Divorce can be costly, with legal fees often being one of the biggest expenses. But it’s also essential to factor in costs associated with other aspects of your case – for instance filing fees, mediator fees and court costs being paid as standard – plus experts such as tax advisors, real estate appraisers or child custody evaluators may need to be hired – in our survey those using full-scope lawyers paid an average of $1880 more in additional expenses than people using limited scope lawyers.
Divorce attorney costs are heavily tied to how long it takes for your case to resolve. In general, the more issues that you and your spouse can come to an agreement on will reduce costs; on the other hand, going to trial could drastically increase costs; going before a judge could cost as much as $50,000 alone!
Divorce attorney costs can also depend on whether your matter is contested or uncontested. Contested cases tend to take longer and require more work preparation; as they require filing motions, negotiating a settlement and appearing before courts more frequently than uncontested ones. Furthermore, expert consultants like forensic accountants or custody evaluators may increase costs significantly.
By reaching an agreement on how to divide property and avoid litigation, both spouses can save money. By reaching agreement on child custody/visitation issues as well, costs could also be saved by not going through litigation on these matters; according to our survey, those who went through an uncontested divorce saved on average an average of $925 in attorneys’ fees.
One major factor that affects how much a divorce lawyer costs is your geographic area of residence. New York City boasts some of the most costly lawyers, and as a result their average hourly rates range between $175-325 per hour.
Divorce lawyers can also reduce costs by hiring limited-scope attorneys. These types of lawyers specialize in specific tasks like reviewing documents or negotiating agreements without charging an hourly rate; some even offer flat fees for couples without disputes in their divorces.