Managing Legal Costs in Your Family Law Matter

I completely understand why one of the first questions I am asked when a prospective client contacts me is “how much is this going to cost?”. Legal costs can feel daunting, particularly more so if you are going through the uncertainty of a separation or legal dispute, so you are best to be upfront about costs right at the beginning of your dealings with a lawyer.

So how much is it likely to cost you in legal fees to complete your legal transaction or resolve your dispute or family law issue? The answer to this can be a frustrating “how long is a piece of string?” or, equally as unhelpful, "It depends". However, there are some guidelines and rules about what lawyers can charge and there are things you can do to reduce your costs.

How are Lawyer's Charges Set?

The fees you are charged must be “fair and reasonable” for the services provided. There is the common belief that a lawyer’s fees are based solely on the time the lawyer spends working on a client’s matter and that lawyer’s hourly rate. However, the Rules of Conduct that lawyers in New Zealand operate under set out that time spent on a matter is just one of 13 factors that can be taken into account in deciding on a reasonable fee. Those factors include considerations such as any urgency and time limitations, the degree of risk assumed by the lawyer (including the value of any property at issue), the lawyer's skill and reputation, and the specialised knowledge required to properly perform the service.

Your lawyer’s hourly rate will generally reflect the level of skill and experience they have acquired. It can be “false economics” to simply choose a lawyer because their hourly rate is lower – they may simply not have the skill level required for the complexity of your matter.

They may also take longer than a more experienced person to complete certain work, costing you more in the long run.

Family Law is one area where lawyers often find themselves answering the costs question with "It Depends". One of the reasons for this is that you and your lawyer can control what you both do in the process of resolving your matter. You can both work together to try to efficiently and economically reach resolution. However, there is one important factor neither of you can completely control that has an impact on your costs: the other party and their lawyer. You may be faced with delays or an approach that is frustrating and obstructive, both are largely out of your control but which have a costs implication for you.

How can you best manage your legal costs?

Below are some of my top tips for managing and being proactive about your legal costs.

• Communicate again and again: As I said at the top of this blog, communicating about costs at the outset is important. Ask your lawyer about the charges you can expect. They'll likely need some further information about your circumstances to best scope out the work involved but, once they have that information, they should be able to reach a reliable estimate. If you have queries about an invoice or you are struggling to make payment of it, communicate again and do so promptly. Prompt discussions about costs prevent problems festering and building!

  
  

• Be Proactive at the Outset: This tip is likely not helpful to those who in the midst of a current separation but if you are not (or, if you are but later enter into a new relationship): be proactive at the outset and think to the future. If you are embarking on a new relationship, think about the property you each bring to the relationship and take steps to record how you wish to have that property divided between you in the event of a separation or the death of one of you. To do a valid agreement (called a Contracting Out Agreement) will require each of you to receive legal advice but I think of it similarly to how I look at insurance - the money spent on this at the outset is likely to be cheaper than the money you will spend on arguing about these issues in the event of a separation or in the value of assets you could lose if you aren’t protected by a Contracting Out Agreement!

• Look to a Fixed Fee: Some firms offer clients a “fixed fee”. Under this arrangement, the lawyer will set out for you what work they will complete for you and what you will be charged for that work. This provides you with the benefit of certainty about what your costs will be. Just ensure you are aware of what “exceptions” there are to the fixed fee - a fixed fee will be unlikely to include all the possible permutations or twists and turns your case could take!. Lighthouse Legal offers fixed fees for most types of work or for stages of a case. We've found our clients have enjoyed the certainty of knowing in advance exactly what work they are getting for what price.

  
  

• Look to Fee Funding: For relationship property matters, fee funding can be a useful way to weather the financial storm of a separation while still making sure you are getting the legal advice and advocacy you need. Fee funders meet your legal costs to an agreed amount and enter into an arrangement with you for the repayment of those costs from your settlement. At Lighthouse, we are proud to be accredited partners of Just Fund, New Zealand's only dedicated family law finance provider, so that we may offer our clients this fee funding option.

  
  

• DIY Part 1: Work Things Out Yourselves as Much as Possible: Should you find yourselves separated or facing a family law issue, one of the best ways to save yourself money is to try to work out as much as possible between yourselves or with the help of a trusted friend or family member. Protracted legal battles will eat up money.

  
  

• DIY Part 2: Pick & Mix your Legal Services: At Lighthouse Legal, we understand that you might want to work things out yourself but may not want to “go it alone” completely. You may need legal guidance and assistance from time to time but don't need a lawyer doing everything. For example, we have assisted self represented parties by preparing their written legal submissions for them to use in their court hearing. In other cases, we have coached clients through their court case or their negotiations with their ex or have written or checked key documents for them. We can tailor a cost effective, guided resolution service for you if that is your situation - where we assist you with the bits you need us to and you do the rest!

• DIY Part 3: Do The Legwork: At Lighthouse, we often speak with clients about the jobs in their case that they can be doing themselves to reduce costs. We actively look to identify such DIY jobs. A key one is collecting as much information as possible yourself. You will save yourself a lot of legal costs if your lawyer does not have to seek out the information he or she needs.

• Use a Team of Professionals: It is often more cost effective to have a team of professionals, each doing the part of your case that is best suited to their skills and expertise. Collaborative Process is particularly well suited to this approach as the professionals work in with one another as a team. Jointly engaging one professional to help with an aspect of your matter is likely to be more cost effective.

  
  

• Stay Out of Court: Look to alternative methods of resolving your dispute outside of the courtroom. Increasingly, mediation and Collaborative Process are being used to avoid long and expensive Family Court proceedings. In mediation and Collaborative Process, the participants will often reach agreements at the outset about how legal and professional costs will be met so that the process is available to both participants, even if one is financially disadvantaged and unable to pay fees. At Lighthouse Legal, we are well placed to support you with one of these processes - our approach is to first and foremost assist families to resolve their legal issues without Court!.

  
  

• Don’t Sweat Every Issue: When in the midst of the high emotion of a family law dispute, it can be easy to lose sight of how the desired outcome stacks up against the costs to pursue it. Some issues, even ones you feel strongly principled about, may cost more to go after than they are worth financially. Clients who cost effectively work through their family law issues generally do so because they let go of such issues and recognise that what they may give up in a compromise is more than made up for in the savings they make on legal costs.

  
  

What if you simply cannot afford legal costs?

You may be eligible for legal aid. Whether you are eligible will depend on your income and assets. Your lawyer should be able to advise you about your eligibility and assist you to make an application for legal aid. You need to be aware that Legal Aid can require you to repay the legal costs it pays on your behalf. If your legal costs were incurred for domestic violence proceedings, you will not have to repay your legal costs.

Another option if you are not eligible for legal aid is to contact a community law centre. These centres are set up for people who can’t afford legal services. Your local Court or Citizen’s Advice Bureau should be able to refer you to your nearest community law centre.

If you're needing legal assistance coupled with transparent and open communication about costs and options for meeting those, book a free, 15 minute chat here with one of our lawyers to discuss your situation.

The information in this blog is current at 1 March 2026.