Divorce Cost In Michigan
* 15 minute phone family law consult consultation – $49
* 30 minute phone divorce and separation consultation – $69
* 30 minute phone child custody and child support consultation – $69
* Review of prenuptial agreement (up to 10 pages) – $69
* Review of postnuptial agreement (up to 10 pages) – $69
* Document review judgment of divorce (up to 10 pages) – $99
* Legal separation with children document review, judgment of separation (up to 10 pages)- $99
* Uncontested divorce without children in Oakland county, Macomb county and Wayne county – $1,499 (plus court & filing fees)
* Uncontested divorce with children in Oakland county, Macomb county and Wayne county – $2,149,(plus court & filing fees)
* Court filing fees – $175 – $230
* Engage a process Server – $50 – $100
* Court reporter for deposition – $75 attendance fee, $200+ for transcription fee
* Interpreter (for non-English speaking clients) – $100 – $300
* Some restrictions may apply, please call (248) 588-3333 for details.
* Must mention these rates when contacting our law firm.
Preparing For A Divorce
Preparing for a divorce is one of the most stressful processes one will go through. It is easy to second guess oneself after the divorce is finalized if you dont get what you consider to be a fair deal. Therefore, it is important to find an attorney you are comfortable with to represent you in these matters. Obviously, cost is an important factor when selecting an attorney. So, what does a good attorney cost? Unfortunately I have to give the same answer I do to many other questions often posed to lawyers: It depends.
Retainer Agreements
Many people often ask whether they can hire an attorney on a contingency fee arrangement. In other words, the attorneys fee is only paid if the client recovers money or a benefit. Most lawyers will charge either a flat fee or they charge hourly (retainer and at an hourly rate per hour.). It is impossible to evaluate an attorneys quality or knowledge on how they decide to bill clients.
What Factors Will Dictate Cost?
It can be difficult to anticipate the cost of a divorce because of all the factors which are beyond the control of a lawyer. Some important factors which will dictate cost are:
How well do you get along with your spouse?
This makes sense. If the parties already have an idea of how to divide assets, custody and support, there really isnt a whole lot left to argue over. The less there is to argue over, the less billable hours an attorney is going to rack up.
How long was the marriage?
Length of marriage typically dictates the number of issues involved in a case. More marital assets need to be divided, children are usually involved, and spousal support (duration and amount) becomes a bigger issue.
Are there minor children involved? Is there going to be a custody or parenting time battle?
Custody battles require lots of preparation and time. The most expensive divorces are the ones where the parties cannot come to an agreement on who should get custody or the conditions upon which parenting time are based because trials are required to sort these issues out. Thats not to say that trials aren’t required when it comes to dividing property, or any other issue in divorce cases, but trials involving children take more time because parties are usually not as willing to compromise and decisions on who should get custody and why are more complex than placing a value on a piece of property.
