Costs Involved in Minnesota Child
Custody Litigation
A MN Custody Battle Costs HOW MUCH!?
Costs Involved in Minnesota Child Custody Litigation
Nobody wants to have to draw up a budget plan for their effort to get custody of their child. In fact,
nobody wants to have to pay to get custody of his or her child. However, the reality is that having a good
lawyer who can advocate strongly on your behalf will make it much more likely that you’ll win that custody
battle. And the other reality is that the whole court process, including having a good lawyer to represent
you, costs money, a lot of money. You need to arm yourself with some knowledge, though, by reading
through the types of costs typically involved in a custody proceeding and getting an idea of what to
expect.
Your lawyer
This one’s fairly basic. You need a lawyer, and you’ll have legal fees. Your lawyer will probably work on
an hourly rate for a child custody proceeding; that rate will vary significantly depending on the area you
live in. A downtown Minneapolis lawyer might be $400/hour while a small town general practice lawyer
might very well be $150/hour. Generally though, you get what you pay for. Things you should anticipate
your lawyer to spend some of those hours on include drafting (and redrafting, and redrafting…) custody
arrangements, negotiating with your ex’s attorney, researching any legal issues that come up in regard to
your particular situation, and interviewing witnesses. COST: $3,000-$20,000+
Depositions
Your lawyer may end up deposing witnesses. A deposition is where the lawyer will ask a witness
questions in a setting which is out-of-court but in which the witness is under oath. During this
examination, a court reporter will record the witness’s testimony and will prepare a written transcript. You,
via your lawyer, will be responsible for the costs of the deposition, including the court reporter’s fee. Cost:
$1,000-$2,000
Witnesses at trial
Say you want a neighbor or friend to testify as to your fitness as a parent. As mentioned above, part of
the costs associated with witnesses will be your lawyer’s interviewing of the witnesses, including both
your lawyer’s time and travel costs. There are also other costs associated with witnesses, though. If you
subpoena a witness to testify at trial, you will be responsible for their travel expenses and any other
necessary expenses. The court may also require you to pay the expenses of a witness which the court
deems necessary to have testify in order to determine the best interests of the child. Cost: $100+
Mediation
If your decide, or the Judge orders you to, mediation this is an additional cost. Mediators usually charge
by the hour in Minnesota and just like your lawyer, the hourly race can be $140/up to $400/hour. It’s
usually a good idea to budget for this lasting all day. Cost: $500-$1,000
Custody Evaluator
A custody evaluator is an expert who will spend time with you and your child (and your ex) as well as talk
to many witnesses about how you are as a parent. This is very quick post (More on that in a later
post). Cost: $1,500-$5,000.
And finally, having read through this list, you may be thinking that your ex should be responsible for some
or all of these costs. In general, this is not how it works in Minnesota; the usual rule is that each party
pays his and her own costs and expenses. However, there are exceptions for when one of you doesn’t
have enough money to properly assert your rights in court, or for when one person’s unreasonable
conduct contributes to the length and expense of the proceeding.
Also, keep in mind this does not include anything having to do with alimony, spousal maintenance,
dividing a small business, etc. etc. The costs listed here only deal with custody fights. As you can see it
adds up and can be expensive, it’s best to settle the case if you can, but if not get ready to spend an
enormous sum of money fighting for your kids in Minnesota.
Any comments or question feel free to email me at Jason Kohlmeyer. Feel free to stop by our Minnesota
Family Law Blog to get some more tips.
Jason Kohlmeyer
Mankato, Minnesota
507-625-5000