Fights over custody and visitation often contribute to increased divorce costs, necessitating services like custody evaluators, real estate appraisers and even forensic accountants to settle them.
Managing part or all of your case on your own, or not having access to an attorney who provides full representation, can save money.
Uncontested Divorce
If both you and your spouse can agree on all issues pertaining to your divorce, an uncontested one may be less costly than one that involves litigation. Even in such an arrangement, however, it would still be wise to hire an attorney so as to protect your legal rights and ensure you receive what is owed to you under law.
No matter whether it is an uncontested or contested divorce, when seeking legal assistance it is wise to get recommendations from friends and family who have recently gone through it themselves. Ask about their experiences with the attorneys they hired as this can give an indication of the level of experience and professionalism to expect in your own legal representation.
Once you have identified several qualified attorneys to handle your case, schedule consultations. Discuss in depth your situation with each and ask how much each would charge to handle it – some lawyers offer flat fees while others may charge hourly. It is essential that any agreement or retainer agreement outline how much will be owed when. Usually a retainer deposit will be needed before work can begin; this amount will then be credited off against your final bill.
Spend less money by hiring an “a la carte” or limited-scope representation attorney. With this arrangement, you contract the attorney only for specific tasks such as mediation planning or reviewing settlement agreements – significantly cutting legal expenses while being represented by knowledgeable professionals.
Cost of Contested Divorce
If you and your spouse cannot agree on key issues related to property division, child custody, or spousal support, a contested divorce may be inevitable. While negotiations and professional mediators can help reach an amicable solution between themselves, ultimately your case must head into court – where both sides present evidence and witness testimony to convince a judge of how best to settle it.
Timelines for contested divorces vary depending on court attendance in your area and response from both partners to initial filing. As with most things, longer marriages and more heated divorce proceedings tend to require more time from judges before their final decree is signed by them – so take any attempt at delaying seriously and resist attempts at prolonging proceedings further. Typically though, once your spouse responds positively to an initial filing and responds quickly enough with answers for you from them (usually within weeks depending on county) you can often finalize it faster than previously anticipated compared with months and sometimes years spent trying to complete a contested divorce case!