One of the reasons a lot of people put off getting divorced is because it’s expensive. There’s no getting around that. Any
divorce lawyer in Greenville, South Carolina who tells you otherwise isn’t being truthful. However, if you are going to pay for a divorce, you want to make sure you hire a quality family law attorney in Greenville.
Getting married or divorced is one of the biggest events in your life. Aside from having children, there aren’t many changes quite as monumental as a divorce. Most people debate whether to get divorced for months or even years before they pull the trigger. Part of this is because they want to make their marriage work. Another part, however, is because they’re afraid they’ll spend a ton of money on a divorce lawyer.
It wouldn’t be fair to pretend that getting divorced is cheap. However, we do our best to help our clients make it through the divorce process as painlessly as possible. Here, we’ll discuss how much it costs to hire an experienced divorce lawyer in Greenville, South Carolina. We’ll also explain why it’s a good idea to hire an attorney rather than handling the divorce yourself.
Family Law Attorneys in Greenville Are Not the Same as Personal Injury Attorneys
It’s always best to be upfront with potential clients. Therefore, it’s important to explain that family law attorneys in Greenville do not operate the same way as most personal injury lawyers. Divorce lawyers in Greenville, South Carolina do not offer free consultations. Nor do they wait until a case is resolved to collect their fee.
Divorce attorneys typically charge a retainer at the outset of your case. This could be anywhere from $2,000 to $5,000 or more. It all depends on how complicated your case is. If you and your spouse get along and the divorce is amicable, it may not take all that much time to finalize the divorce. However, if the two of you are not on speaking terms, it may be quite difficult to come to an agreement on the terms of the divorce.
The More Complicated the Divorce, the More it Will Cost
As mentioned above, if your divorce is very complicated, it could cost in excess of $10,000. For example, if you and your soon-to-be ex-spouse fight over every single issue, your divorce lawyer in Greenville, South Carolina may spend close to a hundred hours negotiating with the other attorney.
Since your divorce lawyer charges an hourly rate, the goal is to resolve your divorce quickly. Every time your attorney needs to call your spouse’s lawyer to argue about yet another point, it costs you money. Every time your lawyer needs to revise your marital settlement agreement, it costs you money. Therefore, it would be in your best interests to work as much out with your spouse as possible. It doesn’t do anybody any good if you both end up spending three times more than you need to on legal fees.
Don’t Assume Your Spouse Will Be Ordered to Pay Your Legal Fees
One question a lot of our clients ask us is whether the judge will order spouse to pay their legal fees. Despite what you may see on television, it is very rare that the courts will order either party to a divorce to pay the other’s legal fees. It is only in rare cases that this happens.
Unless your family law attorney in Greenville can convince the judge that you are in an untenable financial position, they won’t order your spouse to pay your attorney fees. Technically, you can represent yourself in a divorce. The judge doesn’t feel that it’s their job to balance things out. However, the courts also don’t want one spouse to be at a complete disadvantage. In cases where the is a clear disparity in income, the court may order your spouse to pay some of your fees. However, you don’t want to count on this happening.
The other thing you need to remember is that the judge won’t order anybody to pay their spouse’s legal fees until much later in the case. Your lawyer won’t continue to work your case for free. As pointed out earlier, they don’t work on a contingency fee like a personal injury attorney. Instead, they expect to be paid as they complete the work. Once your retainer runs out, you’ll get a monthly bill that you’ll be expected to pay. If you fail to pay your attorney’s fees, they may ask to withdraw from the case.
If Your Family Law Attorney in Greenville Has to File Motions, It Will Cost More
For some reason, people tend to think that all divorces are messy. The truth is that most divorces proceed without a lot of unnecessary drama. Of course, the two parties may not get along. They did decide to get divorced, after all. But that doesn’t mean they want to drive their attorney’s fee through the roof.
One thing you want to be aware of is how expensive it is to file motions. If, throughout the course of your divorce proceedings, you ask your attorney to file various
motions, it can get expensive. Normally, if you hire an attorney to handle a motion for you, it can cost at least a thousand dollars. It may cost a lot more than that. If you put them in a position where they have to file several motions, it can get rather expensive.
You may wonder what we mean by motions. A motion is a separate pleading with the court. Motions are designed to ask for a specific order. For example, your attorney may need to file a motion asking that your spouse may child support pending the final divorce. Or it may be a short-term custody order you’re looking for.
Reach Out to an Experienced Divorce Lawyer in Greenville, South Carolina
If you’ve been contemplating getting divorced for a while now, it may be time to give us a call. When you speak with one of our
family law attorneys in Greenville, you’ll gain a better understanding of how the divorce process works. We’ll also go over the costs with you.
One of the important things we’ll discuss is the issues you’re going to encounter. For example, if you have kids, you’ll need to address custody and child support. If you’ve been married for a long time, you may have to pay alimony. All of these things will be explained at the outset. If you do decide to move forward with the divorce, we’ll ask for a retainer fee. Once we have received that, we can get your divorce complaint filed and start the process.
