 Below are some of the most frequently asked questions and answers;
A message may be left on our website and a representative of our office will respond either by telephone or email. Alternatively you may email us, leave a message on our 24 hour telephone answering service or forward a facsimile to our office. All enquires will be responded to.
Q. Does Aughtersons undertake work on a no win/no fee basis? Each matter is judged on its merits but as a general rule all work is undertaken on a fee for service basis.
Q. Do you offer a facility of no charge for the first appointment? Generally no but every case will be reviewed on its merits.
Q. Am I able to meet with a lawyer other than at your office? Arrangements can be made for meetings at your home, office or elsewhere. However, where our lawyers are required to meet outside the office, a charge for travel costs and travelling time may be imposed.
Q. What is the basis of your charges? In some matters, a fixed fee agreed at the outset will apply, such as in the case of a standard conveyance or a standard Will. In most matters, an hourly rate is charged on the basis of the time engaged. An estimate is often able to be provided at the commencement of a matter. However, it is not always clear at the outset as to how complex or time consuming a legal dispute may become, particularly in areas of litigation or family law where the input required is in part dependent upon the actions taken by the other party to the dispute. Fighting time equates to paying time.
Q. Should I use a conveyancer or a lawyer for the sale or purchase of my home or other real estate? Lawyers are regulated by the Legal Services Board and must comply with the professional and ethical standards contained in the Legal Practice Rules. All monies handled by the lawyer in the course of any conveyancing transaction are subject to the guarantee provided by the Legal Practitioners Fidelity Fund.
Yes. If you fail to make a Will, any property you leave will be dealt with under the terms of the Administration and Probate Act and may not pass to the person or persons that you would desire to benefit from your property. Q. If I don’t leave a Will, will the Government take my property? No, except in very rare instances.
Billing arrangements are subject to negotiation. We will usually request a payment at the beginning of a matter to be held in trust to be set off against your costs and monies we have to pay out on your behalf (disbursements). A matter that is of short duration will ordinarily be billed upon completion. A more complex and long-running matter may be billed at agreed intervals. Where arrangements are put in place, billing and payment may be deferred until completion or subsequent to completion. We shall provide you at the outset of a matter with a costs agreement and costs disclosure statement setting out the basis of our charges and any individual arrangements which are negotiated between us.
Q. Is it easy to park at your premises? Plentiful parking is available prior to 4 p.m. on the Maroondah Highway outside our premises. There is also ample parking available in the nearby side street (Bardia Street) and a car park at the rear of our premises.
Q. What if I am not satisfied with the outcome of my matter? We always endeavour to provide high quality legal services at a reasonable cost. However, we do not guarantee that every case will resolve to your satisfaction. In many instances, the final decision will be that of a Court or Tribunal and the outcome of any mediated dispute will ultimately depend upon the attitude of each of the disputants. Many of these matters are beyond our control. We can guarantee that we will use our best efforts on your behalf and will carefully and diligently represent you. We cannot however promise that we will always achieve what you desire.
Q. How much will my case ultimately cost me? The answer to this is very difficult to predict as the final cost will be dependent upon many factors, much of them outside the control of your lawyer, in particular the requirements of the Court and the actions of the other party to the dispute. We will however keep you advised of your costs throughout the progress of a matter in order that you may make an informed judgment as to the ongoing financial merit of pursuing the action.
Q. What happens if I am not satisfied with your service? We are regulated by the Legal Profession Act 2004 and are required to comply with all legal practice rules. If you believe we have acted improperly or have been negligent in the conduct of your matter, you are entitled to lodge a complaint to the Legal Services Commissioner in respect of our alleged failure. We may be subject to a penalty in the event that the Legal Services Commissioner found that we had failed in our duty to you. You are entitled at any time to instruct us to cease acting on your behalf. Our file is your property and, subject to payment of our costs, we are required to provide you with our file should you be dissatisfied with our service at any time and seek to instruct a replacement lawyer. We note that an unsuccessful outcome does not, of itself, provide any grounds for complaint to the Legal Services Commissioner or indicate that we have acted in any way improperly or negligently. In many legal disputes, there will be a winner and a loser and the loser will generally believe the outcome to be a bad result.
Q. I am the executor of a Will. What do I need to do? When a deceased has appointed an executor under a Will, the executor must make application to the Supreme Court of Victoria for a grant of probate of the Will. The grant of probate provides the legal authority to the executor to act on behalf of the estate of the deceased to wind up the estate and distribute the proceeds to the beneficiaries named in the Will. An application for grant of probate must be made to the Probate Division of the Supreme Court following prescribed procedures with which we are able to assist. In order to obtain a grant of probate, an original Will must be able to be produced.
Q. Do you take legal aid matters? We are not an approved provider on the Legal Aid Panel and the Legal Aid Commission will generally not allocate matters to our firm.
Q. How long will my case take? This is unable to be predicted accurately without knowing the nature or complexity of the case. As a general rule, cases in the Magistrates’ Court or Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal will be resolved within twelve months. More complex cases in the Family Court, the County Court or the Supreme or Federal Court may take a number of years.
Q. Do you take cases in all Courts and Tribunals? As a general rule, yes. However, in many instances we will instruct Barristers specialising in a particular area to appear on your behalf. The appointment of a Barrister will be discussed with you. There are some Tribunals in which lawyers are precluded from appearing on your behalf. |
