I. THREE WAYS TO FILE FOR DIVORCE
- Joint Petition - Both agree that marriage is Irretrievably Broken-uncontested (no fault)-w/a Separation Agreement.
- Complaint for Divorce - contested v. uncontested. (no agreement)
- Fault Based - adultery, cruel & abusive, gross and confirmed habits of intoxication. Refusal or neglect to provide suitable support and maintenance, impotency, imprisonment, utter desertion.
II. LITIGATION
(TRADITIONAL ADVERSARIAL SYSTEM - EACH SPOUSE HIRES OWNS SEPARATE ATTORNEY)
- Sue other person
- Most cases settle
- Expense of litigation
- Average Case - house, kids, assets
- Average Retainer - $2,500 - $5,000
- Average Court Appearances 2 -3
III. LAWYERS ROLE
- Advocate for their client
- Spend enormous time negotiating directly with other attorney
- More time relaying the outcome of the negotiations to their clients
- This adversarial approach can escalate conflicts between couple and lead to greater expense.
RESEARCH SHOWS THAT FIFTY PERCENT OF FIRST MARRIAGES END IN DIVORCE. DIVORCE HAS BECOME BIG BUSINESS IN THE UNITED STATES WITH AMERICANS SPENDING APPROXIMATELY TWO BILLION DOLLARS PER YEAR ON DIVORCE. A RECENT 2000 CASE IN WORCESTER COUNTY THE COUPLE SPENT OVER $250,000 IN LEGAL FEES FOR THEIR DIVORCE.
ESTIMATED COSTS OF LITIGATION | Estimated Cost Of Mediation
(Average divorce involving children, house, and retirement accounts)
|
Initial Client Conference |
1.5 hours |
| *Draft Complaint (Filing fee $215) | 1 hour |
| *Sheriff's Service (fee $35) | |
| Review Answer & Docs |
1 hour |
| Prepare for Temporary Orders (custody, support, financial arrangement, financial statements) |
2.0 hours |
| Court hearing on temp. orders | 5.0 hours |
| Conference with client | .50 hours |
| Discovery | 4.0 hours |
| *House Appraisal ($400) | |
| *Pension Evaluation ($400) | |
| *Parent Education($80) | |
| Settlement Negotiations | 4.0 hours |
| Consultation time with client | 4.0 hours |
| Consultation with spouse's attorney | 2.0 hours |
| Prepare for pretrial conference | 5.0 hours |
| Pretrial Conference | 4.0 hours |
| Total Time 34 hours | |
| Rate $300.00 per hour @ 34 hours = $10,500 per person *Plus Costs = $1,130.00 Average Retainer for Attorney - $5,000.00 |
**Time does not include custody disputes - add another $5,000 in legal fees plus costs of a GAL investigation. Does not include time for extensive assets requiring more discovery.
