We have learned there is no question much more important than this to our clients, and unfortunately this is a question that cannot be easily or accurately answered. The divorce process is quite time-consuming, and the attorneys are compensated based on the amount of hours they have worked. Since both attorneys are paid out of the assets of the parties, the greater the legal expense, the less assets are available to the parties after their divorce.
There are many factors which affect how much the divorce will end up costing you. These include:
- The number of issues involved. Some divorces can be quite simple, where the parties have not been married very long, have not accumulated many marital assets, and have no children. Others, where there are substantial assets, business interests, and substantial custody and child access issues, involve many more time-consuming factors. Particularly with cases involving child custody, the factors involved in resolving that issue are numerous and time-intensive.
- The approach of the opposing party and attorney. We strongly believe that, in a divorce case, we as your attorney should not be creating issues to fight over that do not warrant the costs or expense. However, some times the other spouse, or that spouse’s attorney, takes an approach of wanting to fight about many issues, some of which may not be that important in the long run. Sometimes the opponent’s approach is to contest vigorously every single issue, often with the goal of making the case more emotionally stressful or expensive for you. Certainly, that approach will unnecessarily increase the costs.
- The level of your cooperation with your attorney. Because attorneys charge for their time, to the extent you can provide all the assistance the attorney needs on a prompt basis, you can reduce the costs of the case to you. Often, we need information, facts, background and documents from the clients. There may be various forms to be completed. When the client provides that information promptly, efficiently and in an organized fashion, the time we have to spend working on your file is reduced and costs are saved.
- Attorney’s hourly rate. Certainly, because the attorney’s charge for their time, the hourly rate that the attorney charges you will affect the costs of the case to you.
It is certainly not possible in this format to predict the costs of any particular divorce proceeding. However, our Baltimore divorce attorneys do make it our practice when we are engaged by clients to review with them the case, the issues, and discuss all the costs that may be involved. For more information, call the law offices of Huesman, Jones and Miles, LLC at 443.589.0150 or contact us online.