We resolve disputes
We assist our clients to resolve disputes related to all aspects of wills, estates, probate and powers of attorney, including litigation and passing of accounts. If Court proceedings are required, we are firm, fair, and effective advocates who prefer to move things forward as quickly and pragmatically as possible. We believe strongly in the value of effective mediation.
We understand numbers and accounting. We regularly assist with disputes related to attorney and executor accounts.
Fixed fees, Fair fees
Whenever possible we charge fixed fees, agreed in advance.
While we cannot know how a dispute will unfold and thus often cannot guarantee a flat fee for the entire proceeding, we will provide a budget for each step of each proceeding. Contact us for a full discussion of costs for your case.
Success fees / contingency fees
Cannot afford a lawyer? Want someone to share the risk? We will consider assisting you on the basis that fees are ‘only payable upon success’. The maximum rate that we charge is 30% of what you recover (including ‘costs’ payable by the other side) plus HST.
Contingency fees are regulated by the Law Society and we employee the standard contingency agreement. You can access the LSO guide on contingency fees here.
Contact us for a full discussion of your circumstances and whether contingency fees are right for you.
We carry the risk – payable on success
We help our clients pursue their rights in a manner that they can afford.
Estate litigation is often very expensive. Estate litigation is also often on an unequal playing field – one family member may be living rent free in the house of the deceased or have received a joint bank account on death or money before death from a parent, while the aggrieved family member has received nothing and is now forced to pay both their own bills of daily living and figure out how to pay legal fees to pursue their inheritance.
Two common problems are that potential litigants either do not pursue their rights because of cost, or later drop proceedings because they cannot afford to continue. Our contingency fee engagements solve these two problems.
Contingency fees agreements mean that we take on significant risk, including both delay and the possibility of failure. As a result, sometimes we receive more than we would have charged using hourly rates and sometimes less.
Different structures are possible
Different cases call for different contingency fee arrangements. We structure our contingency fee agreements to match the needs and wishes of our clients and the circumstances of their particular case. We welcome discussion of which structure is best tailored to your needs.
The three most common structures are-
· A percentage of recovery
· Flat fee(s)
· Fixed base + premium
Percentage of recovery.
In these agreements, we are paid a fixed percent (usually 15-25%) of the amount you recover. A more complex version has the % rising over time, thus depending on when in the litigation process the matter is resolved.
These engagements are most suitable when it is clear that you are entitled to recover something and the other side does not dispute your entitlement, but the primary dispute is about the value of your claim. These are sometimes suitable for “money taken before death by the child managing a parent’s money” type claims.
Flat fees.
Sometimes, we can make a pretty good guess upfront of the cost of proceedings. In these agreements, we offer to complete what you require for a fix pre-agreed fee.
These agreements are most suitable when it is very clear what the other side’s response will be (especially if they will not respond at all) and what steps will be needed to enforce your rights. For example, these arrangements can be suitable when a named executor is completely unresponsive to inquiries and lives in the house of the deceased. We can sue to have an estate trustee during litigation appointed and the executor evicted so that the house can be sold and the estate distributed fairly.
A variation on the ‘flat fee’ model is that we can provide fixed prices depending on whether the matter resolves at an interim stage before we have to proceed all the way to a Court-ordered settlement (for instance, initial demand or at mediation).
Fixed base + % of recovery.
In these agreements, we agree upfront on a base amount that we will be paid first when the case resolves, and a sharing of the upside with you. The base amount will usually be our initial estimate of the actual cost of litigation, and the premium will be in the sharing of the upside.
Usually, the premium is only payable after you have received a minimum amount. Thus, the order of payment is
1. our base fees, then
2. your minimum recovery, then
3. split the upside, with us receiving a % of the upside, and you receive the rest.
Court awarded costs.
Generally, we ask that 100% of the ‘costs’ be payable to us and not included in your fee in the engagement. This is intended to compensate us if the matter has proceeded to a contested Court hearing and is reflected in the % or flat fee agreed to being lower than if these costs were paid to you.
Reasonableness and Court review.
If you object to a contingency fee, you can ask the Court to review it for reasonableness. We always aim to ensure that our fees are reasonable having regard to everything that is known by you and us before our engagement started. If our agreement would lead to an unreasonable windfall (for instance, unexpected immediate settlement) then we likely will charge less than the agreed amount.
Your choice.
As a general rule, we will work with your preference. We invite questions and discussions of the right structure.