How Much Does it Cost to Get a Divorce?

This video features Chaim Steinberger, a Family Law attorney based in New York.

Attorney Chaim Steinberger | 888-981-0039 | Schedule Your Consult Today

“If the both of you can overcome the anger and start working cooperatively, that would be the best way to spend as little money, to spend as little of your children’s inheritance, and your own retirement and the children’s college fund on legal proceedings and on lawyers.”

For those considering divorce, it’s an important question: how much does it cost to get a divorce? How do divorce lawyers handle attorney fees?

As is the case with many legal questions, the answer is: it depends. Willingness to cooperate and the time spent on divorce proceedings are two primary factors in deciding the cost of a divorce.

Chaim Steinberger is a family law attorney with Chaim Steinberger, P.C, based in New York. In this interview, he explains the factors that may influence how much a divorce could end up costing.

To learn more, contact the attorney directly by calling 888-981-0039 or by submitting a contact form on this page.

Key Takeaways From Chaim Steinberger:

Divorce is a complicated process, and the cost of the process can depend on a variety of factors. One of the biggest factors is how reasonable both parties are willing to be. When spouses are willing to cooperate, listen with empathy, and work toward a mutually acceptable solution, it can save them and their attorney from unnecessary billable hours. The complexity of the issues, money involved, and willingness to be coached in reasonable choices by an experienced attorney can all affect the overall cost of divorce proceedings.

Calm, communicative conversations are key to ensuring a smooth divorce process and reduced cost.

Steinberger maintains that one of the most effective ways to facilitate divorce proceedings efficiently and effectively for both parties is to let go of anger. While divorce is an inherently emotional process, it’s important to prioritize cooperation. In fact, working toward a win-win situation is more likely to reduce the cost of the divorce as well as increase the satisfaction of both sides regarding the outcome.

Experienced divorce attorneys and mediators can help facilitate effective communication, and get to the root of each party’s frustration and desires. The less time spent arguing is less time both spouses have to pay their legal representatives. Divorce is an emotional process, but it doesn’t have to be a battle of wills.

Contested divorces can be more expensive due to the time it takes to come to an agreement.

In uncontested divorces, both spouses are able to come to an agreement on their own, have an attorney draw up the papers—a process, Steinberger explains, that takes about three hours—and simply have the judge sign off. Contested divorces are inherently more expensive because they take more time to come to an agreement. He reminds us that in this situation the cheapest lawyer may not actually be the cheapest lawyer in the long run. In an effort to quickly or cheaply resolve a divorce, one spouse later finds that they gave up rights they were unaware of. Additionally, experienced divorce attorneys can work quickly to avoid racking up more expenses than necessary, and also prevent the unnecessary loss of property and rights.

Most reputable divorce attorneys charge an hourly fee.

This structure of payment allows clients to only pay for the services they are using. If a couple is able to resolve their divorce quickly, their cost will be lower. If a couple takes a longer time to resolve a case, their cost will be higher. Steinberger maintains that this is really the only fair way to charge these cases. While some divorce attorneys advertise a flat fee, he advises caution, as this may indicate a lack of personal attention for your case. The payment by hourly fee structure is another reason why it’s important to work toward open, empathetic communication with a spouse. The less time spent arguing over assets and settlements means fewer billable hours from your attorney.

To learn more, contact Chaim Steinberger directly by calling 888-981-0039 or by submitting a contact form on this page.

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