FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS 1. HOW DO I KNOW IF MY CASE IS “UNCONTESTED”?
An “uncontested” case is one that is capable of being settled quickly and amicably, without requiring any court appearance. We meet with you to discuss the facts and circumstances of your case and prepare all the necessary documents to be filed with the Court, including a Settlement Agreement, which will require the signatures of both you and your spouse. If your spouse is willing to return the documents to our office fully signed, then the matter will be “uncontested.” If you and your spouse have already discussed how you want to finalize your divorce and you have agreed on how to resolve all issues regarding alimony, child custody, child support, property division, debt division, etc. and you have agreed that you will seek my help to prepare the documents, that is a good indication that you may have an uncontested case. If you and your spouse have already disagreed between yourselves, if he or she has retained an attorney or threatened to retain an attorney, if you and your spouse are unable to communicate in a peaceful manner, that is a good indication that this will be a CONTESTED Case. A “contested” case is any case in which your spouse will not agree to sign the prepared Settlement Agreement as written, OR if your spouse hires an attorney to negotiate on his/her behalf, OR a court hearing is required because the parties have not settled, OR our firm has been dealing with your case for more than thirty (30) days and there is still no final Settlement Agreement in place. 2. a. b. c. d. e. f. g. WHAT DOCUMENTS ARE REQUIRED FOR AN UNCONTESTED DIVORCE? Complaint For Divorce Verification, signed by you; Acknowledgment of Service, signed by your spouse; Consent to Try First Term, signed by you and your spouse; Settlement Agreement, signed by you and your spouse; Financial Affidavit Child Support Worksheets (if children)
Additional documents may also need to be filed, depending on the county of the Court. Please note that some counties require a final hearing in all divorce cases.
3.
HOW LONG DOES A DIVORCE TAKE?
A divorce can be obtained in as little as thirty-one (31) days from the filing of the signed Acknowledgement of Service with the Court, provided that there is a fully executed Settlement Agreement. If there are minor children, most Judges require that both parents attend a parenting seminar before the divorce will be final. Information regarding the parenting seminar is available at the Superior Court Clerk’s office or on most Superior Court web sites. If you and your spouse are unable to reach a final Settlement Agreement, the process can take several months or longer. Please understand that the Court controls its own calendar and therefore the Court determines when your case will be scheduled for trial and/or hearings. The Court can also order the parties to participate in mediation before it will schedule a trial or hearing in the case. 4. HOW MUCH DOES A DIVORCE COST?
There are many factors that determine how much your divorce will cost, but the key factor will be your financial circumstances and how long and hard you are willing to pay for the fight in Court. You ultimately control the costs of your case by deciding what you are willing to pay for, including the scope of your legal services. The axiom “you get what you pay for” is just as true with legal services as it is with any other product or service that you have shopped for in the past. The standard equipment on a Toyota is not the same as the standard equipment on a Mercedes. We require an advance retainer for all cases regardless of whether the case is expected to be contested or uncontested. In most contested cases, our firm charges approximately $250.00 per hour for attorney time and $125 per hour for paralegal time. The cost of your case will depend upon whether or not discovery is required, how many court appearances are required, whether or not you require a trial to resolve any issues, etc. A routine uncontested divorce may cost as little as $599.00, or more depending upon the county you live in and whether or not there are children of the marriage. 5. WHAT IS A RETAINER?
Our firm requires that an initial retainer be provided in advance of any work being performed in your case. This retainer serves to compensate the Attorney for time spent in the case and for permanent disqualification of the Attorney from representation of any party adverse to you in the future. Therefore, all initial retainers paid shall be non-refundable. In many cases, we also require a deposit retainer to be paid in advance to be held until the completion of your case to ensure payment of all fees at the conclusion of your case. The retainer is usually determined by the amount of time estimated to cover the initial costs of preparing the necessary paperwork in your case and filing it with the court. Please note that this is an estimate and many factors can cause the actual cost to increase or decrease.
6.
DO YOU HANDLE CASES ON A “FLAT FEE” BASIS?
