How Orlando Divorce Attorneys Charge For Representation During Divorce?
The cost of your divorce is dependent on several factors. Highly contested and complicated divorces tend to cost more than divorces that are settled in mediation. Generally speaking, the more disputes require resolution, the more likely it is that your divorce will cost more money. The trick to keeping your costs low is to resolve all matters in mediation and present a unified divorce decree to the court with the aid of a mediator.
How do law firms charge in divorce cases?
Different law firms use different forms of billing or retainers. Three of the most common are:
- Flat fee retainers – In this setup, a client pays an attorney a flat fee retainer. The client gives the attorney some amount of money, and the attorney promises that they will be on the case until a set point regardless of how long it takes to reach a final settlement. Most of the time, it begins with mediation and then from mediation, it would head through to trial and appeals, if necessary. Flat fees are generally non-refundable. If your case should settle early or not proceed, the attorney would likely not refund the difference.
- Non-refundable retainer – In Florida, this is the most popular type of fee arrangement in divorce cases. Here, the client would pay the attorney a retainer, usually between $2,500 and $5,000, which is not refundable. The attorney then keeps track of the time devoted to the case and should the amount of work they perform exceed the retainer, they would then ask for a second, non-refundable retainer. The major issue with this fee structure is that although the client makes fewer payments, those payments tend to be much larger. Additionally, if the case settles early or does not proceed, the amount of money you paid to the attorney is non-refundable. That means you won’t be seeing that money again.
- Positive trust balance – With a positive trust balance fee structure, the attorney asks the clients to make smaller refundable deposits to the firm’s trust/escrow account. The funds still belong to the client until they are earned by the law firm for the work that the firm performs. This ensures that the attorney only keeps funds for which they have actually done work as opposed to non-refundable deposits that belong to the law firm no matter what. An average amount that the firm may ask for is around $1,500. This figure could increase if the divorce case is contested or complex.
Talk to an Orlando Divorce Lawyer Today
Greater Orlando Family Law represents the interests of Orlando residents who are pursuing a divorce. We can help you with all the major issues that divorce brings up such as equitable distribution of the marital estate, alimony, child custody, and child support. Call our Orlando family lawyers today to schedule an appointment, and we can begin discussing your next steps right away.
