Costs changes mooted for the Family Court

There are two types of ways that the courts regulate lawyers’ costs- one way is where the client has the lawyer acting (this is sometimes called solicitor and client costs) and that when a party is ordered to pay another party’s costs.

Unlike the Federal Magistrates Court, the Family Court has long regulated costs between solicitors and their clients.The Family Court has mooted ending that on 1 July 2008, subject to those matters which haven’t finished…

This means that the different State regulations will apply to those costs, and hopefully there will be less bureaucracy for solicitors and their clients when the one dispute with a former partner can stretch into State courts, the Federal Magistrates Court and the Family Court.