First family-law consultation checklist
A first consultation is easier to use well when you arrive with a short timeline, the key documents and the questions you most need answered.
Before the meeting: write a one-page timeline
You do not need to write your entire relationship history. A lawyer usually needs the key dates first: relationship/marriage, separation, children's birth dates, current parenting schedule, major agreements/orders, important support changes and upcoming court dates or deadlines.
Then write the three outcomes you most need help with. For example: “I need a temporary parenting schedule,” “I need to understand child support and section 7 expenses,” or “I was served with a court application and need to know what I have to file.”
Documents worth having available
- Any existing court order, written agreement or filed court document.
- Documents you were recently served with, including the date you received them.
- Your recent income information if support is an issue.
- A simple list of major assets/debts if property is relevant.
- A current parenting schedule or calendar if parenting time is disputed.
- Important written communications only if they are actually relevant to the legal issue.
Do not bury the consultation in hundreds of screenshots unless the lawyer asks for them. Start organized and ask what evidence they actually need.
Questions that make the consultation more useful
- Which court or process applies to my situation?
- What is my immediate deadline?
- What is the next procedural step?
- What result is legally realistic?
- What facts or documents matter most?
- What can I do myself and what should a lawyer handle?
- Would limited-scope representation make sense?
Ask directly about cost
The Law Society of BC explains that lawyers may bill hourly, charge fixed fees in some matters, and ask for a retainer deposit. Ask for the rate, how the retainer works, how disbursements and taxes are handled, and what could make the matter significantly more expensive.
If you only need advice on one step, ask whether the lawyer offers limited-scope services rather than assuming full representation is the only option.
Consider more than the hourly rate. Ask whether the lawyer explained the process clearly, whether the proposed strategy matched the problem you brought in, whether communication expectations were clear, and whether you understand the likely next billable steps. A slightly lower rate does not save money if the working relationship is inefficient or the scope is unclear.
If you are deciding whether to hire the lawyer
If you are not retaining the lawyer, ask whether you can book a shorter follow-up after you complete the procedural work yourself. For many people, periodic legal advice around the difficult decisions is more affordable than paying a lawyer to manage every administrative step.
What not to spend the first hour doing
If you have a large volume of messages, photos or recordings, tell the lawyer what exists and ask what they actually want reviewed. Uploading hundreds of pages can create cost before anyone has decided whether the material matters.
Try not to use the whole consultation proving that the other person behaved badly unless those facts connect to a legal issue the lawyer needs to assess. Family-law stories can cover years. The lawyer needs enough context to understand the problem, but the most useful first meeting usually focuses on the current order or agreement, the children, the financial picture, the immediate deadline and the result you are trying to achieve.
After the consultation
Write down the next three steps while the advice is fresh. If the lawyer said a form must be filed, confirm the form name and deadline. If disclosure is missing, make a checklist. If settlement is realistic, note what information must be exchanged before a proposal can be made.