When Katherine Buckley decided she wanted a divorce, she began her search for a divorce lawyer without any knowledge of legal fees.
She now believes this was a huge mistake.
“I was scared. I didn’t have a ton of money and I didn’t know how I was going to pay for an attorney. I didn’t even know how much an attorney was going to cost me. The whole process was just devastating,” Buckley said.
The legal costs of an average divorce could range from $2,500 to $10,000. A contested divorce, however, can cost up to $100,000 in legal fees alone, if several large assets and children are involved.
Buckley believes she might have made different decisions in her divorce proceedings –if she had simply had a better understanding of legal fees and knew what to expect when she began knocking on the doors of law firms in her hometown. According to Heidi Culbertson, director of client development at The Harris Law Firm in Denver, legal fees come in a myriad of forms.
Fees to Expect
Two legal fees commonly used at The Harris Law Firm are the consult fee and retainer fee. The consult fee is charged when a potential client requests a consultation with a lawyer. This can be charged as a flat fee or an hourly rate. Either way, the client is required to pay the fee even if the lawyer tells them they don’t have a case or they decide not to use the lawyer.
Not all law firms, however, charge for an initial consultation. Jessica A. Foley, a family law attorney at Sullivan & Sweeney, LLP, Massachusetts, said it is custom for her firm to provide free consultations.
“A retainer fee is an upfront fee that secures payment for hourly legal fees in advance. The payment is deposited into an interest-bearing account. As the client accrues legal fees, the law office bills the retainer account. Typically, the client is required to replenish the account as it nears the red”, Foley said. “This depends mainly on the relationship between the client and the lawyer, the firm’s payment policy and the payment plan as outlined in the written retainer agreement.”
The written retainer agreement relays hourly fees and costs applicable to a specific case. The retainer agreement is legally binding once both parties have signed it. It does not mean the client cannot fire the lawyer. In return, the lawyer has the right to withdrawal from a case once the agreement has been signed. Both the lawyer and the client receive original copies of the agreement at Foley’s law firm.
Buckley was not subjected to a consulting fee, but she did have to pay a retainer and sign an agreement. During her consultation, her lawyer offered her two payment options, she said. The first option was to pay an hourly fee of $100. The fee was to be charged at minimum billing increments of every quarter-hour.
Her second option was to pay a lump sum of $3,000 upfront regardless of how little or much time the case required. Scared of racking up an enormous bill, Buckley chose the second option. “I didn’t know where I was going to get the money, but it seemed like the best option at the time,” she said. “I was a nervous wreck.”
According to Foley, Buckley’s second option is often seen in criminal cases instead of family court cases. Each law firm, however, has the ability to dictate its fees and payment plans.
“Law firms generally accept payment in the form of a check, credit card, or cash,” Culbertson said. Buckley borrowed the money from a friend. Her fear of legal fees was immediately put at ease. However, looking back she believes she could have saved money by paying the hourly rate because she and her ex-husband ultimately settled their case out of court.
Litigation = Higher Costs
Culbertson confirms that avoiding litigation is the single best way to reduce legal fees. “If the parties are willing to negotiate, compromise and agree, the costs can be reasonable. If they decide to litigate, the costs can be considerable,” she said. “Keep emotions in check and work toward a respectful settlement to avoid litigation.”
Ultimately, the price tag of a divorce is dependent almost entirely on the parties involved in the case. Buckley’s divorce totaled $3,000 plus additional expenses. She and her ex-husband started out facing litigation, but after several months of discovery proceedings and arguing, the two were able to agree on a settlement. The brunt of the couple’s disagreement revolved around their daughter and who would retain physical custody.
Expert Fees
When they agreed to seek the assistance of a mediator to work up a custody agreement, they came across more fees. Buckley paid $90 for the two-hour session. Her ex-husband also paid an additional $90 for the services. Today, Buckley has shared custody of her daughter with her ex-husband.
The mediator fee is an example of an expert fee. Expert fees include monetary charges for professionals hired to assist in the divorce case. For example, Foley said she often utilizes an accountant to divide joint accounts on paper. Forensic accountants are also used to research and appraise a business or individual’s worth. This information is later used in court to assist with decisions regarding support and property settlements.
“The guy I use is $400 for each account,” Foley said. “That is all separate and the client is responsible for that. Lastly, individuals are also required to pay various court and filing fees associated with their case,” Foley said.
Reflecting on her divorce, Buckley said if she had it to do again, she would have taken the time to research lawyers and what types of legal fees they charged. “Not understanding her options and the legal fee lingo left her hiring the first lawyer she had a consultation with. I just wanted to get it over with and that’s not how I should have gone about it,” she said. “The truth is I lost out, my daughter lost out, all because I was scared of those legal fees.”
So what should you take if you opt to file for divorce? Here is a list of the options available, listed in order of most affordable to most expensive.
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DIY Divorce – $
This option is the cheapest way to divorce. If you have been married for a very short time, perhaps fewer than four years, have no children, do not own any real property, have very few marital assets and agree with your spouse on pretty much every aspect of your divorce, you can probably get away with a do-it-yourself divorce and pay only the filing fees. Typical costs are less than $500 per couple. Some courts have inexpensive DIY packets you can purchase that include detailed how-to instructions, from how to fill out the paperwork with your agreements to waiting periods to the process necessary to finalize the divorce, though many people find the number and scope of forms dizzying.
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Mediated Divorce – $$
Professional mediators charge an average of $300 per hour, per couple. If you and your spouse have only a few issues to hammer out, you may need only one or two mediation sessions. Couples with more complicated estates or child residential schedule issues will need more time with their mediator and will pay more. Typical costs are $2,500 to $5,000 per couple.
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A Wevorce – $$
Wevorce couples pay an upfront fee and receive a shared attorney-mediator and access to a team of professionals, including financial and parenting experts. Depending on your situation — the length of your marriage, your parenting situation, the size of your marital estate, the number of sticking points between you and your spouse — you will pay between $3,000 and $15,000 per couple, for a Wevorce divorce. The typical cost is $4,500 per couple.
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Collaborative Divorce – $$$
Cheaper than a traditional litigated divorce, the collaborative divorce still includes two attorneys and allied team professionals, so it is a more expensive option than a mediated or Wevorce divorce. Typical costs are $15,000 to $25,000 per couple.
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Adversarial (Litigated) Divorce – $$$$
Typically, this divorce is the most expensive. The average adversarial divorce in the U.S. costs between $20,000 and $40,000 per couple. However, these costs can rise dramatically for couples with high levels of conflict. Consider that each attorney will charge an average of $350 per hour and then factor in the time it takes each attorney to prepare for the initial hearings, conduct a formal discovery process, attend meetings with the other lawyers, gather expert opinions, draw up a settlement and come to a formal agreement.
So how can you avoid costly mistakes if you decide to divorce? First, know this: the cost of divorce may vary greatly depending on which approach you take. Of course, just because an approach is less expensive now does not mean it is the right thing to do. It is best to contact a professional to help you sort out your specific issues so you can make an informed decision about the risks and rewards of each approach.
About the author: Casey Clark Ney is a freelance journalist based in Boise, ID. She holds a B.A. in Communication and has more than six years experience in newspaper and magazine writing. E-mail correspondences can be sent to caseyclarkney@earthlink.net.
