How Much Does Divorce Cost?

By Daniel H Moss, Attorney

If you are thinking about filing for divorce, you have probably taken many factors into consideration including you’re your children’s’ wellbeing, custody and child support, your finances and more. One of the top questions at this stage is, “How much will divorce cost me?”

Since all divorce situations are different, an attorney has no way of knowing in advance how much time must be spent on your case and therefore cannot precisely estimate what your ultimate fee will be at the conclusion of your case. An UNCONTESTED divorce, where the parties agree on most issues, will take about 10 hours of an attorney’s time on average.

A number of factors can go into the final cost of a divorce, including:

  • The amount and nature of the services rendered
  • The time, labor and difficulty involved
  • The character and importance of the litigation
  • The amount of assets and value of the estate affected
  • The requisite professional skill and expertise exercised by your attorney as well as the novelty and difficulty of the questions involved and the results obtained

Your attorney will typically quote you an hourly rate, which may be helpful in assessing the fees that will be incurred for your attorney’s work including the consultations, correspondence, phone calls, office and research work, court time, filing, and hearings involved in your case.

Keep in mind that you will also be responsible for payments made on your behalf by your attorney for items such as court costs, filing fees, service of pleadings, appraisals, and expert witness fees.

In the event your spouse is ordered to contribute to your attorney’s fees, you will be given credit on the amount your spouse pays. A lawyer should not enter into an agreement for, charge, or collect a contingent fee in a divorce case.

This information is intended to provide some general information. It is not intended to answer specific questions about a particular case, as each case is different.

If you have questions or are looking for advice about your specific situation, please contact me directly at 248.855.5656 or [email protected].