The Cost of Divorce

A Series exploring how to control and measure the cost of divorce in Bucks County, PA.

Part II: “What is the dollar amount my divorce will cost me?”

Every client talking to me about divorce asks the question “How much will this cost me?” When it comes to calculating dollars and cents, it is difficult to give more than an estimate.

I am not prevaricating here. Neither is it my sales technique to keep things open-ended. I, too, run a household and understand the importance of planning cash flow. But the truth is that just as no two people are alike, no two divorces are alike. Marriages come apart in a multitude of ways. “When a heart breaks, no it don’t break even,” sing The Script in their song “Break Even.” How true.

I’ve seen figures that say an average divorce costs $15,000 – $20,000, or roughly the amount it costs to get married in the first place. This figure, which is not easy to support with solid research, is meant to express the direct costs for both spouses added together. Divorcesource.com is a fairly well organized site that explains how divorce costs can be broken down.

To a large extent, the actual legal costs of divorce are dependent on how well the divorcing spouses can still communicate. Stay out of court and you’ll see lower balances due on your lawyer’s bills. I’ve seen divorces involving litigation far exceeding $25,000 for one spouse alone. I’ve seen couples with relatively complicated issues to resolve but very productive communication skills walk away paying less than $4,000.The Huffington Post wrote a good article on this in 2013, pointing out the obvious costs of divorce – attorney fees, filing fees, court required evaluators, etc. – and the hidden ones, like costs of selling the marital home, market loss, deed transfers on cars, etc. When you add in these indirect costs, you could be looking in the $30,000 range.

Perhaps what clients are really asking me is “How much do you charge?” This is a straightforward question you should ask every lawyer you interview in Bucks County. (Call my office at 215-345-5259 to schedule a free, one-hour consult and I’ll discuss rates and costs). If you want a ballpark figure, the Community Legal Services of Philadelphia publishes a list of average attorney rates per hour, based on an attorney’s experience. These do not necessarily reflect the rates of Bucks County, Doylestown or my office.

Divorce is one long negotiation. An easy way to think of cost is: every time your lawyer needs to get involved in your negotiations or go to court, the legal price goes up. Different approaches to divorce carry different price tags. Mediation, which my office offers, can be price efficient because two spouses spend much of their time at a table with one mediator, instead of firing off requests at each other through two separate lawyers. When I act as a mediator, I cannot offer a legal opinion, so I always advise clients who reach an agreement this way to each consult an attorney about the final document. Not all choose to do so, but even if they do, it costs considerably less this way.

As I mentioned in Part I, if you have no property to split, no custody issues and neither party contests the divorce, our flat fee in 2015 for filing your paperwork is $750, plus your court filing fees which typically run $500 or less. There can be additional costs, such as hiring a process server or paying for certified mail.

You’ll see plenty of ads for do-it-yourself websites, some as low as $99. Caveat emptor – let the buyer beware in these situations. These approaches tend to take a broad stroke to the process, often not providing nuanced steps your situation might require. Then, who do you ask if you have questions? Certainly you can file a divorce yourself. Indeed, the state of Pennsylvania provides you with step by step instructions online on how to do so. Sadly, fixing do-it-yourself divorces is a growing part of the legal industry.

In the next part of this series, I’ll offer more specific ways to control your legal costs in divorce. But I’ll leave you with this thought: you have to “manage” the legal costs of your divorce in the same way you “manage” your home budget – with accurate figures and a commitment to honestly evaluate what your resources are.

Up Next: Part III “How can I control the legal costs of my divorce?”

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