How Much Does a Divorce Cost: A September 2024 Guide

How Much Does a Divorce Cost?

The cost of a divorce depends on many factors, including some outside your control. However, most divorcees find this cost worthwhile. Divorcees often experience greater happiness after ending their unhappy marriages. For many married people, the relief is worth any price.

However, you must still know how much to budget. Divorce lawyers cannot accept a contingency fee, and judges rarely force one spouse to pay the other’s attorney. As a result, both spouses will incur some expenses during a divorce, including the following:

Filing Fees

If you file the divorce papers, you must pay court filing fees. Fees vary by state. Florida charges one of the highest filing fees at $409. South Dakota charges one of the lowest filing fees at $95.

You must pay the filing fee even if you do not expect to go to trial in your case. All divorces must be approved by a judge, including uncontested cases resolved by a settlement agreement. Moreover, most state courts charge a filing fee when the other spouse responds to the divorce petition.

Legal Fees

If you hire a lawyer to handle your case, you will need to pay legal fees. Lawyers in divorce cases typically charge an hourly fee, meaning the lawyer tracks their time working on your case and bills you periodically. Thus, you will pay for the time a lawyer spends on the following activities:

• Meeting with you

• Preparing legal paperwork, such as discovery requests and motions

• Negotiating with your spouse’s lawyer to settle your case

• Drafting settlement agreements

• Presenting your case at trial

The best way to control these fees is to resolve your case as quickly as possible. However, this solution is only partly within your control. If your spouse is not willing to compromise, you may spend significant amounts of money on divorce lawyer fees.

Litigation Costs

Litigation costs refer to the hard costs incurred to prepare and present a case at trial. You could incur the following litigation costs in your divorce:

• Deposition costs, such as court reporter fees

• Expert witness fees for accountants and other experts

• Research expenses for legal research resources

Your lawyer will probably require you to pay advance fees so your case is not delayed.

Factors Influencing How Much a Divorce Costs

The amount of these fees will depend on your case. With an uncontested divorce, you and your spouse should agree on the following four issues:

• Child custody

• Child support

• Property division

• Alimony

Conversely, if you and your spouse contest some or all of these issues, your costs will increase. You may need to pay a lawyer to prepare for trial and present your case to a judge or jury.

Your costs will also depend on where you live. For example, if you reside in a big city like New York or Los Angeles, your divorce fees will likely be higher than they would be in other cities.

The following estimates provide the average cost of divorce proceedings under a few different circumstances:

How Much Does It Cost to Get a Divorce if Both Parties Agree?

You might not need to hire a lawyer if you and your spouse agree to settle your divorce case on your own. How much are divorce papers when filing and settling a case? In this case, you will only pay a few hundred dollars in filing fees.

You can also hire a lawyer to negotiate and prepare a divorce settlement agreement. The spouses might each spend a few thousand dollars on an uncontested divorce case to hire a lawyer.

How Much Does a Simple Divorce Cost?

Before getting into the possible costs, you must first understand what a simple case involves. Simple cases are not necessarily uncontested. Parties can contest the issues even in simple cases. However, a simple case usually has fewer issues to resolve, such as a case involving a couple without children.

However, even childless couples must still divide their property. One of the spouses might also ask for alimony. The lawyers will gather evidence and battle in court to resolve these matters.

The cost of resolving these issues will depend on the complexity of the case, but each spouse should budget several thousand dollars to settle their divorce. If they cannot negotiate a reasonably fair settlement of these issues, they will go to trial and spend even more money.

How Much Is a Divorce With a Child?

Once you involve a child, the litigation odds increase. Child custody issues are often highly emotional, and getting a fair child support amount will take work. Again, resolving these issues could require thousands of dollars in legal fees to gather documents, analyze the situation, and negotiate a settlement. These fees increase if the case requires a trial.

How Much Does It Cost to Get Divorced if the Case Goes to Trial?

A case will reach trial when the parties cannot settle their differences through negotiation. Trial does not necessarily mean the parties are being stubborn. The case may involve genuine issues of fact or law. Regardless of the reason, trials are expensive. How much does a contested divorce cost to take to trial?

Litigators usually bill at least a couple hundred dollars per hour, although your fees will depend on your location. Trials often take at least a day, but they may take longer for more complex issues. As a result, you may need to budget ten thousand dollars or more for a case that goes all the way to trial.

Learn More From ConsumerShield

The amount you spend on your divorce will depend on factors unique to your situation. ConsumerShield can help you find a lawyer to analyze your case and estimate your potential costs based on your situation. Contact us for a free case evaluation.