Fees

PRICE LIST – AS OF OCTOBER 5, 2020
*Disbursements are in addition to legal fees- not included*

Regular Hourly Rate:

Kelly A. Driscoll: $300.00 plus HST
Sarah M. Michel: $225.00 plus HST

Premium Hourly Rate:

Kelly A. Driscoll: $400.00 plus HST
Sarah M. Michel: $325.00 plus HST

This rate applies to unscheduled drop-ins, after-hours appointments, and after-hours work required by clients – see Frequently Asked Questions.

Mileage: $0.41 per km plus HST

Photocopies: $0.30 per page plus HST

FAMILY LAW SERVICES

* Consults are not included in prices unless specifically noted. We cannot give amounts for retainers without a full consultation.*

CONTESTED PROCEEDINGS (I.E. CUSTODY, ACCESS, SUPPORT, OR DIVISION OF PROPERTY & DEBT):

Charged at our regular Hourly Rate (or at our premium hourly rate if applicable).
An administration Fee of $50.00 will be charged upon opening a file.

UNCONTESTED DIVORCE PROCEEDING:

$1,200.00 plus HST where uncontested divorce does not deal with any of the following issues: custody of children, support issues, division of property/debt
$1,750.00 plus HST in cases where uncontested divorce proceeding deals with custody & support of children but does not require a consent order
$2,000.00 plus HST in cases where uncontested divorce proceeding deals with custody of children, support issues, or division of property and debt requiring a consent order
Filing fees and disbursements are not included.
Negotiation is not included in the fee. Negotiation will be billed at our regular hourly rate.
If an expected uncontested divorce proceeding becomes contested by a Respondent filing an Answer or an Answer & Counter-Petition, the proceeding will be charged at our normal hourly rate

PREPARATION OF DOMESTIC CONTRACT:

Ranges from $1,500.00 to $2,000.00 plus HST (depending on the scope of work required)
Negotiations and Amendments that differ from the client’s initial instructions are not included in this fee and are charged at our regular hourly rate.
The fee is charged regardless of whether the other party agrees to sign so please discuss with the other party prior to instructing us to draft a Domestic Contract.
Limited grammatical revisions not going to the substance of the agreement are included in the fee.

WILLS & ESTATE SERVICES

For Wills & Estate services, the consult is included in the fee. Each file will have a $25.00 administrative fee plus a fee of $4.50 per person for photocopies. HST is in addition to the fee listed.

Last Will & Testament (one person): $350.00
Last Will & Testaments (mirrors – two persons): $600.00
Power of Attorney (one person): $300.00
Power of Attorney (two persons): $500.00
Bundle – Will & Power of Attorney (one person): $600.00
Bundle – Wills & Powers of Attorney (mirrors – two persons): $900.00

REAL ESTATE SERVICES

Disbursements and HST are not included in the fees listed below. Be aware that disbursements make up a large portion of individual client invoices for real estate transactions. We can provide written estimates upon request after completion of an intake call to provide a better idea of what the total invoice will cost.

Purchase of Residential Property: $650.00 (inclusive of a mortgage, if required)
Refinance: $650.00
Sale of Residential Property: $550.00
Conversion to Land Titles: $400.00
PID Consolidation: $100.00
Transfer without Consideration: $300.00

MISCELLANEOUS SERVICES

NOTARIZING DOCUMENTS:

$75.00-$300.00 (Depending on scope of work required)

COMMISSIONER OF OATHS:

$25.00 -$50.00 (Depending on scope of work required)

WEDDINGS:

$300.00 plus HST if Officiant does not need to attend a rehearsal.
$500.00 plus HST if Officiant is required to attend a rehearsal.
Mileage will be charged if travel of more than 30 km round trip is required.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

What is the "premium hourly rate" and when does it apply?

Our “premium hourly rate” is a rate applied to those clients who request immediate or expedited service (i.e., unscheduled appointments, after-hours services, or unscheduled telephone calls). This will not appear as a surprise rate on your invoice and it will be discussed in advance with clients who are in danger of incurring it. Please note that we cannot always accomodate immediate or expedited service.

Why would you charge a "premium hourly rate"?

To be honest, the “premium hourly rate” is an experiment in managing client expectations.

In this modern era of nearly instantaneous communication in many service sectors, it is natural for clients to want to be able to instantly connect with their lawyer. However, instant and unscheduled connection between client and lawyer can cause massive distraction and disruption to a lawyer’s schedule. Distraction and disruption means that the lawyer cannot work as efficiently, resulting in everything taking longer.

By implementing a “premium hourly rate”, we are attempting to make clients think before deciding whether they really need that unscheduled contact and whether they really need to jump the queue to have their matter placed at the top of our to-do pile.

Most clients who are offered the opportunity to pay a premium rate for immediate service or after-hours service, in fact, decline the opportunity and, in doing so, realize that their issue is not so immediate that they actually need to jump the queue. This realization, with altered expectations and altered behaviours that accompany it, is our goal in implementing this rate.

When the clients respect that all of our files are important and keep unscheduled contact with our lawyers to to emergencies only, we can generate paperwork and help everyone faster.

Please note that in cases of true emergency for existing clients, we may consider waiving the “premium hourly rate” at our discretion.

Why can't you tell me what your retainer is without an initial consult?

Without an initial consult, we really don’t know the scope of the work. Larger jobs require larger retainers and smaller jobs require smaller retainers. Clients who have not had an initial consult are frequently unaware of the scope of work required.