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The average cost of a divorce · Family Law Talk

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  Speaker 1: Welcome to Family Law Talk. Family Law Talk presented by
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  Kirk Stangy of Stangy Law Firm PC. Stangy Law Firm
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  is a multi state family law firm. Now here's your host,
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  Kirk Stangy.
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  Speaker 2: Welcome to Family Law Talk. We have an interesting topic today.
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  The topic is the average cost of a divorce. This
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  episode today is based on an article on our blog
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  Iowadivorce lawyersblog dot com dated December second, twenty twenty four,
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  and the title of that article is the total cost
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  of a divorce and des Moines Iowa. So as a
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  follow up to the episode today, going over to that
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  blog and read information on this topic in more detail.
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  But let's go ahead and jump on into the topic
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  at hand. Again. This is a common question. This is
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  something lots of individuals want to know when they're going
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  to be going through a divorce or they see a
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  divorce eminently on the horizon for them. They want to
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  be able to plan, they want to be able to budget,
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  and there can obviously be a concern in terms of
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  the overall cost because parties want to be able to
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  move on with their life after divorce. And so look
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  this article, you know references to Moyne, Iowa. But I
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  think this topic is really relevant to anybody going through divorce,
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  even in other states and other jurisdictions. So let's go
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  ahead and jump on into it. Look, I mean, the
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  decision in terms of what lawyer to hire and a
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  divorce is an important one. It's critical to have an
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  attorney who brings compassion, empathy, obviously experience knowledge, and then
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  you want somebody who's going to be a zealous advocate
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  as well. So all of these components are things that
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  ought to be at the forefront when individuals are deciding
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  what lawyer to represent them in their divorce matter. All right,
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  So look, some individuals would meet one lawyer and they
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  like that lawyer right out of the gates, and they
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  go with that lawyers meet lots of different lawyers or
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  multiple different lawyers, and then make a decision after they've
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  meeaten and spoken with several different options, and then they
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  pick the lawyer that's most comfortable to them for their
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  particular case. And again there's no right or wrong answer.
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  You know, some individuals get a referral to a lawyer
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  and they instantly go to that lawyer based on the
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  good things they've heard, but other individuals need to meet
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  lots of different lawyers. Okay, But when you get into
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  the average cost of a divorce, it's a really difficult question, okay,
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  And candidly, it can really vary. It can really vary
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  based on the case facts itself, can vary based on
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  the jurisdiction.
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  Speaker 1: You know.
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  Speaker 2: Other components can cause a case to vary as well,
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  for example, what judges the case before, who is the
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  opposing counsel, If there's a guarding at lightem who is that?
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  And our individuals really looking to work together to try
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  to get the case settled, or is this a case
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  where settlement is very difficult because parties are very far apart.
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  All right, So when you get into the average cost
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  of a divorce, it's important to know that most lawyers
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  are charging by the hour. Okay. There could be some
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  individuals doing flatter fixed fees out there, but still, in
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  my opinion, the prevailing way, the most common method of
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  which lawyers bill individuals for divorces by the hour, okay.
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  And then these lawyers have an hourly rate, and the
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  hourly rate is going to vary based on the lawyer
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  and the law firm. Certain lawyers and law firms have
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  been doing this longer, they charge a higher rate. They've
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  got more experience doing this, so they charge more. Other
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  lawyers might charge less. They haven't been doing this as long,
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  they have their fees lower. So you've got to know
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  that out of the gates. But the biggest factor when
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  you get past that in terms of the cost of
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  the is this going to be a case where there's
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  prolonged litigation? All right, So where parties are very far
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  apart on the issues in the case itself, that's going
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  to cause the case to cost more. All Right. The
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  closer parties are in terms of breaching middle grounds and
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  forging compromises, the less it's going to cost, because then
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  theoretically the parties are able to enter a comprehensive settlement
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  and resolve the case that way, versus prolonged litigation, which
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  can be very expensive. Okay. The way I've explained this
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  to clients throughout my career is to put divorced cases
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  generally into three camps. Okay, there are some cases that
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  are simple, that are uncontested, the parties agree to everything
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  in terms of the disposition of the case, and these cases,
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  obviously are the cases that cost a lot less. All right,
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  there's some cases that go to try. The parties then
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  take the case up on appeal. Maybe there's subsequent motions
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  to modify motions for contempt and obviously this can cause
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  a case to cause astronomically more. And then there's sort
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  of that middle camp, which is that the case doesn't
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  settle quick it doesn't settle easily, but it doesn't result
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  in a trial. So at some point cooler heads prevail
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  and parties ultimately settle the case. So these are the
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  cases you would sort of put in the middle, okay,
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  And then there's other pieces past that, which I think
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  it's important for individuals to know when asking about the
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  average cost of a divorce, which is, you know, how
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  much contact do you want with your attorney? You know,
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  if attorneys are billing by the hour, which most do.
