How Much Does a Divorce Lawyer Cost?

Divorcing involves paying court costs and fees as well as filing fees and potential expert witnesses such as forensic accountants or appraisers of real estate assets and liabilities.

If you and your spouse can reach a mutual understanding about all issues in your case, legal costs could be avoided altogether. Our survey showed that contentious divorces typically cost more due to time and resources being required to settle disagreements between partners.

Retainer

Retainers are upfront fees paid to lawyers that cover some of their hourly rates. This money typically remains non-refundable and is placed into an escrow account solely dedicated to your case.

Every legal service provided by an attorney – from reviewing documents to negotiating settlement agreements – will be charged against this amount. Communication between client and attorney via emails or phone calls also incurs charges.

Periodically, an attorney will reach out to their client and assess how much of the retainer has been used up, asking them for additional funds that will enable them to continue working on their case. Any unspent retainer is typically returned at the conclusion of a case.

Fees for Consultations

Divorce proceedings can become extremely expensive if spouses cannot agree on key issues such as property division and alimony payments. Even when both sides can reach an agreement on all issues, mediation often proves more cost-effective than litigation in cases with contentious disputes.

Some attorneys provide free consultations while others charge a fee or hourly rate for initial meetings. As is often true of anything emotionally charged such as divorce cases, getting what you pay for when selecting an attorney with experience in your particular case is worth investing in a paid consultation; doing so also shows your commitment to working together on finding solutions to resolve it successfully.

Fees for Meetings

Attorneys typically charge an hourly rate. This varies between attorneys, and there are various options for divorcing couples to choose from – typically, collaborative divorce and mediation are less costly options than litigated divorce proceedings.

All contested aspects of your case require negotiations, legal studies and court appearances; each additional dispute adds extra expenses. To reduce costs in your case as much as possible and to minimize contested aspects early, try working out as many issues with your spouse to work them out jointly before any unnecessary fights over items like who takes the Kitchen Aid or pays for therapy arise – this will save your attorney both time and expenses.

Fees for Document Preparation

Your lawyer may assess and prepare additional divorce documents at additional costs depending on the complexity of your case.

These fees cover services such as providing copies of recent tax returns for both you and your spouse, bank statements, brokerage accounts, credit card statements, investment account statements, mortgage statements and insurance policies as well as anything else necessary.

Navigating a divorce can be stressful and confusing. Proper financial preparation ahead of time can reduce costs and save money during this difficult process, including getting a job, opening credit cards in your name and prequalifying for home loans prior to parting ways.

Fees for Negotiations

If you and your spouse can reach an agreement on all major aspects of the divorce, the process can be significantly less costly than otherwise. Our survey shows that those hiring lawyers to represent uncontested divorces spent under $4,100.

Lawyers typically charge hourly rates; however, flat fees are an attractive alternative for couples without any disputes to resolve. This makes legal costs easier to fit into a budget.

Consider all costs, not only financial ones. Moving expenses, new phone plans, health insurance changes and sharing household items among couples all add up quickly.

Fees for Trial

If your case is complex and cannot be resolved through mediation, court trial may be the only solution. This involves scheduling court dates and hiring specialists such as financial analysts or real estate appraisers as witnesses – which can quickly rack up fees.

Arbitration has increasingly become a viable alternative to traditional divorce trials. An arbitrator, often an attorney or retired judge who you pay hourly, may also serve as an option – your attorneys may recommend an arbitrator who best fits the needs of your case.

If you have limited income, filing a poor person application with the Court to waive some fees is recommended before initiating your uncontested divorce case. This must be completed before commencing proceedings against your partner(s).