If you feel that you should have been given money as part of someone's distributed estate, you may be particularly aggrieved and are thinking about challenging this decision. You may be looking into the process involved and understand that it could be quite time-consuming and complex. In this situation, you will be particularly interested in how much it's likely to cost and what, if anything, you will need to pay. What factors do you need to take into account here?
Engaging Legal Help
To begin with, work out if you want to engage the services of a solicitor. They will obviously charge for their services as they provide you with legal representation, and you may need to be ready to handle those costs in every case.
How Costs Are Determined
Sometimes, a court may order the unsuccessful party to pay the costs of the other. These may not amount to as much as your own costs but can nevertheless add up should the court not find in your favour.
The estate may pay for your legal costs following the case's conclusion if it is found that you indeed have a valid claim. However, you may need to take into account a set of legal principles that have been recently applied in cases like this. These may determine whether the estate pays for your costs or whether you have to take care of that yourself.
Mediation or Full Litigation
Some cases like this can be settled before going to a formal court in a mediation process. In this case, the estate would pay you an agreed amount if your arguments were successful, and you would then need to pay your legal fees from that. Still, if the case went to litigation, the outcome could be a bit more complex depending on the application of the legal principles mentioned above.
Getting an Expert Opinion
If you are unsure how strong your case is, it makes sense to consult a lawyer first in any case. They'll tell you how such a case will likely proceed in their opinion and you'll then be able to decide whether to go forward. Just remember that if you are unsuccessful, you may have to pay the other party's legal fees as well as your own. You may need to take into account the potential in every eventuality against how much you are likely to benefit should your case succeed.
For more information, contact a local firm like Bale Boshev Lawyers.
Share13 October 2022
No one gets married planning to get divorced, but by the time I see them it's pretty obvious why they are getting divorced. When a marriage is beyond repair I'm there to fight for my clients right's under family and property law and to get them the best deal I can possibly negotiate. Even if you feel like your case is messy or complicated, I can guarantee in my time as a lawyer I have seen and heard worse things! This site has a collection of useful articles and links on developments and case law in the Family Court of Australia.