NSW Legal Action to Remove Trustee - Which Party has to Pay Lawyer Fees?

[Steve500]

Civil Law - Trust Fund Disputes. You take legal action against another party. Wanting them removed as Trustee of a Trust Fund, that you're a beneficiary of? And your legal action is successful. In Trust Fund disputes such as this, does the losing party have to pay the lawyer fees of the other party?

 

[Tim W]

Not necessarily.
You can apply for costs as part of the final order.
But that does not mean that you will get it, or get all of it.
Sometimes, the court simply declines to make an order as to costs,
or makes an order that each party bears their own costs.

While an estate can be ordered to fund the costs of disputes (eg Family Provision Claims),
it is less common (but not unheard of) for that sort of order to be made in respect of the corpus of a trust.

 

[Steve500]

Good points you raise, it can be an expensive process

 

[Tim W]

If your decision on whether or not you proceed with your action
depends on whether or not you can get costs,
then think very carefully before going ahead.

 

[Steve500]

If your decision on whether or not you proceed with your action
depends on whether or not you can get costs,
then think very carefully before going ahead.

Let me ask you one last question about this. I'm thinking of going ahead and looking into law firms in sydney about my Trust fund matter.
Do many of the big law firms, with regards to no win no fee, do many of the bigger law firms allow payments in instalments say if your legal fees will cost about 30K, or do most want payment up front.

 

[ClareB]

Payment arrangements (costs agreements) can vary from law firm to law firm. Best thing to do is let the law firm know how much you are able to spend on the case in total and whether you would prefer to make instalments as the case progresses.

If the law firm is happy to run the case by instalments, they will request that you deposit the instalments into their trust account. As the case progresses, you can request that the firm provide you with a copy of your account statement so that you can keep an eye on how the firm are spending your money.

It is uncommon for law firms to offer No-win, No-fee for matters other than personal injury. However, as above, each law firm varies on how they structure their costs agreements.

 

[Steve500]

Thanks ClareB for that, some good points.