Family Law Property

A Smart Start Appointment is:

• A one-on-one appointment with a Specialist Family Lawyer who is an expert in dealing with legal separation and has helped many people just like you,
• Where you will get on-the-spot specialist Family Law advice tailored to your circumstances,
• Completely confidential,
• 90-minute duration,
• Once-off Fixed Fee of $350, and
• No obligation.

Our Smart Start Appointment is a unique solution developed after more than a decade of helping people find clarity and direction in relation to the breakdown of an important relationship. We understand that this significant life transition, and its possible consequences, are stressful and the need to make important decisions during this time can be overwhelming.

Our Smart Start Appointment is your initial appointment. In most cases it is required so that we can better understand your situation and ensure we are matching you with the best Solicitor and or service that you need to achieve your desired outcome.

Our Client Services Officer will be able to confirm if a Smart Start Appointment is your first step with Delaney Roberts.

Our Smart Start Appointment is guaranteed to help you to reduce your stress, gain confidence and give you direction as it:

• Gives you access to a one-on-one confidential appointment with a Specialist Family Lawyer,
• Is an affordable and accessible solution offering great value at a reasonable fixed price,
• Gives you on-the-spot legal advice tailored to your situation,
• Allows you to address the issues that are concerning you right now,
• Brings to your attention other issues that you may not have thought about,
• Sets out a list of Next Steps for you to take so you leave the appointment with a plan,
• Informs you about how to proceed with our firm if you wish to, and
• Gives you an understanding of how we charge and the costs likely to arise for you.

You can arrange a Smart Start Appointment for yourself, or someone else, by:

• Calling our office on 1300 760 773,
• Making an online request for a Smart Start Appointment, or
• Emailing our office at [email protected].

Once you have contacted us, you will speak to our Client Services Officer who will talk to you about:

• Your current situation and how we can help,
• The Specialist Family Lawyers who are available to meet with you and who might best suit your case (unless you would like to request a specific Family Lawyer),
• The times and dates available for your Smart Start Appointment and what is suitable to you,
• Whether you would like to meet your Specialist Family Lawyer in person (in one of our office conference rooms) or via video or teleconference,
• The Smart Start Appointment fixed fee price,
• How to pay the Smart Start Appointment fee,
• Any concerns you may have about the Smart Start Appointment or about your circumstances generally,
• How to find our office and parking options (if you are attending your Smart Start Appointment in-office), and
• The name of your former partner, so that we can make sure that we have not acted for them in the past and to ensure we do not take their enquiry if they call us.

If you would like to proceed with making a Smart Start Appointment, our Client Services Officer will:

• Take pre-payment of the $350 Smart Start Appointment fee,
• Confirm the date, time and location of your Smart Start Appointment,
• Confirm the name of your Specialist Family Lawyer and some information about them, and
• Send you an email to confirm the details for your Smart Start Appointment, including details about the location of our office and nearby parking.

Our Lawyers are experts in asking the right questions to get the information they need to properly advise you. All your Specialist Family Lawyer will really need is to hear you tell your story.

However, bringing some additional paperwork can be helpful and can assist to prompt your memory. If you have time to gather some papers, the documents that will most help your Specialist Family Lawyer are:

• Any paperwork you have received from your ex or their Lawyer,
• Any legal paperwork about your relationship such as a pre-nuptial agreement or Court Orders,
• Details of the assets, debts and superannuation you and your ex had when you started your relationship,
• Details of the assets, debts and superannuation you and your ex have now,
• Details of any lump sum amounts received by you or your ex during the relationship and/or since separation such as gifts or financial assistance from parents, inheritances, redundancies, workers’ compensation payments, lottery winnings or similar, and
• Details of current income for you and your ex.

Before your appointment, our staff will ask you to complete our Client Intake Form with the essential information that your Specialist Family Lawyer needs before starting your Smart Start Appointment.

Yes! We offer many Fixed Fee services please click here for more information.

All communication with our lawyers will be over the phone and email. Important correspondence will be contained in letters as PDF attachments to emails. This includes invoices. It is essential that you take the time to read all correspondence received by your lawyer and contact your legal team should you have any questions, require clarification, or need further information in order to understand.

A Trust Account is a bank account in which we hold money on your behalf, usually as a deposit for the payment of future invoices. We are not permitted to use this money unless certain conditions are met. Most law firms use a Trust Account to assist to manage the payment of legal costs.

• At the beginning of your matter,
• At intervals throughout your matter once the amount you have deposited into our Trust Account has already been used to pay invoices and is not enough to cover the next stage of work, and
• For specific purposes, such as for payment to your former partner under Court orders or an agreement, or expenses we will need to pay on your behalf.

We request that you deposit money into our Trust Account so that we can be certain that we will be paid for the work you have instructed us to do and/or so that we are not out-of-pocket for the expenses we pay to others on your behalf (e.g. Search fees, valuation fees, stamp duty, barristers’ fees).

Money held in our Trust Account is held on your behalf. Subject to any lien we hold over the money to secure payment of our fees, money held in our Trust Account will be paid at your direction at any time. Upon completion of your matter and payment of our fees, money held in our Trust Account will, therefore, be paid to you or as you direct.

In most cases, yes. We typically require that you have both signed the Legal Services Agreement with us and deposited the requested funds into our Trust Account before commencing work on your behalf.

The amount of money required to be paid in advance will be based on our estimate of costs work initially to be undertaken. This will be discussed with your Solicitor during your Smart Start Appointment and confirmed in an Engagement Letter.

You will only need to pay money into the office account if you have an invoice due where the amount is greater than the funds we have held for you in trust.