Fixed price lawyers means one less thing to worry about
Hiring a relationship property lawyer shouldn’t require you to sign a blank cheque, not knowing what you will be charged, or putting up with an increase in someone’s hourly rate just after you have signed up.
We offer everyone we can a fixed fee – so you know exactly what and when you need to pay us.
Different people have different needs
Separations are expensive in a million ways. Only pay for what you need. Pick the service and pricing you want. If you sign up for our DIY or HUG packages, you will always know what you need to pay us and when. We are crystal clear about our package pricing, so you never have to wonder how much this is all costing you. If we are helping you on hourly rates, we encourage you to request estimates for our work.
Our Guarantee
You can be confident in your choice with our 30-day money back guarantee. If you aren’t happy in your first 30 days, tell us why. If we can’t fix it and you need to fire us, (provided we haven’t already signed your agreement) we will refund you everything you have paid. We will also point you in the direction of another good lawyer who might be a better match.
Frequently Asked Questions
Our Contracting Out Agreement fixed fee package is great for people entering a new relationship.
Our packages start at $2,690 + GST. For this, you can expect:
- A meeting where we go over your situation and what you and your partner are wanting to achieve
- Talking to you after you have had a discussion with your partner about anything tricky
- Helping you understand what you need to disclose to your partner
- Preparing a contracting out agreement that meets your needs
- Discussing with you any potential changes your partner or their lawyer wants to make
- Meeting with you to sign the agreement
- Providing our certificate on your agreement, so your agreement is binding and enforceable.
Our price increases if you have complicated assets like businesses, farms and trusts, want to do something really risky or unusual, or you have already been living together for a while.
Your partner will also need independent advice on their agreement from another lawyer. If we are that other lawyer – our fees for independent advice start from $1,390 + GST when advising on a well-prepared and straight forward agreement.
Talk to us about your situation for your fixed price. We offer free 15-minute phone calls with a lawyer
The price depends entirely on your situation: the assets and debts involved, how bumpy the road is to get to an agreement, and what you need us to do.
Your separation might cost $1,500 to $30,000 (plus) – with:
- The lower end being when you have a house, KiwiSavers and cars, and just need independent advice on a well drafted agreement that reflects your entitlements under the legislation… and
- The higher end involving more complicated situations where we may need to involve the Family Court.
At Clean Break, we want to give you a bit more certainty than this. We will try very hard to give you a fixed price for one or more of our packages after our first meeting with you. Most of our clients take advantage of our fixed fees, as they enjoy knowing exactly what and when they will need to pay us.
Our DIY Separation packages start at $2,350 + GST and our MAX Separation packages start at $6,900 + GST. If you need us to do something that falls outside your package, we have a comprehensive add-on menu that is also given to you at the very beginning.
If you want us to work for you on normal hourly rates (like how most other lawyer’s do it), Sarah’s time is charged at $410 + GST/hr. We encourage you to ask for estimates regularly.
Rest assured – no matter how we bill you – you can still take advantage of our 30-day money back guarantee.
On our packages, we send your invoices at key milestones in your separation, like when we prepare a draft agreement for your review. What this milestone will be, and the amount that will be due, will be given to you at the very beginning of us working together – so you can organise your life around this.
If you prefer to pay-as-you-go on our hourly rates, we will send you invoices regularly – up to as often as fortnightly.
Our invoices are due 7 days after us sending them to you.
Sometimes, we will need to ask clients to put money into another lawyer’s trust account, as security for payment of our bills. We can only touch this money after we have done the work for you.
No. If you are eligible for legal aid, you can find lawyers at www.justice.govt.nz who can help you.