Questions about legal fees are common in divorce cases. This is particularly true for wealthier couples who worry they will pay more money because of their wealth. However, a divorce lawyer does not charge based on a couple’s assets. In fact, they are prohibited from doing so under the ethical rules governing attorney conduct. Assets can have an indirect effect on legal costs, as discussed further below, but clients also have more control over how much their divorce costs than they may realize.
How Do Lawyers Charge in Divorce Cases?
Unlike personal injury lawyers, divorce lawyers cannot be paid on a contingency basis. In other words, a divorce lawyer cannot charge a fee that is dependent on what he or she recovers for a client. Under the ethical rules in Connecticut, divorce lawyers cannot have a personal interest in the outcome of the case. If lawyers were paid based on the couple’s assets or how much a client gets in the divorce, it would give the lawyer a financial interest in the outcome.
Instead, family lawyers charge hourly fees. The hourly rate is typically based on the lawyer’s experience and the geographic area of their practice.
Typically, clients pay a retainer to hire an attorney. The amount of the retainer can be based on how much time the lawyer thinks the case will take, taking into account the complexity of the issues and the attorney’s hourly rate. Every month or, at a minimum, on a regular basis, attorneys should send clients their bills showing how much of the retainer has been spent. The bill should have clear and complete information as to what work was done and how many hours were spent on the matter. If the retainer is spent and more work is needed on the case, the attorney will ask for another retainer.
On rare occasions, a lawyer may charge a flat fee. However, this is usually to handle a discrete matter, such as representation on a very limited issue.
What Factors Affect Your Legal Bill?
The cost of the divorce depends on a variety of factors, including, but not limited to, the number and complexity of disputed issues in the case, whether there are disputes regarding custody and parenting of a child or children of the marriage, the level of discovery required, the complexity of the assets and income, each party’s willingness to negotiate and take reasonable positions in negotiations, and other factors.
In more complex cases, or in cases where there are numerous disputed issues, the case can become more expensive. For example, you and your spouse may have interests in closely held business entities, which may necessitate significant discovery and hiring a valuation expert. Or, you may suspect your spouse has hidden assets or income, and so a forensic accountant is needed to investigate.
High net worth divorce cases do not have to be expensive, however. In some high net worth divorce cases, disputes over the valuation of assets are minimal, the parties are cooperative with discovery requests, and both parties want to settle the case.
Parenting and custodial issues in divorce cases also tend to increase legal fees. These issues can be very emotional disputes and when parents cannot resolve them on their own, they become costly to litigate.
