I am going to tell you.
Not many, if any, divorce lawyers WILL tell you, but I am going to tell you.
At the end of this article.
Now, you can cheat, and just go to the bottom and read that part...
But that would be silly.
Because I assume that you are here reading this article to learn how to save money on legal fees.
And that is why I am writing this article: to teach you what drives up the cost of so many divorces so that I can help you avoid doing that to yourself.
If you want to save a lot of money on YOUR divorce, then you need to understand why it is so hard for this question to be answered honestly.
So...if you really want to, ok...go to the bottom and you will see how much the typical divorce in Monmouth County NJ costs, from my experience...
But then be sure to come back here to read the rest of the article, or else I fear that you will miss the most important lesson that I offer you: namely, how to keep YOUR legal fees as low as possible.
They taught me in law school back in the 1980's to not answer that question, not to be obnoxious or sneaky or anything like that, but rather because it is impossible to know how the clients will behave, and because client behavior is the #1 reason that divorce costs can skyrocket.
Why is it so difficult for even a highly experienced divorce lawyer to predict what your divorce will cost?
Why don't most divorce lawyers just give you a firm price up front like building contractors do?
Let me answer that question by way of an example that happened to me.
I started practicing exclusively NJ divorce law in September 1987.
My then employer brought one of my first clients, "Barbara" (not her real name), into my office.
At that time, my initial divorce retainer was $4,000.00 and I billed at the rate of $100.00 per hour (needless to say, both rates have gone up quite a bit over the past 37 years.)
During the consultation, Barbara asked me what I thought her divorce would cost her.
I told her that no one knows for sure because it really is a function of how much time she and her husband spend fighting.
I also told her that there are other variables that will affect her final legal bill, including whether her husband hires a cooperative lawyer or a combative lawyer, which judge we get, how complicated the issues are in her particular case, and other related factors.
Out of respect for her, I respectfully refused to guess at how much her total legal bill for her divorce would "likely" be.
Notwithstanding my refusal to estimate the total cost for her divorce, Barbara hired me.
Six weeks later, on November 1, 1987, Barbara called me.
She said, "I'd like to have our 4-year old son, Michael, for Thanksgiving this year. My husband can have Michael for the first day of Hanukkah this year. Next year, we can switch.
Will you please call his lawyer and try to work that out?"
I told her, "Of course, Barbara. I'll call your husband's lawyer now and will discuss the issue with him. There shouldn't be any major problems."
I then called the other lawyer who agreed with me that there shouldn't be any major problems working out that arrangement.
The other lawyer told me that it made sense and that he would speak with his client and get back to me.
The next day, I got a call from the other lawyer who said "Steve, I had an opportunity to speak with my client, David, about Barbara's suggestion.
David does not agree...
Rather, David suggests that this year HE should have Michael for Thanksgiving, Barbara can have Michael for the first day of Hanukkah, and they will switch next year."
I said to the other lawyer, "Well, let me speak with my client and I will get back to you."
I called Barbara and I said "Look, Barbara, I spoke with the other attorney who agreed with both of us that your proposal makes sense.
However, your husband's lawyer then spoke with your husband who sees things differently.
In fact, your husband insists that HE have Michael for Thanksgiving this year, you would get next year, and YOU would get the first day of Hanukkah this year."
Barbara screamed. "Oh, no. That's not going to happen. I insist upon having Thanksgiving this year!"
Well, at this point in the conversation, I reminded her of our discussion about legal fees during our first consultation by saying, "Barbara, do you remember back on September 15th when you first hired me and you asked me how much this case was going to cost you?
Do you remember that I told you that I didn't know, and that it was going to be largely a function of how well you and David cooperate, and also a function of how well his lawyer cooperates with me?
Well, his lawyer and I have been getting along great, but you and he are disagreeing over basic things.
Is it really worth going to Court over this issue?"
To which Barbara replied, "Yes, it is!"
So, I did what Barbara instructed me to do.
I prepared the Court papers.
That took quite a few hours, with Barbara making many revisions.
We went to Court.
That took a few more hours.
I argued that Barbara should have Thanksgiving this year and that her husband should have the first day of Hanukkah.
David's lawyer argued that David should have Thanksgiving this year and Barbara would have the first day of Hanukkah.
