Rochelle Crossman, Family Law Barrister
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Unbundled Advice

9/4/2018

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More and more people are seeking "Unbundled Legal Advice" for matters in the Family Court. This is where you represent yourself in the proceedings, but you get some legal advice from a lawyer about a particular aspect of your case.

The "Family Legal Advice Service" is an example of unbundled legal advice that the government funds. Other than that, you will need to pay for unbundled legal services.

The University of Otago Legal Issues Centre has released an informative video explaining what unbundled advice is, and when you might choose to use it. You can find the video on YouTube. Unbundled advice is also known as limited retainer advice.

In the Family Court, you might choose to represent yourself, but get some unbundled legal advice:
- When the proceedings are beginning, to talk through what your overall strategy should be, and to have an expert point out the strengths and weaknesses of your case;
- Prior to a settlement conference or hearing, to go over Court rules and strategies;
- If something unexpected arises in your case and you are not sure how to respond.

Provided you come to the appointment with a clear understanding of how you got to where you are, and with all the relevant documents to hand, you should be able to get a lot of advice in an hour-long appointment. Be sure to explain to the lawyer when you are making the appointment, that you are seeking unbundled advice, so that the lawyer understands this from the beginning. Not all lawyers will be prepared to give unbundled advice. It is a rather "new" way of working and some lawyers won't be used to it.

I am happy to provide unbundled legal advice services although I am likely to ask you to pay a retainer in advance of our appointment, as, sadly, clients who do not intend to establish a traditional lawyer-client relationship, have been known to collect legal advice and then refuse to pay for it.

Call me any time to discuss if you think unbundled advice is what you need.
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The BEST family lawyer in Dunedin

14/6/2016

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When you're dealing with stressful issues concerning your family and property, of course you want to hire the BEST lawyer in town to represent your interests and fight for your corner. And so you should! But many clients are surprised when to learn that this doesn't mean they should hope their ex has the worst lawyer. Not at all. If your ex has a "bad" lawyer, such as one who doesn't know the law, who pursues un-winnable arguments, is unnecessarily aggressive or adversarial or even one who just never gets back to your ex, it will end up costing you - in frustration, time and money. 

So, not only do you want to have an specialist family lawyer yourself, in most cases you'll find that your lawyer can achieve a more favourable outcome if your ex also has an experienced family lawyer acting for them. Unfortunately though, you will rarely be able to have a say about who your ex's lawyer is.

The upshot? By all means hire the best specialist family lawyer in town, but don't be too worried if your ex hires the second-best!
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Why would you need a specialist Family Lawyer?

9/5/2016

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If you've just separated, you will be feeling anxious and worried about the care arrangements for your children. You may be concerned about the financial and property implications arising from your separation. You may have been separated for quite some time, but care arrangements are no longer working as well as they were. 

Grandparents, caregivers and adoptive parents have other issues they want to resolve as quickly and efficiently as possible. Perhaps you have been stuck in an abusive relationship that you can't see the way out of, or CYF have been knocking at your door.

If your problem involves any aspect of Family Law, you need an experienced, specialist Family Lawyer. Don't be tempted to hire the lawyer who did your conveyancing or set up your business; they will be specialised in those areas and are unlikely to have the expertise that you will need to guide you, successfully, through the Family Law minefield.
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Representing yourself in the Family Court

21/3/2016

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More and more people are finding themselves having to consider acting for themselves in the Family Court. This could be because a "simple" application under the Care of Children Act must be filed by the litigant themselves, and not a lawyer. Or it could be because while a litigant is ineligible for legal aid, they cannot pay thousands of dollars for a lawyer.

Acting for yourself is always risky. Quite apart from the difficulties in understanding the law and Court process, you are unlikely to challenge your own position or "think outside the box" about other possible solutions. 

A big part of a good lawyer's job is reality checking their clients' positions, to ensure that what they are asking for has at least a chance of being awarded by the Court. If you are acting for yourself with no advice, you will miss this vital step.

One option if you can't afford to engage a lawyer for the entire proceedings, is to seek advice at various steps and for specific jobs only. For example, you could meet with an expert family lawyer before filing an application, to get some advice about what to include (and what not to include). Then you might use the lawyer again only when the settlement conference occurs.

While traditionally lawyers work under a "full service retainer", carrying out every aspect relating to the proceedings, some are happy to work on a limited retainer, as described above. This is also known as "unbundled assistance" and more progressive lawyers are moving towards offering that service.

If you feel that you want to represent yourself, but you are wise enough to know that you don't know everything, I suggest finding a lawyer who can offer an unbundled service that fits your needs specifically.
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Contribution to Lawyer for Child's costs

12/2/2016

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In March 2014 the law changed to require parents to contribute to the costs of lawyer for child. Lawyer for child’s fees in even a fairly simple case can range from $1,000 to $3,000, and if your proceedings are complex or require a hearing to resolve, the lawyer for child’s costs could be even higher.

The starting point is that each parent will have to pay one third of the total fees. The Court will meet the other third. However, a parent could be ordered to pay up to two thirds of the fee.

To date it hasn’t been clear whether parents receiving legal aid would be liable for lawyer for child’s fees. The High Court has now confirmed that a legally aided parent will not have to pay anything towards lawyer for child’s costs, unless there are exceptional circumstances. The threshold to finding exceptional circumstances is very high, so it is safe to say that in the vast majority of cases, a legally aided person will not have to pay a contribution to lawyer for child’s costs.

The consequence of this ruling is of course very good news for legally aided parties.

There may however be significant consequences for parents who are not eligible for legal aid, where the other parent is. It is not hard to foresee situations where the legally aided party may take an unreasonable position, safe in the knowledge that they will not be liable for costs, but knowing that for every hour that lawyer for child spends on the case, their private-paying ex will have to pay more towards not only their own lawyer’s fees, but also lawyer for child’s. 

Time will tell whether in these cases the private-paying parent will be ordered to pay two thirds of the costs, because their ex is on legal aid.
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​Why might I need a Family Lawyer?

28/1/2016

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We are all a member of a family. A specialist Family Lawyer can assist you with the many legal issues that might arise out of your family relationships.
 
Family Law isn’t limited to issues that arise when people separate. You may need a Family Lawyer for these matters concerning children:
 
• Proceedings involving grandparents and other family/whanau members
• Acting for parents when Child, Youth and Family (CYF) are involved
• Obtaining parenting orders for CYF caregivers ("Home For Life")
• Paternity applications
• Applications by fathers or grandparents for guardianship of a child
• Adoption applications
 
A significant proportion of a specialist Family Lawyer’s work is to do with property, such as:
• “Pre-nuptial” property sharing agreements
• Overturning unfair relationship property settlement agreements. 
• Challenging wills of deceased relatives
• Protection of Personal and Property Rights proceedings and Enduring Powers of Attorney
• Applications to review decisions by the Commissioner for Inland Revenue concerning child support
 
In the above situations, you will almost certainly benefit from a specialist family lawyer’s advice.
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