No. Our time, as is the custom with the most divorce attorneys, is billed on an hourly basis for all time spent, which includes telephone time, conferences, document preparation, research, and court appearances. For most uncontested cases, we determine the initial retainer based on the routine amount of time normally required under the specific circumstances and usually, the Client is not required to pay any additional amount so long as everything goes as planned. However, we cannot predict the future and more importantly, cannot control the other party. Obviously if you retain us for an uncontested divorce and we are still dealing with your case sixty (60) days later and your spouse is refusing to sign the paperwork, we will have to charge you for additional time not originally contemplated. 7. DO YOU CHARGE A CONSULTATION FEE?
Yes. We charge our normal hourly rate for all office consultations. Most consultations take approximately 1 hour if you come prepared with all the questionnaires completed ahead of time. Thus, the normal consultation fee is $250.00 per hour for partners and $225.00 per hour for associates. Payment for the initial consultation is due at the time of the appointment in advance of the consultation. Payment may be made by cash, check, credit card or money order. 8. CAN MY SPOUSE AND I MEET YOU TOGETHER TO DISCUSS A SETTLEMENT? Yes. We can schedule a joint conference so long as your spouse has no attorney and acknowledges that we cannot represent both of you. We can, however, prepare documents and discuss matters in controversy for purposes of helping you to reach an agreement between yourselves. 9. WHAT IS MEDIATION?
Mediation is an informal process involving a mediator, a neutral third party, whose goal is to help the parties reach an agreement on all disputed issues. In most cases, mediation is voluntary but the Court can order the parties to mediate. However, the parties are usually under no obligation to reach an agreement. The Mediator cannot be called to testify regarding any issues discussed in mediation, so it offers an excellent opportunity for the parties to talk openly about their disputed issues and work towards a resolution. Mediation is an effective tool that the parties can use to resolve their disputes. It can and often does result in the parties reaching a resolution without having to incur the expensive costs of litigating. 10. DO EITHER OF US HAVE THE RIGHT TO TERMINATE SERVICES?
Yes. If at any time you decide that you want to select another attorney, you are free to do so. Likewise, we have the right to withdraw. We will not go to a final bench trial (trial before a judge) or a jury trial without payment of legal fees at the usual hourly rate. If the case gets to the point where trial appears to be the only
probable way of terminating the marriage, we will discuss the fees required in advance so that you will have the opportunity to make arrangements for payment of legal fees. 12. WHAT IS DISCOVERY?
Discovery is the process of information exchange between the parties and their respective attorneys in order to assess the strengths and weaknesses of each party’s case. The purpose is to narrow the issues for trial. The most frequently used discovery tools are Depositions, Request For Interrogatories and Request For Production of Documents and rarely, Request For Admissions. Interrogatories are a series of questions directed to either party requesting specific information and the party served is required to provide written answers. An example of a discovery question might be “Identify all witnesses you expect to call in the trial of this case.” Request For Production of Documents is a request for specific documents from one party to the other party. An example would be “Please produce a copy of all your bank statements for the last two years.” The party served is required to produce the requested documents, absent a legal objection. Depositions are another less frequently used (in divorce) method of discovery due to the expense involved. A deposition is a process whereby a party is compelled to orally answer questions under oath, which are taken down by a Court Reporter in the form of a transcript. The parties must bear the expense of the Court reporter, their respective attorney, and the cost of the transcript if they choose to order it. Depositions can cost hundreds of dollars or more, depending on the length of the deposition, but can be a very effective tool in the litigation process. 13. HOW DO WE COMMUNICATE WITH YOU?
Please note that even brief telephone calls and emails are added to time spent on your case and frequent calls and emails can very quickly increase your bill. In addition, we are often in court or meeting with other clients and are not available by telephone during these times. Telephone calls are taken during normal office hours on a limited basis and you are encouraged to communicate via email or fax whenever possible to avoid playing phone tag. We do not take phone calls at home related to your case. On occasion it is necessary to share a cell phone number with clients for a very specific purpose. Any calls placed to personal cell phones without prior permission from the attorney will be charged $50.00 per call. Our schedule is extremely regimented and all meetings with an attorney must be by appointment. To schedule a time, please contact my paralegal Tammi Cummings.