A new law firm that believes legal services should be used when needed and for value.
Here are some tips to be legally savvy, whatever issue you may encounter.
The legal profession historically was created to be a public service to the community, a value which sadly has not lasted to the present day. The high costs that are associated with engaging a lawyer together with a perception that any time you spend speaking to a lawyer will cost you an arm and a leg has resulted in a widespread apprehension to approaching a lawyer, even for issues that are important. This is evident in the large numbers of individuals appearing in court, preparing important and potentially life altering documents and taking legal advice from unqualified sources, all without the aid of a lawyer.
The landscape of legal services has changed drastically with the birth of the internet. With the vast amounts of information available online, legal knowledge is now much more accessible and many individuals attend to their legal affairs by performing their own research and preparing their own legal documents.
This approach has its pros and cons; generally, money on paying legal fees is saved upfront, however there can be a level of uncertainty that comes with preparing your own legal documents, even if the information you’ve found is highly sophisticated.
Two major areas in which consumers have started to do legal DIY are in preparing their wills and visa applications.
Preparing Your Own Will
A will is an important legal document. It decides where your hard earned assets go in the event of your death. Many people have started to use will kits, available at the post office and elsewhere, to deal with their estate. Clients often ask whether this is a sensible option and the short answer is that where an estate is simple, it probably won’t cause many issues but where an estate is complex, it is definitely a better idea to spend a couple of hundred dollars and have a lawyer prepare a will for you. What distinguishes between a simple and complex estate is whether there are many different types of assets (shares, property, cash, motor vehicles and other valuable assets) and multiple beneficiaries (the people you are leaving your assets to).
Broadly, having a will is important even if you have relatively few assets. The benefits of having a properly prepared will by an experienced lawyer include:
- Your estate is distributed to your beneficiaries in exactly the way you wish
- You are able to structure your estate in such a way that tax is minimised and trusts are set up for children and any other individuals
- None of your estate being paid to a government trustee
- Ease for your family members or loved ones in dealing with your estate after you have passed away
Visa applications
The process of migrating to Australia is far from a simple one. Many have had success in preparing and submitting their own visa applications. There are a number of factors to consider when applying for a visa and whilst there is plenty of information available to prospective migrants, engaging an experienced registered migration agent is a wise step for those who have a lot at stake with their move to Australia, whether it be a relationship or the job of their dreams.
There are horror stories of people being charged amounts of $20,000 or more to prepare and lodge a visa application, however The Dream Lawyers have taken the unique step of packaging their fees so there is a one-time amount payable and their fees are amongst the lowest in the market, with quality never sacrificed.
Some of the benefits of engaging a registered migration agent are:
- Having an experienced professional you can always call on to answer your queries
- Working with someone who has a detailed knowledge of the Australian migration law framework
- Being able to rely on your migration agent to handle the entire process including any queries from the government after the visa application has been lodged
- Benefitting from the experience of lessons learned on previous visa applications that are very similar to yours
How The Dream Lawyers can help
The Dream Lawyers prepare wills from $220 and offer fixed fee visa application packages. There are outside-the-box services available also. For example, they will look at a will or visa application you have prepared yourself and review it for you at a reduced fee, saving you money whilst giving you certainty and advice and ultimately, peace of mind around your legal affairs, which is what they are passionate about.