody proceedings, first you need to understand what is involved. Child custody proceedings are dealt with in family court when a divorcing couple seek a judge’s ruling to decide on the living arrangements of their child or children. In this blog Quartz Barristers share
22nd September 2022 Read moreNew Presidents Direction on Family Law Orders
The President of the Family Division, Sir Andrew McFarlane has issued new guidance in the forms of Orders in Children Cases for Judicial and practitioners information. The present regime has been governed by Practice Direction PD12B paragraph 14.13 which was issued on 6th June 2018. This Practice Direction said that all orders should should record
19th June 2019 Read moreChild arrangements
Represented a father who is desperate to have contact with his children. He has the added difficulties of not being an English speaker, having had to leave the family home (with nowhere to go) and his immigration status is “precarious”. This is the first application he is submitting to the court for a child arrangements
2nd May 2019 Read moreSubstantial property allegations
The case involved allegations of substantial property and business assets both in the U.K. and held abroad by the otherside who maintained that they had very little in the way of assets and in the course of the proceedings even went as far as to claim bankruptcy. The client had tried her best as a
2nd May 2019 Read moreBusiness asset
The client’s only significant asset was a business which employed over 20 people. The business was struggling but notwithstanding the reality of the situation the otherside believed that the business was far more successful than it appeared from the accounts. The otherside had subjected the client to numerous requests for information relating to the business
2nd May 2019 Read moreFinal hearing representation
The client had lost confidence in his solicitor who had represented him at an FDA and FDR. The matter had been listed for trial and the client required direct access Counsel to represent him at trial. The matter was successfully compromised on the day of the final hearing. The work involved representing the client at
2nd May 2019 Read moreFamily home and separation
The magnetic features of the case was the length of the marriage and the needs of the client and the parties children. The case was complicated over issues concerning the value of the former family home which had suffered from subsidence. The client sought the lion’s share of the matrimonial assets in order to meet
2nd May 2019 Read moreSubstantial pension assets
The significant asset in the case was substantial pension assets. The parties had been married a long time and the client sought equality of pension income upon retirement. An actuary was required to carry out certain calculations. The client achieved her desired result at an FDR. The work involved consisted of representing the client at
2nd May 2019 Read more2 million pounds of assets
This case involved over 2 million pounds of assets however it was not complicated. The assets consisted of the former matrimonial home and several investment properties. Notwithstanding the lack of complication the parties had each spent the best part of £100,000 in legal costs prior to the issue of proceedings. The client had lost confidence
2nd May 2019 Read more
Claire Litchfield – We can never thank you enough for all that you have done, you were amazing at court today; you have been a great blessing to us. Thank you.
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