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,” the lawyer replied, “I charge $200 to answer 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?
Unsurprisingly, 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 POINTS, BUT VERY IMPORTANT!
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 equals 0.2 (or $60).
Two. Unless it is a flat fee case (possible if there are no disputed issues), 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.
With these two points in mind, I will now refer to my article (found on my website), Divorce With Purpose, to prepare some price estimates.
STEP ONE: SUBMITTING THE PETITION/RESPONSE
Purpose: Start the process.
Attorney time: 5 -20 hours ($1500 – $6000)
Process server: $40 – $500
Court costs: $400
Time Factors: Is the case new or have you been through multiple attorneys and collected 1000 boxes of documents? Is your spouse cooperative, or is he difficult to the core, requiring private investigators to watch and tend to you? There are kids? Are there properties? Have you reached an agreement on anything in your case?
STEP TWO: OBTAIN TEMPORARY ORDERS THROUGH OSC
Purpose: To have a sense of peace and order by having temporary orders in writing pending Judgment.
Attorney time: 10 – 30 hours ($3000 – $9000)
Court costs: $40 per motion
Time factors: Will you be cooperative and return my phone calls? Will 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 judicial hearing conclude in one day? Is it continued?
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 ($4500 – $12,000)
Court costs: $40 per motion
Time Factors: Domestic violence restraining orders are extremely important and require a lot of preparation. Preparation time includes preparing the case, interviewing witnesses, taking statements, preparing depositions, speaking with police officers. Are the appearances short on the calendar and are they carried out 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 might be raised at the hearing?
STEP FOUR: FINANCIAL DISCLOSURES
Purpose: to reach a fair agreement and to ensure that the agreement is not
Later revoked due to non-disclosure.
Attorney Time: 10 – 50 hours ($3000 – $15,000)
Costs for subpoenas, documents: $500 – $1500
Deposit costs: $2000 – $5000
Court costs: $40 per motion
Time Factors: Discovery is perhaps the most tedious process in a divorce case. If you have little to 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 liquidation value, and the more time we will need to review the documents received. If your spouse does not cooperate, 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 documents.
STEP FIVE: REACH AN AGREEMENT OR PREPARE FOR TRIAL
Purpose: to obtain the judgment that ends your divorce case
If the case is resolved:
Attorney Time: 5 – 20 hours ($1500 – $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 attorney’s time on a day-to-day basis. – this includes preparation time, test time, review time, preparation time… all day. It is not unusual for a lawyer 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 sand.
In conclusion, a divorce case can cost anywhere from $1820 (uncontested divorce) to millions of dollars. There’s always Britney Spears, who paid over $1 million to her lawyers for her custody case, and Larry Birkhead, who paid over $600,000 to her lawyer.
Yes, lawyers are expensive. But if you find the right one, they are worth it.
On that note, remember this: Marriage is great and divorce is around twenty thousand dollars.