Why Are Divorce Lawyers So Expensive?
An experienced divorce attorney will cost significantly less than an inexperienced one.
Some divorce proceedings are highly complex and may necessitate experts’ testimony on valuing assets or custody matters, further increasing costs. This can significantly add to the total bill.
Other costs related to divorce proceedings may increase with negotiations and filing complex paperwork as well as handling contested issues related to spousal support or child custody.
Litigation
Litigation is the process of resolving disputes through public court system. A lawsuit typically begins by one party filing a formal complaint and another responding with legal responses according to applicable laws and statutes. Litigation costs may become prohibitively expensive if taken to trial stage, especially in complex cases with multiple defendants involved.
An experienced divorce lawyer can save you significant sums of money by helping to avoid contentious divorce litigation. Contested divorces are costly as they require time and work to divide assets, determine child custody arrangements or make spousal support decisions.
An experienced divorce attorney understands the laws surrounding property division, alimony and child support as well as experience resolving conflict between spouses in court. Their work may help you achieve an equitable settlement that adheres to state laws without needing to go to trial – though such expenses are known as billable hours.
Expert Witnesses
If your divorce involves assets like property or business interests, experts must be hired to provide valuation reports. While experts typically charge exorbitant rates, contested divorce can become exceedingly costly due to these fees.
Expert witnesses provide opinions on numerous matters, such as document genuineness, computer forensics and accident reconstruction. Typically experts will conduct independent examinations and site visits before providing their professional opinion. Furthermore, expert witnesses may need to testify at trial proceedings.
There are other costs involved with divorce that can quickly add up, including filing fees, financial planners, real estate appraisers and child custody evaluators. All these additional expenses can substantially raise the total costs of divorce proceedings; to protect against these unexpected charges it is crucial that any expert fees be agreed in advance of trial as well as their presentation expenses being recorded and provided to the court (See Witness Expenses and Allowances Guidance for payment details). Claims that were incurred without prior agreement could potentially be rejected by courts
Document Preparation
Legal documents, research, attending court appearances and representing clients during hearings or trials is an enormous amount of work that quickly adds up. Experienced divorce lawyers invest both their time and resources in each case they take on, which shows in their fees.
Divorces can be expensive due to hidden expenses that often accompany the process, including filing fees, forensic accountants, business and real estate appraisers, child custody evaluators and others. All these services add up quickly to make divorce extremely costly.
Divorcing can be costly. Trials increase costs exponentially, as many seek revenge or justice by going to trial; this only complicates and costs more during a divorce proceeding. An experienced attorney understands these pitfalls well and will work towards reaching an amicable agreement without recourse to trial proceedings.
Mediation
Selecting mediation over litigation can drastically lower costs. Hiring either a private mediator or working collaboratively with attorneys and other professionals through collaborative divorce may prove less expensive than going to court for every issue that arises.
High conflict can significantly increase the cost of divorce. When emotions run high, resolving issues like child custody, property division and financial support costs more because your attorney must spend time calming you down, conducting damage control with your spouse’s legal representative and doing all of the thinking for you when your brain can no longer function as efficiently.
You could end up spending extra on hiring an attorney to file for divorce if your spouse’s attorney won’t cooperate, while when communication between spouses becomes impossible and you constantly send emails, texts or voice mails that go unanswered, the costs can mount quickly.