The judge ruled in Barbara's favor and she had Thanksgiving Day with the child in 1987.
Why do I tell you this?
Because this is an article about what can be done to reduce the cost of your divorce.
I want you to know that Barbara spent her entire $4,000.00 initial retainer fighting over who was going to have Thanksgiving that year.
She then needed to come up with another $4000 retainer to continue moving the case forward.
And so, this goes back to the initial question that Barbara asked me during our consultation, namely, "How much is this divorce likely to cost me?"
If I had attempted to guess at the answer at that time, by the end of her case I would have been way off, and Barbara would have viewed me as being dishonest with her.
Indeed, when I first met Barbara, I had no idea how she and David were going to fight over Thanksgiving.
I did know that if they fought over relatively insignificant issues that they would likely spend a whole lot more money than they otherwise might.
So how can you dramatically reduce the cost of your divorce?
There are 5 "takeaways" from this article:
1.Never forget that divorce lawyers bill hourly.
2.Don't fight over relatively insignificant things.
3.Keep your focus on the big picture of what you are trying to achieve.
4.Try to treat the negotiation of your divorce case like any other significant negotiation in your life.
5.And...before you begin to negotiate, you will need to have a complete grasp on your assets, your debts, your income...you will need to first prepare a complete Case Information Statement.
If you are concerned about getting the best legal representation available but also having control over the cost of divorce, then it is important for you to understand that lawyers bill hourly for all of their time.
So try to keep a journal of your questions so that when you call your lawyer, you can get more "bang for your buck".
SO HOW MUCH DOES IT COST ALREADY?
For a short marriage, no kids, no assets, no debts, no fighting...easy case...very little.
But once you add in facts like a longer marriage, kids, assets, debts, and fighting, then in my experience in the average case, each side will likely spend between $15,000 to $25,000 per person IN THE AVERAGE CASE.
Yup.
That has been my experience as a divorce lawyer in Monmouth County for the past 36 years.
And I'm not talking about just MY clients...I'm talking about the average cost for any highly experienced Monmouth County divorce lawyer, based upon what I have seen.
Now...that is for a "typical" case.
YET...many cases cost much less...and many cases cost much more.
Why? (did you skip the part above where I explain in detail why)?
THE BOTTOM LINE
The cost of a divorce in New Jersey is a function of how much time the attorneys spend on the case.
The amount of time spent by the lawyers is a function of how much emotion the clients have, how they direct that emotion, how complex the legal issues are, how cooperative the lawyers are with each other, who the judge is, and many other factors.
But lawyers bill hourly at the rate of hundreds of dollars an hour, depending upon the particular lawyer.
If little time is required, the bill will be low.
If a lot of time is required, the bill will be significantly higher.
Would you like me to teach you how to keep the cost of your divorce as low as possible?
Then stick around this website...I'll give you hundreds of useful tips that you will really find helpful
If you are thinking about the cost of a divorce, then it is likely that you are considering separating or filing for divorce.
If so, I feel that the most important thing for you to do before doing anything else is to learn how to protect yourself, your children, and your assets.
I'll show you how you can do it.
I've been a divorce specialist in Colts Neck (by Delicious Orchards) for 36 years, and I've successfully represented many people against narcissistic spouses.
I "get it" and I'm here to help.
My free NJ DIVORCE EDGE 2024 (click here) course will teach you how to turn your situation around to your advantage.
Every divorce case is different. My emails will teach you, in an easy to understand way, everything that you need to know to help you make the right decisions based upon the particular facts of your situation.
I get emails from strangers all the time thanking me for making this information available to them online at no cost, and I'm pretty certain that you, too, will get a lot of value from my emails.
And if you want to stop the emails, I made it really easy for you to do that... one click on any email stops the course. But few people do that...because the material is really helpful to anyone who is even just beginning to think about getting a divorce here in Monmouth County.
Are you ready to start turning things around?
The next move is up to you...!
Click the link above and begin learning how to get the "edge" in YOUR Monmouth County divorce case.
Until next time,
Steve
Steven J. Kaplan, Esq.
Specializing In Divorce
In Monmouth County
5 Professional Circle
Colts Neck, NJ. 07722
www.KaplanDivorce.com
(732) 845-9010
