Cost of a Divorce

Family Law Attorney Representing Residents of Bergen County and Surrounding Areas

When a married couple decides to divorce, one issue that often looms is the costs that will be involved. The inconvenient fact is that obtaining a divorce may be an expensive proposition. If you would like to discuss how much your divorce is likely to cost, Bergen County divorce lawyer Howard B. Leopold can assist you. He has helped numerous residents of Northern New Jersey with many different types of cases in over two decades of practice, and he can provide you with an honest review of the costs that you are likely to encounter during this process.

Factors That May Affect the Cost of a Divorce in New Jersey

It may be daunting to confront the time and effort required to work out the logistics of your divorce. This may involve characterizing your assets, appraising them, and dividing them, as well as determining if any form of alimony is warranted, working out a parenting plan to divide time with your children, and calculating an appropriate amount of child support.

Working through these matters takes time and effort, even if your spouse and you are willing to reach an agreement on all of them. But the reality is that divorces rarely proceed without any disagreement. And since you cannot have a final divorce decree until these matters are resolved, your spouse and you likely each will need to enlist an attorney at some point.

Some of the factors that may affect the cost of a divorce include whether your divorce is a fault or no-fault divorce. If your complaint is based on grounds such as adultery or abuse, you will need to provide evidence, which may require you to hire a private detective or obtain evidence in some other fashion. If the allegations involve conduct that directly relates to the marital finances or a spouse’s parenting abilities, expenditures at this initial stage may help you obtain a more favorable final settlement with regard to the division of assets, alimony, or child custody.

If your spouse and you just need help negotiating and finalizing the details after agreeing on most of the major issues, you may be able to keep the costs down. But if your case proceeds through successive stages of negotiation, mediation, or even trial, you should expect costs to go up significantly. A trial will require your attorney to spend a lot of time preparing the case, such as conducting legal research, drafting and filing pleadings and motions, interviewing and deposing witnesses, and gathering and organizing evidence. You will also incur additional court fees.

Finding out what the law requires and completing the paperwork correctly will take time. An experienced divorce attorney who already knows what the law requires, how to get expert appraisals, how to calculate child support obligations, how to draft documents, and how to handle other tasks may reduce your effort significantly.

If you have young children, your spouse and you will need to work out a custody plan and calculate child support. If you work out an agreement, you should still have the plan drafted and reviewed by a qualified attorney. However, if you have serious disagreements, you should expect to incur attorney fees, as well as costs for custody evaluations or psychological evaluations. If your case goes to trial, you should expect costs to increase accordingly.

Contact a Bergen County Lawyer During a Divorce Proceeding

While the cost of a divorce may be daunting, the orders contained in a divorce decree may have a significant and long-lasting impact on your financial and personal future, and the cost of “getting it wrong” may prove to be considerably greater. If you need help with protecting your interests, call Bergen County divorce attorney Howard B. Leopold at (201) 345-5907 or contact us through our online form to set up a free consultation. He represents people who need a family law attorney throughout Bergen, Hudson, Passaic, and Essex Counties, including in Hackensack, Englewood, Bergenfield, Cliffside Park, Dumont, Edgewater, Elmwood Park, Fair Lawn, Fairview, Fort Lee, Franklin Lakes, Garfield, Glen Rock, Hasbrouck Heights, Hillsdale, Little Ferry, Lodi, Lyndhurst, Mahwah, New Milford, North Arlington, Oakland, Palisades Park, Paramus, Ramsey, Ridgefield, Ridgefield Park, Ridgewood, River Edge, Rutherford, Saddle Brook, Teaneck, Tenafly, Wallington, Westwood, Wyckoff, Paterson, Newark, and Jersey City.