Nearly a million people seek divorces every year. That’s almost half of the number of people that get married over the same time period. Given how prevalent divorce is becoming, the divorce attorney industry is booming, raking in impressive sums as disillusioned couples work through their differences.
If you’re among those that have legal differences to work through with a former spouse, chances are, you’re going to have to bring on an attorney. Chances are also that the attorney you hire will set you back a lot of money.
How much does a divorce lawyer cost? That depends. Below, our team breaks down several factors that’ll affect what you’ll pay for an attorney, what averages look like, and how you can save money.
Keep reading to learn more!
Where Do You Live?
Where you’re located can have a large impact on your divorce attorney’s hourly rate. For example, hiring a lawyer that works out of San Francisco is going to cost you a heck of a lot more than hiring an attorney that works out of Boise.
Those price differences are due to cost of living differences looking different between both places. Unfortunately, you usually can’t hire an out-of-state, more affordable attorney to cover your divorce case since they’ll need to be licensed to practice in your state to help you out.
How Long Is Your Divorce Going to Take?
It can be virtually impossible to answer that question even though it is the primary driver of your attorney’s final price tag.
Divorce attorneys work on an hourly basis. That means that if your divorce takes 3 months to complete, it’s going to cost you a whole lot less than if your divorce takes closer to a year which often is the case.
Are Your Property Claims Contested?
What makes divorces go through quickly versus slowly is usually your partner’s willingness to play ball with your demands. If both you and your partner are on the same page about everything, there won’t be much for attorneys to do other than fill out paperwork.
On the other hand, if every detail of your ask is contested by your partner, you can expect your attorney to spend hours arguing on your behalf, costing you thousands.
Is Trial on the Table?
No party should ever want to go to trial during a divorce. Trials can be unpredictable and will cost a fortune in legal fees.
Some divorces are so hotly contested though that trials become inevitable. When they take place, you can expect your lawyer’s tab to virtually double versus what it would have cost if you and your partner had solved your issues out of court.
Are Children Involved?
Children can complicate divorces tremendously and will add hours to your lawyer’s plate to bill for. Children’s issues range from who gets custody to how holidays will work, and so forth.
For more on child divorce issues you can learn from Vendt Law Firm and other online resources. Again, if you and your former spouse can agree on things beforehand, you’ll both save yourselves time and money.
Exploring Averages
Now that you have a sense of the factors that can impact a divorce’s cost, let’s talk about averages. As we mentioned, lawyers get paid by the hour. In a survey done by legal blog NOLO, roughly 11% of lawyers charge $100 per hour, 20% charge $400, 34% charge $200, and 35% charge $300.
Where your lawyer’s fees will fall in that range will depend on some of the factors we discussed including location, complication of your divorce proceedings, and more.
Note that averages are just that, averages. That means your lawyer could charge well outside of the range presented. The best way to know for sure what your lawyer is going to charge for your case is to get a free consultation.
Finding Savings
Do all of the fees and factors we’ve discussed have your head spinning? If they do, take a breath and know that there are ways to save on legal fees when getting a divorce.
Here are our suggestions to that end:
Opt for Mediation
Getting mediation in a divorce is when both partners agree to work with a third-party mediator that will help negotiation terms. The mediator is there to arrive at a favorable solution for both parties rather than the best possible solution for any one.
Mediators are significantly cheaper than lawyers and mediation goes much faster than a lawyer-fueled divorce would.
Consulting Attorney
A consulting attorney will help you manage forms and prepare for legal meetings, without actually representing you during those meetings. Given consulting attorney’s reduced presence in your case, their billable hours will be lower as will their rates.
Having a consulting attorney can be a good move if you’re managing a non-contentious divorce and mediation, for whatever reason, isn’t on the table.
Being on Good Terms With Your Ex-Partner
Nothing offsets divorce lawyer cost more aggressively than being on good terms with your partner. Some divorces cost $20,000+ per person. To think that tab could be reduced to under $1000 in fees if both parties were capable of sitting down and working through their differences.
We understand that civil divorces are not always possible. If one is for you though, go down that route.
How Much Does a Divorce Lawyer Cost? Now You Know!
Divorce lawyer cost fluctuates based on several factors, the most important of which we’ve gone over. To bring costs down, the best investment you can make is one in you and your former partner’s relationship.
Cordial divorces are faster, keep money in your pocket, and allow both parties to move on with dignity. That’s about as good an outcome as you can hope for when uncoupling.
For more insight into several lifestyle topics, consider exploring more of the posts we have available on our blog.