We don’t want your legal fees to be the reason you are awake at night.
Bright Side doesn’t charge like traditional law firms, all our work is done
on an up-front agreed, fixed-fee basis. And we get that family-law matters
are all different and often require creative problem solving – if we don’t have a
package to suit you, we will tailor one to cover exactly what you need.

Once you have decided on your settlement strategy we will quote you a
price alongside a detailed Scope of Work outlining everything to be done in
your matter, with a rough timeline and payments broken down into stages.

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Where do I stand?

Meet us                                                                                                            

This is an initial consultation for either you, or you and your ex together, where we hear your story. You don’t need to bring anything. It’s time to tell us what’s keeping you awake at night – what you’re worried about and what you think is working OK. We can talk about your individual circumstances and what options are available to resolve your relationship breakdown.

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Kitchen-table packages

At BrightSide we don’t charge by the minute so you will always know what your separation is going to cost you.

We offer three basic packages, Silver, Gold and Platinum tailored to couples who can still communicate a little, can’t communicate much or can’t communicate at all.

We also realise everyone is a little different so if you don’t see something that fits, give us a call and we can design something specifically for you.

Silver                                                                                                               

This package is for people who can still communicate or are close to agreement. The Silver package provides advice, guidance, and someone to take care of all the legal details.

This package includes all legal drafting, dealing with your super fund, management of the court process, checking to make sure your agreement is suitable and access to all of our info and experience about the process.­

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­Gold                                                                                                                

This package is for people who can’t communicate much or who have tried and become stuck and need us to step in. It is also suitable for people with more complex financial needs such as Self Managed Super Funds, trusts, or multiple investments.

As with the Silver package the Gold package also includes guidance and advice, all legal drafting, dealing with your super fund, management of the court process, checking to make sure your agreement is suitable and access to all of our info and experience about the process.

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­Platinum                                                                                                                                              

This package is for couples who cannot communicate at all, have significant differences of opinion or where the relationship has broken down so much that no contact is possible. It is also suitable for people with complex financial structures or complex financial interests (e.g. jointly held family farms, family businesses, partnerships, or other jointly held assets)

As with all of our packages the Platinum package includes guidance and advice, all legal drafting, dealing with your super fund, management of the court process, checking to make sure your agreement is suitable and access to all of our info and experience about the process but it also has access to hands off negotiation, 5 title searches, weekly phone or email check-in’s with your lawyer, and weekly check-in’s with our client relationship manager.acer

Collaboration

The beauty of collaborative practice is that the resolution of your matter is tailored to exactly what you and your family need. It usually takes between 3-6 months and three collaborative meetings for a matter to proceed and along the way you may engage with different members of the collaborative team.

As a rough guide you can expect a collaborative matter to cost between $7,500-$10,000 per person depending on how many meetings you need and any professionals – such as collaborative accountants or therapists – are involved.

We get that that’s a scary number, but it is not unusual for traditional lawyer-based, time-billed negotiation to quickly exceed that figure, and it’s a fraction of what you would pay if your matter went to court.

With Bright Side you will know in advance what it’s going to cost and payment is made in accordance with the defined stages of your matter.

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Coaching

Sometimes you can do a lot of the work yourself – for the common sense stuff that is OK, but for the legal stuff it can get tricky. One thing we don’t want you to be, is afraid to call and ask questions. When you need help, guidance or advice, the best solution is to have it quickly and easily available at the end of the phone line.

A lawyer who knows you and understands your personal situation can be available for a negotiated set weekly fee for as little or as long as you need.

Some of the things we have coached clients in include:

• Negotiating with your ex directly. We can coach you in how to approach tricky topics in a way least likely to cause a blow up. How to suggest a collaborative approach or the best form for a kitchen-table agreement to take.
• Coparenting. We can help draft emails or messages that promote good coparenting rather than nitpicking and arguing over things that don’t matter. We can read your ex’s messages and talk to you about the best way to respond. Complying with hand overs and court orders can continue to be sticky, or getting the kids to comply as they get older. We can coach you through the legal aspects and try to diffuse crises before they occur – or hose them down when they do.
• Court documents. You might be drafting your own, or trying to understand what a lawyer has sent you, or you don’t get what you are being asked for. Or just why something is taking so long.
• Mediation. A good mediation can make an enormous difference to your family law matter but if you go in unprepared it could end up being a waste of money. We can help you get all your ducks in a row – physically and mentally – before the big day.