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  You know, the more you call, the more you email,
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  the more communication you want, it's going to run up
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  the bill. Now maybe you're willing to pay for that,
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  and you're fine with that. You want a lot of
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  contact and a lot of communication. You know, I've always
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  told clients that's fine. You can call me and email
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  me as you please. Just know that you get built
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  for that, so it costs you a lot more money,
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  you know. On the other hand, if a client, you know,
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  they don't call, they don't reach out very often. They
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  respond to their attorney, and maybe they reach out sporadically,
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  but it's not a regular thing. That obviously the cost
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  of their case is going to be a heck of
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  a lot less. All right, So that's your big key.
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  You know, is this case going to be prolonged litigation?
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  Is it going to be simple and easy or is
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  it not simple and easy? But it's settles somewhere along
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  the way, And that really sort of puts these cases
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  into these three camps. Okay, you know, other big issues
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  that can really come into play in terms of answering
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  this question is the issue of spousal support. Okay. You know,
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  if one individual wants spousal support, which is still called
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  alimony and some jurisdictions other it's not, and the other
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  party doesn't want to pay it, that can really hang
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  up a divorced settlement and make a case much more
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  complex and oftentimes put it into the category of prolonged litigation.
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  You know, child custody is the same thing if parties
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  can agree to in a custody arrangement simply and easily,
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  and then that's obviously going to make the case a
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  lot more simple, you know. But where parties can't agree
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  and parties want different things and they'd have different goals
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  and different aspirations than that can cause the case to
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  go into the area of prolonged litigation, which could make
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  it a lot more complex. Okay, so let's break down
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  some other questions as well, which is, again let's go
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  back to the average cost of a divorce in the
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  United States. Look, I mean, listeners, you could go onto Google.
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  You could punch that question in. You'll see some numbers.
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  You know, I would candidly tell you take that with
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  a grain of salt. Some of it might have some accuracy,
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  some of it might not be accurate at all. Again,
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  it's going to really vary based on the fact details,
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  the jurisdiction. The case is in the judge, it's before
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  the Guardian at light them, Arnie's on the case. And
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  then I think critically, how reasonable are the parties and
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  compromising to make resolutions. If two individuals can't compromise, it's
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  going to make it more expensive. And you know, the
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  thing about this, which is just reality is that. Look,
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  if parties were able to compromise easily, they might not
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  be getting divorced in the first place. Lots of individuals
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  end up getting divorced because compromise is not easy. Parties
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  see the world quite a bit differently, and so if
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  you're one of these individuals, you think, in goodness, me am,
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  I soon to be ex we don't agree on much.
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  You just have to know that could make the case
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  a lot more expensive. And that's just the truth, okay.
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  You know, in terms of what is the most expensive
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  way to get a divorce is another question lots of
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  individuals ask. Again, it comes down to reaching agreements. Okay,
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  so both parties wanting a divorce is a good thing.
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  I mean that will make it less expensive, that is
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  the goal. Okay, but you still have to agree on
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  the disposition, so child custody, spouse, some maintenance, property, and
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  debt division, and so the way to make the case
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  less expensive is to compromise and reach agreements on these issues.
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  Where parties can't, then that makes it difficult. Okay. Obviously,
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  parties can consider mediation collaborative law. That can sometimes be
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  helpful too, But no matter, you know how this plays out.
