Wednesday, October 17, 2018

Understanding the Cost of Divorce in Florida

An uncontested divorce in Florida can cost anywhere between US$495 to around US$795. This amount goes into attorney fees. The charge range depends on whether children are involved. In the uncontested divorce, both parties agree on every issue with respect to the divorce. In the contested divorce the parties cannot agree on some or all of the issues. It is for this reason that the legal work undertaken by the divorce attorney to get the case before a court of law takes more time. Predicting the actual cost of the contested divorce is quite hard. Some of the issues likely to dictate the attorney fees include whether there are children involved, whether there are alimony claims, whether there are considerable debts and assets in the marriage. The need for analysts and expert witnesses can also have a bearing on the divorce costs. The divorce attorney may also need the help of an accounting officer to assist in determining complex financial situations. It is such reasons that make the contested divorce quite challenging even when the issues under contention are few.

The contested divorce can get even more complicated where one party fails to agree with the decision of the court and chooses to file an appeal against that decision. It is to be remembered that Florida divorce proceedings are only heard by a judge and not the jury. Expert witnesses may be required in the contested divorce situation to determine issues such as timesharing in child custody. It is to be remembered that attorney hourly charges can vary from attorney to attorney depending on the experience level, filing fees, cost incurred in making and sharing documents etc. In some situations, either spouse can be required to reimburse the amount spent by the other part in costs and attorney fees during the contested divorce proceedings. This may happen if the party that spends the money on divorce proceedings is in financial need and the spouse has the capacity to meet the charges.

Although the cost of contested divorce in Florida may be unpredictable some divorce attorneys can predict the cost with some degree of accuracy depending on their level of experience. It is safe to say that each contested divorce is unique and different. However, the issues under contention are often common. The cost estimates may be wrong especially where there are unforeseen circumstances such as endless court battles. Further information about divorce costs can be found in www.floridadivorce.com/divorce-in-florida-cost.