Getting divorced and seeking legal advice, in general, can be riddled with anxiety because unlike most things in life, there is no set price. The reason for this is largely due to the fact that the price of legal services depends on the individual client and their circumstances. If you are seeking a divorce lawyer in Mid-Missouri, call or text Loraine Law Center, LLC at (573) 995-4077 or visit us at online.
Factors to Consider
When assessing costs, a lawyer will typically look at a few different factors. These factors include whether the divorce will be contested or uncontested. As the names suggest, uncontested largely means the parties will agree to file paperwork and simply walk away after the court determines the parties are legally divorced.
Contested divorces would be all other types of divorces that will involve litigation to determine things like property ownership, child custody, child support, or alimony (spousal support). On the topic of property ownership, a lawyer may ask you how your property is owned. For example: do you own property for a business, or own multiple homes?
Child custody or the mere presence of children is another factor that will likely lead to the designation of contested divorce as the court must determine child custody in the best interest of the child and each parent typically advocates for their rights with regard to child custody. Child support is a factor that may be considered under the court's analysis if one party is unable to provide for the child without the financial support of the other parent.
Flat-Rate v. Hourly
Many people who do not practice law are keenly aware that many lawyers charge by the hour, with hourly rates ranging from $150 per hour to $500 or $600 per hour. As you can probably imagine, when a matter is billed hourly, costs can add up quickly. And this just simply means the lawyer will keep track of their time and bill for that time, any time they work on the documents for the case, communicate with the client, attend court or depositions, etc.
Flat-rate divorce means that the lawyer will quote a fixed price to resolve the issue regardless of the hours involved. This can be especially helpful when determining costs as flat-rate or flat-fee agreements eliminate many unknowns. Costs that may be in addition to a flat fee include filing fees and fees for process servers.
Divorce is stressful enough without the added stress of unknown expenses.
Loraine Law Center, LLC offers flat-rate options for most of our clients. Call or text us today at (573) 995-4077 or visit us at online. We also accept all major credit cards.
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