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  The issue is can you and you're soon to be
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  compromise on these issues to reach a resolution. If you can't,
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  it's going to make the case, you know, more expensive.
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  All right. Another question is, well, what about no fault divorce.
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  I mean, I thought with no fault divorce that would
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  make things less expensive. Well, listen, in a way, it
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  does because back in the day, to get divorced, parties
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  had to show fault. So you would have to prove
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  an affair or marital misconduct of some you know, mental cruelty,
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  abuse like there would have to be cause. Okay, So
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  with the advent of no fault divorce, you don't have
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  to prove cause. You just have to prove that the
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  marriage is irretrievably broken. Okay, But that just gets you
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  past the hurdle of we're going to get divorced. That
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  still doesn't deal with the disposition in terms of custody, child,
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  child custody, child support, spousal maintenance, property, and debt divisions.
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  So even if both parties want a divorce, that's that
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  could be a good thing in terms of the cost,
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  but there's more to it. It's the disposition and if
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  you still disagree on the disposition. That makes things very challenging. Okay.
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  Another question lots of individuals ask, and it's kind of
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  our final one here we're going to cover today, which is, well,
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  why do I need a divorce lawyer? You know, isn't
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  this an easy process where we could just submit the
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  paperwork and get divorced on our own. Listen, you know
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  there could be some forms online available for pro saye
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  litigants to complete and submit to courts, and theoretically, you know,
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  parties can try that without getting a lawyer, but you
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  just have to be careful. Okay. Again, you know, Issue
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  one is do you even have an agreement with your
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  ax on the disposition of the case. If you don't
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  have an agreement on the disposition, which means you agree
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  on everything custody, child support, spousal maintenance, property, and debt division.
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  If you don't agree on all these items, then trying
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  to do it yourself and fill out forms, you know
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  that's not going to work until you have an agreement. Okay.
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  And then issue too is this, which is you know
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  these cases have ramifications. So I've seen some parties fill
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  out forms, complete forms. They're not lawyers. Okay, This leads
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  to disputes later, which actually leads to litigation, which could
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  make it harder and more expensive because it's hard to
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  fix something when it's theoretically broken. Then to not have
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  it be broken on the front end, okay, so that's
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  another issue, and then past that. But this is a
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  giant issue that people don't really think about. But to
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  fill out forms on your own and to get divorced,
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  you're ultimately going to have to have the judge sign
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  off on that and approve it. But lots of parties
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  don't know how to fill out the forms correctly. They
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  don't know how to complete it. A good metaphor, which
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  you know I've explained to clients through the years, is this,
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  which is you know, let's say you're not good at algebra. Okay,
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  you know, so you're not skilled in algebra. This is
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  a difficult subject for you. I think for individuals who
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  aren't lawyers, filling out legal paperwork is difficult. It's challenging.
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  This is why lawyers go to law school to learn
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  how to do this stuff. We'll filling out this paperwork
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  and getting the judge to sign off on it practically
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  requires you get one hundred percent on your algebra exam.
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  So you fill out the paperwork perfectly, you do it
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  to the satisfaction of the judge, and the judge is
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  then willing to sign off on it. I've seen lots
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  of instances where people tried to fill out the paperwork,
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  they didn't do it right. The judge then wouldn't grant
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  the divorce and then you know, parties had to run
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  into our office later to have it done correctly to
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  get the judge to sign off on the divorce paperwork. Okay,
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  So doing paperwork on your own and submitting it to
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  get divorced far easier than most individuals contemplated and think about.
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  All right, So, look, this is an important topic one
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  I wanted to talk about in the episode. Today. Again,
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  as a follow up to the episode, go on over
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  to Iowa Divorce lawyersblog dot com read the article titled
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  the total cost of a divorce in Des Moines, Iowa.
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  This will give you more information on this topic. But
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  thanks for tuning in today, stay tuned to our next
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  episode coming up on Family Law Talk. Thank you very much.
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  Speaker 1: Thank you for listening to Family Law Talk with Kirk Stangy.
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  Is it Stangy Lawfirm? Dot com for more about today's topic,
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  or to put Stangy Law Firm to work for your
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