Although no one thinks they will get divorced during the initial butterfly stages of a relationship or even during the happy times of the wedding planning and marriage, unfortunately about half of all marriages end in divorce. In fact, there are 3.3 divorces for every 1000 people in Missouri each year. Yikes!
The process of divorce is typically quite emotionally taxing. Alongside the impassioned struggles in a divorce are the realities of the cost of legal fees and attorneys in a divorce. Many factors can affect the cost of a divorce in Missouri including whether the divorce is contested or uncontested, whether children are involved, and perhaps most significantly which attorney or law firm you or your spouse hires.
To get started in the legal process for divorce, the filing fee for a dissolution of marriage petition averages around $150 for most of the Kansas City metropolitan and surrounding counties. For example the filing fee for dissolution of marriage is $144.50 in Jackson County and $142.50 in Cass County. Once the filing fee is paid, the court will produce a summons which must be served to the respondent (the other spouse) by a county sheriff, county process server, or a special (private) process server. The cost of service generally ranges from $75-150. The cost of service can increase if your spouse is difficult to locate or if they are actively avoiding service.
Divorces in Missouri are broadly classified into two general types with different processes and durations, that is contested and uncontested divorces. Contested divorces occur when either party does not want to get divorced, or there are disagreements between the parties regarding essential aspects such as child support, child custody or division of assets and debts. The reason for the cost difference is clear, uncontested divorces are generally relatively quick and do not require numerous court appearances and countless hours of work from your attorney.
In Missouri, the cost of an uncontested divorce is almost always considerably less than the cost of a contested divorce. The primary reason uncontested divorces cost less is because the attorney doesn’t have to do near as much work in the case, thus attorney’s fees are less. Additionally, uncontested divorces rarely require the need for expert witnesses such as business or real estate valuation experts, or the need for a guardian ad litem, a lawyer the court appoints to represent the children involved in a divorce. With an uncontested divorce in Missouri, there aren’t lengthy, protracted child custody or child support conflicts, tedious squabbles over property, or disagreements about alimony. When all parties agree and there are no disputes the divorce process can be relatively easy. Although some law firms offer a flat-rate divorce service, uncontested Missouri divorces generally range from around $2,000 to $3,000.
In some circumstances, uncontested divorces are completed with only one attorney involved in the case in order to save money. Although an attorney can only represent and give legal advice to one spouse, the attorney can help the parties facilitate a simple divorce. However, if children or substantial assets are involved in the failing marriage then it is generally recommended for both parties to retain their own lawyer. In situations where no children are involved, the marital assets are unsubstantial, and the parties agree on everything, the parties may be able to use the resources on the court’s website to proceed with the divorce pro se, or without an attorney at all.
As noted contested divorces can cost much more than uncontested divorces depending on the specific circumstances including the presence of young children in the divorce and the particular divorce attorneys involved. The costs for most contested divorces falls between the range of $4000-$30,000 per spouse involved. The average total cost of a contested divorce in Missouri, including attorney’s fees, is around $14,000. If there are substantial assets involved in the divorce dispute, such as a family business or other valuable contested assets, obviously the cost of the divorce will increase as the parties are more likely to fight for such assets. In particular, each party will often hire appraisers or business valuation experts to argue their positions regarding the value of marital assets.
Most family law attorneys will tell you that one of the biggest determinants of the cost of a divorce is who the lawyers are working the case for each side. Some attorneys want to do as little work as possible in order to charge the client as little as possible to get the divorce completed as efficiently as possible. Other attorneys try to be as difficult as possible as their style of practice in order to try to intimidate the opposing lawyer. These types of difficult lawyers will definitely increase the cost of a divorce because they will ask you for more information and documentation, possibly put you through a deposition, and make your attorney do more work thus costing you more in attorney’s fees. Finally, some law firm’s primary goal is to charge the client as much they possibly can, while perhaps not performing all that much work on the client’s behalf, or by performing unessential work in order to drive up legal fees.
When a divorcing couple has children, the cost of the divorce is typically higher. Much like valuable assets, people tend to fight over child custody and child support quite frequently. The more disputing there is the more attorney’s fees there will be. In some situations, the court may even appoint an attorney to represent the involved children and to look out for their interests. The lawyer who represents the children’s best interests is known as a guardian ad litem or “GAL.”
Either spouse, through their attorney, may ask to the court to appoint a GAL on behalf of the children, or the court may appoint a GAL on its own initiative. A GAL’s job is to determine the living arrangement that is in the best interests of the children. Unfortunately the GAL doesn’t work for free but rather the cost is split between the parties. A GAL will bill for their time just as any lawyer will. The common theme continues, the more the parties fight over the details of their divorce, the more expensive it will be, and this holds especially true for child custody issues.
Most lawyers will require a retainer in the amount of $2500-$5000 in order to get started representing you. This amount is deposited into their attorney trust account, then the lawyer will transfer funds from the trust account to a personal account once they have done work on your case and have earned the money. When your trust account balance gets low, your attorney will request additional funds. At the end of the case, if any of your money remains in the trust account, these funds will be returned to you.
The reason why attorneys request a retainer amount up front is because a lawyer cannot just quit working for you if you don't pay them for their work. Rather, an attorney has to petition the court with a motion to withdraw and request the judge to allow them to remove themselves from representing a client. Because of this process, attorneys like to have a decent amount of money paid initially, so they know they will be paid for their work.
Divorce is expensive plain and simple. Obviously the more the spouses can agree upon, the more money can be saved by not fighting over assets or children. It’s also very important to find an honest attorney you can trust. Choosing the right attorney can make a significant difference when it comes to the cost of your divorce.
If you are a man facing a divorce or child custody dispute in Missouri, call the Men’s Center for Domestic Resolution today to schedule a consultation at (816) 287-1530. Attorney Robert Davis is dedicated to helping men through tough domestic legal issues with empathy.
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