I am trying to work out what is expensive and what is not when it comes to solicitor fees for family matters. Is £160/£170 + vat expensive for family cases? What have other people paid??????????

That is less than most solicitors charge per hour. Is it a small, provincial firm who have quoted this figure? If so, where are they? It is significantly lower than is now typical in the South East.

Gnut

I believe that if that's a price quoted for a consulation for example, an hour, you could get significantly cheaper if you ask around as many in the same area try and win your business, especially in London.
I went to a number of firms whe nI had a "family matter" and compared the costs and their general demeanour and customer service, and chose the one that felt right for me. If it's something you want to "win" or kids involved etc..you want to make sure that you have a rapport with the solicitor. (if thats at all possible)

You might want to elaborate a bit more, then exact fees & quotes could be compared.

Hi both

Some firms will provide an initial consultation for free with no obligation to use them at all. If all that one wants is to outline the problem and get a very brief, oral-only opinion of possible solutions, then many would not bother to charge at all for providing it.

However, as I have said, anywhere in London or the South East, if you want a solicitor to do more than sit and listen to you for a maximum of an hour, you are most unlikely to find a good solicitor, with a good following and whose services are in demand, to be willing to act on a matter for less than around £200 an hour + VAT. The only real exceptions to this "rule of thumb" are domestic conveyancing, usually done for a fixed price with paralegals doing 90% of the work, and Wills, which are sometimes provided cheaply as deliberate loss-leaders. (If one is holding the Will, one tends to get the Probate to deal with in due course is the reasoning for it.)

Cheers

Gnut

Aha! Nice one mate, thanks for clarifying.

[QUOTE=Gnut Kracker]Hi both

Thanks for that, food for though -- and all of that