Updated October 2026

A consultation fee roughly halves the booking rate at family law firms: 28% of qualified callers book where the firm charges for the consultation, against 54% where it doesn't, according to Smith.ai's Legal Intake Report, an analysis of 3.2 million answered calls to 4,210 U.S. law firms. Price is also the reason family law callers most often give for declining.

This post covers what the fee does to bookings, how many family law callers connect with the firm overall, and the intake questions Smith.ai recommends for a family law intake form. Every rate here is a share of qualified leads: callers the receptionist judged to be viable prospects under the firm's own criteria.

Does charging for a family law consultation reduce bookings?

Yes, by about half. Among family law firms with scheduling enabled, firms that charge for the consultation book 28% of qualified leads, and firms that don't charge book 54%.

The comparison covers 23 charging firms and 51 non-charging firms, with 18,578 and 46,488 qualified leads respectively, on live-receptionist calls from June 2022 to July 2026. The report counts a firm as family law when half or more of its callers named a family matter. About one family firm in seven charges through its receptionist.

The pattern isn't unique to family law. In every other case type, the same split is 30% against 61%.

None of this means a consultation fee is a mistake. The report's own framing: "The fee is a filter the firm chose, and the booking rate is its cost." What the fee buys back in show rates and retention isn't in the data. A firm that charges and fills its calendar with callers who show up and sign may be making a sound trade. What the data does say is that the trade has a price, and the firm should know the number before it decides.

Why do family law callers decline a consultation?

Price is the reason family law callers most often give. Cost appears in 28.7% of stated family law declines, against 17.9% in other practice areas.

The report also separates two kinds of family law caller. Callers who had been served, whose spouse had filed, or who had a hearing set named cost in 28% of their stated declines. Callers choosing to start a divorce, custody, or adoption matter named it in 33%. In the report's words, "a dated, imposed need is less price-sensitive than a matter the caller is still weighing." That imposed-versus-elected reading comes from receptionist notes on about a fifth of family law calls, so treat it as directional.

For intake, this suggests where fee conversations deserve the most care: with the caller who is thinking about filing, not the one holding a summons. How the fee is worded is part of the firm's intake instructions, and it's worth reviewing with whoever answers your phones.

How many family law callers connect with the firm?

Family law firms connect 37.8% of qualified callers on the call: 30.0% book a consultation and 7.8% are transferred to someone at the firm. Family firms with scheduling enabled connect 58.2%, against 12.9% for family firms without it.

Family law intake: share of qualified leads

Source: Smith.ai Legal Intake Report, 2026. All-firm rows: live-receptionist calls June 2022 to July 2026 and AI calls from December 2025. Scheduling rows: live-receptionist firms, December 2025 to July 2026. Fee rows: live-receptionist calls at firms with scheduling enabled, June 2022 to July 2026. Firms chose their own setups, so the gaps describe what each setup delivers rather than the effect of switching.

"Scheduling enabled" means the firm has asked its receptionists to book consultations for qualified callers. Without it, a transfer is the only way a caller reaches the firm on the call, and that depends on someone being free to pick up. For the same numbers across personal injury, criminal defense, estate planning, and other areas, see our intake conversion benchmarks by practice area.

What should a family law intake questionnaire include?

A family law intake questionnaire should establish the type of case, the county, the opposing party, whether children are involved, any upcoming court dates, and what has already been filed. Smith.ai's account build guide for law firms (August 2026), published in the report, recommends nine family law screening questions. Six of them:

1. Type of case: divorce, custody, support, or other. The answer branches the rest of the script.
2. County, or state if the firm works statewide. County often decides where a matter can be filed and whether the firm can take it.
3. Full legal name of the opposing party, so a conflict check can run before the consultation.
4. Are minor children involved, and how many are under 18?
5. Any upcoming court date or deadline? Recorded as yes or no, with the date.
6. Has anything been filed?

The remaining three cover assets, whether both parties agree, and a short description of the situation in the caller's words. The full question set and methodology, with the answer formats a receptionist records, are in the report.

The opposing party question does double duty in family law. A firm that consults with one spouse can be conflicted out of representing the other, so running the name before the consultation protects the firm as much as it saves time. The court date question matters for a different reason: it tells the receptionist whether this caller is weighing a decision or responding to one, and per the decline data above, that difference tracks with how often cost comes up.

How should a family law intake call end?

With a scheduled consultation. That's the end-of-call action the report recommends for family law, because a family caller can usually wait for a meeting but shouldn't leave the call without one.

If the firm charges, the fee and how to pay it belong in the same conversation as the booking, stated plainly. Smith.ai's appointment booking places the consultation on the firm's calendar while the caller is still on the line, and the intake record arrives with it.

Who should handle family law intake calls?

Someone who can ask about custody and assets without sounding like a form, and who asks every question on every call. Family callers are often calling on one of the worst days of their year.

Smith.ai runs intake end-to-end for law firms. The AI Receptionist answers and screens routine calls, and 500+ North America-based live agents, many of them former paralegals and court staff, step in when a caller needs a person. Firms pick the mix: a hybrid AI + human setup, or human virtual receptionists on every call. The report notes that its question sets "apply to live and AI receptionists alike."

Each intake then flows into the firm's practice management system, including Clio, Lawmatics, and MyCase, so the attorney walks into the consultation knowing the county, the other party, and whether a hearing is already set.

Where to go from here

Smith.ai has handled 25M+ calls since 2015 and runs intake for 5,000+ law firms, and family law is one of the three practice areas that bring the most calls in the report. If you're deciding whether to charge for consultations, or wondering why a fee-based calendar looks thin, start with the numbers above and your own booking rate. See AI Receptionist pricing, or download the Legal Intake Report for the complete family law question set. We've also published recommended questions for personal injury intake and criminal defense intake.