A new client had just come in to see a famous lawyer.
“Can you tell me how much you charge?” the customer asked.
“Of course,” replied the lawyer, “I charge $200 for answering three questions!”
“Well, that’s a bit steep, isn’t it?”
“Yes it is,” said the lawyer, “And what is your third question?”

HOW MUCH IS IT GOING TO COST ME?

As expected, I get this question every day. First of all, I can only quote what I charge. Often in divorce cases, you will need to hire other professionals such as forensic accountants, appraisers, child custody evaluators, counselors, etc. Even just for my services, here is my answer (which never changes) IT DEPENDS.

TWO VERY SIMPLE, BUT VERY IMPORTANT POINTS!

A. Lawyers, like most professionals, are hourly workers. The product I sell is my time. You are paying for my time by the hour, which is charged in 6-minute increments. So if you call me for 5 minutes, you will be charged 0.1 (or $30). If your phone call lasts 7 minutes, that works out to 0.2 (or $60).

Two. Unless it is a flat fee case (possible if there are no issues in dispute), the more time you spend on your case, the more expensive it will be. The amount of time you spend on your case depends on you, your spouse, your spouse’s attorney, and the issues involved in your case.

Keeping these two points in mind, I will now turn to my article (found on my website), The Purposeful Divorce, to prepare some price estimates.

STEP ONE: FILING THE PETITION/RESPONSE
Purpose: Start the process.
Attorney time: 5 -20 hours ($1,500 – $6,000)
Process Server: $40 – $500
Court costs: $400
Time factors: Is the case new or has it been through several attorneys and you have collected 1000 boxes of documents? Is your spouse cooperative, or is he difficult to the core, requiring private investigators to watch and care for him? There are kids? Are there properties? Have you reached an agreement about something in your case?

STEP TWO: GET TEMPORARY ORDERS THROUGH OSC
Purpose: To have a sense of peace and order by having temporary written orders pending Judgment.
Lawyer time: 10 – 30 hours ($3,000 – $9,000)
Court costs: $40 per motion
Time factors: are you cooperative and return my phone calls? Do you cooperate with my document requests? Are you immediately available to meet with me to go over the details of your case? Can you review your statements and get back to me quickly? If you have witnesses, what is their availability? Do they cooperate? Is the other side represented? Is your representation well versed in family law procedure and protocol? Does the court hearing conclude in one day? Does it continue?

STEP THREE: DOMESTIC VIOLENCE RESTRAINING ORDERS
Purpose: In a high conflict divorce and custody case, to protect the parties and children involved.
Attorney time: 15 – 40 hours ($4,500 – $12,000)
Court costs: $40 per motion
Time Factors: Domestic violence restraining orders are extremely important and require a lot of preparation. Prep time includes preparing the case, interviewing witnesses, taking statements, preparing statements, speaking with police officers. Are appearances short on the schedule and done without delay? Does the judge have time on his calendar to hear all the witnesses? Do the witnesses appear? Does the other party have witnesses? Have you anticipated all the issues that could be raised at the hearing?

STEP FOUR: FINANCIAL DISCLOSURES
Purpose: to reach a fair agreement and to ensure that the agreement is not
Later canceled due to lack of disclosure.
Attorney Time: 10 – 50 hours ($3,000 – $15,000)
Summons Fees, Documents: $500 – $1500
Deposit costs: $2,000 – $5,000
Court costs: $40 per motion
Time Factors: Discovery is perhaps the most tedious process in a divorce case. If you have little or no assets, there should be very little to work on. However, the more assets or debts you or your spouse have, the more time we will need to obtain the documents necessary to determine the settlement value, and the more time we will need to review the documents received. If your spouse is uncooperative, we may need to file court motions to obtain the necessary documents. The time it takes to complete discovery depends primarily on the cooperation of the parties and the availability of the documents.

STEP FIVE: REACH A SETTLEMENT OR PREPARE FOR TRIAL
Purpose: Get the judgment that finalizes your divorce case
If the case is resolved:
Attorney Time: 5 – 20 hours ($1,500 – $6,000)
Time factors: How cooperative are the parties?

If the case goes to trial:
Attorney Time: 50 – 200 hours ($15,000 – $60,000)
Time factors: the trial is not a joke. You will pay for the lawyer’s time day after day. – this includes prep time, test time, review time, prep time… all day. It is not unusual for an attorney to bill 10-15 hours per day for trial. Once, my mentor had a test that lasted 22 days. I think it helps to think of the trial as an hourglass with his money as the sand.

In conclusion, a divorce case can cost anywhere from $1,820 (uncontested divorce) to millions of dollars. There’s always Britney Spears, who paid her attorneys over $1 million for her custody case, and Larry Birkhead, who paid her attorney over $600,000.

Yes, lawyers are expensive. But if you find the right one, they are worth it.

In that regard, remember this: marriage is great and divorce is about twenty thousand dollars.

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