Divorce?

[Piglet822]

I went to a lawyer today so I could start divorce proceedings and she quoted me a price of $3500.00. DBF had to go his lawyer today for something and I asked him to talk to his lawyer as well and he said around $3000.00.
I don't have this kind of money. Do these figures sound about right? My soon to be ex and I have already talked about what we want, the divorce won't be contested. Anyone know?

[RedheadWriter]

If everything is uncontested and mutually agreed upon, I think you might (depending on the state) file a joint petition and only pay court costs. You might want to make a quick call to your local town hall for more information.
That is a lot of money!

[murphy1]

Jeanne, I am so sorry to hear this.

Try looking at Legal Zoom dot com. I know a couple people who have filed that way and it worked. It's good if you are going through a cut and dried case.

Shari

[AZ Disney]

First let me say that I'm sorry you're going through this. I don't have personal experience, but do have several friends and co-workers currently sharing a lot of their experiences with me. Out of the 5, none have had a retainer less than 5K and all have spent a minimum of $10K thus far and I'd say they are half way through the process. My one co-worker has spent upwards of $30K, as his has been very complicated as they are contesting everything and have a lot of real estate to split up. He is just days from the final decree. If it's not going to be contested, I would think you could avoid lawyers all together. Good Luck.

[offwego]

I know the range is aprox 5M in this area for retainers. Do you have property to be dealt with? That could be part of what's driving the cost up.

[DizneyRox]

I've heard many people say it's too expensive to get divorced, and it looks like they mean it!

[Piglet822]

I've heard many people say it's too expensive to get divorced, and it looks like they mean it!

I think you're right.

There is a house but because my son has chosen to stay with his Dad (he doesn't want to change schools) we have agreed they will stay in the house and I'm living with
DBF.
I know there's legal issues that have to be dealt with being there's a house and a minor child, but since we're in agreement with everything I'm hoping the whole process would be a bit simpler.
murphy1, thank you for that info, I'm going to check it out.

[brownie]

Sorry to hear about, hope everything works out.

Be prepared that even once legal proceedings start, you may have to wait a few months and go to counseling because there is a child involved. It's also possible that you may not be able to do this without lawyers because there is a child involved.

[Lizzy]

My ex husband and I pretty much agreed on everything during our divorce, and we just went to have the paperwork legally documented with the pro se coordinator at the county. I did consult with a lawyer on the final paperwork before the meeting with the pro se and that only cost a hundred bucks, just to be sure that I wasn't missing something vital. We had everything involved as well, child, child support, visitation, house, assests etc. If you and your soon to be ex are in agreement about things it can be done inexpensivly. You just have to get past the hurt that you feel and the pain you want to inflict on the other, especially since you do have a child involved.


Jeanne, you know I love you dearly and am sorry that you have to go through this. I really appreciated all you did for me during my divorce. If you ever need to talk about anything you know you can call me.

[MsMin]

Around here that would be the price for an average divorce. You have a child but really as far as the courts and your decision I don't see any custody issues. He is "of age" in most courts eyes meaning that they will let him decide what he wants and sounds like it's not a problem. Point is I don't think that you would need to spend that much. BEWARE-- there are many attorneys(sorry guys:blush:) out there that will encourage you to fight for your rights but really they are keeping you in court and getting your $$$$.
Sad thing is the retainer isn't the expensive part of divorce it's the child support and property settlement.
I would keep checking around. Usually the papers or even yellow pages have ads for "cheap divorces" but what they consider cheap is the kind that have no kids and no property.
:pixie: hope you can find a reasonable way to get out of this.
Did anyone say anything about child support? In our state they have a scale you go by. They take the income and add it up and have an amount to pay based on that income then the rate is based on the % you contribute to that income. So if the child support is determined to be 1K a month and you bring home 90% of the income than you pay 900 per month in child support.
If I can help any let me know. I don't know Fla law but I've seen a lot of divorces.

[kakn7294]

A friend of mine here in PA is getting a divorce and she told me that hers is costing $175.00 (no, that's not a typo) so far. She doesn't have any property to split up as they rented but she does have 2 kids - well really 1, only one belonged to the soon-to-be ex. They aren't contesting the divorce and will only have to pay any additional court costs for filing the paperwork. She's never even met her lawyers - all correspondence is entirely through the mail.

[magicofdisney]

I'm sorry you have to go through this. I know it couldn't have been an easy decision to make with a child involved. My sister went through a divorce a few years ago. At first she had a lawyer, but she just couldn't afford to keep him. After building a fee of $2000, she switched to mediation. They have two children but no property. This seemed to work best for all involved (and they are FL residents). GL with everything.

[MickeysGirl]

If everything is uncontested and mutually agreed upon, I think you might (depending on the state) file a joint petition and only pay court costs. You might want to make a quick call to your local town hall for more information.
That is a lot of money!

This sounds exactly like what Rob did when he got a divorce from his first wife. They didn't use lawyers at all, as they mutually agreed on who got what. They did have to attend "single parent classes" because there is a child involved.

Jeanne, you have all my prayers and love!

If you have any specific questions, please feel free to contact Rob! You know we are here to help with anything! :hug: