Uncontested Divorce Costs

The uncontested divorce expenses are quite less as compared to a contested divorce. As divorcing partners themselves reach a consensus regarding the major issues of divorce, lawyer plays least role in overall divorce process. Consequently, lawyer’s fees are also lowered to a large extent.

Uncontested Divorce Costs with the help of a lawyer

There are two heads regarding the expenditure of an uncontested divorce as follows.

• The Filing Fee.
• The Flat Fee of the lawyer. This consists of the expenses of preparing the agreement as well as other forms related to the divorce.

The filing fee in the United States varies from state to state. The flat fee levied by the lawyer is different in various counties in the state. It is assumed by the lawyer that a time span of approximately one hour is essential for preparing the agreement and the various forms and accordingly the flat fee is decided.

Sometimes it may happen that the time required for preparing the forms is more than the approximate time decided by the lawyer. The divorcing partners may also desire to make some changes to the form after the initial session. Some extra time of the lawyer is essential for these processes and hence the lawyer charges for this extra time. For example, the lawyer might state that if extra 10 minutes are required, then they would result in an extra payment of 40 USD.

The lawyer expects that the divorcing partner should pay the legal fee when he or she appears for the first session. However, the filing fee may be paid after the divorcing partners have signed the papers and are on the verge of filing the documents in the court.

It has been observed that some lawyers charge a very small amount for uncontested divorces. In case of such lawyers, it is quite possible that their practice involves a large volume of divorces and the lawyer has reserved a small amount of time for each uncontested divorce. If such a lawyer is expected to invest considerable time on this divorce, then the lawyer might increase the fees in proportion of the time invested. The reasons for requiring more time are as follows.

• Involvement of children in the case.
• Presence of significant assets or unusual debts in the case.

There are some lawyers who charge several hundred dollars for an uncontested divorce. The reason for doing so may be that this lawyer does not handle a large volume of work and expects to spend considerable time on each case.

Uncontested Divorce Costs without the assistance of a lawyer

Some of the divorcing couples directly download the forms of the uncontested divorce of their respective states and fill it themselves. In such a case, they have to bear the cost of download. In this process, they save the fees which otherwise they would have to pay to the lawyer.

Divorce Papers