How much will my Divorce cost?

Every divorce case is different and every case will therefore have different costs. For instance, if you are Tiger Woods your costs could include the loss of endorsement deals, in addition to the more typical costs of attorney's fees, alimony, etc. And that's not even taking into account whether or not you think his poor playing of late is also caused by the stress of his divorce.

To generalize for those of you who are not billionaire celebrities, though, I can tell you that there will still be significant costs to getting divorced and they will include:

1. The Emotional Cost: Divorce is often described as the second most stressful event in a person's life (next to the death of a loved one). We can't ignore that stresses in our life have a cost on our daily productivity, our ability to be optimistic, and our availability to deal with other stressful events. This cost is often best addressed through therapy or family support, and just because it can't be fixed through the legal process doesn't mean it should be ignored.

2. The Financial Cost: The financial price of your divorce has two parts: the cost of splitting up joint finances, and the actual price you will pay to become divorced.

2a. Joint Finances -> Individual Finances: It is a simple fact that it costs more to support two households than one. Whether or not your case warrants child support or alimony, there will still be a cost to dividing up the assets and liabilities that you and your spouse shared during the marriage. Many people will need to learn how to manage their finances, because this is something that their spouse used to do. Even if you helped manage the finances, you will need to consider how your budget will have to change now that you only have access to a portion of the assets you once did. This should include changing how you plan for retirement. All of this begins with a true, accurate and complete Financial Statement. A good Financial Statement is not just a tool for the Court, but can also help you and your attorney figure out how you will meet your budget as a single person.

2b. The Pricetag: And finally, the most obvious cost of divorce is the actual out-of-pocket cost to obtain the Judgment of Divorce. In Massachusetts, the Filing fee for divorce is currently $215 ($200 + $15.00 surcharge), and an additional $5 for the Summons if you filed a Complaint for Divorce instead of a Joint Petition.

In addition to the filing fee, if you hire an attorney their rates and fees can vary greatly. I always recommend that my potential clients interview multiple attorneys. Although cost is certainly one factor, it is my opinion that trust is the most important factor when interviewing an attorney. If you can't trust your attorney, then they won't be able to do their job and you will end up spending more money in the long run anyway.

To learn more about what we charge for Divorce, call Attorney Justin L. Kelsey, Esq. at (508) 655-5980 or click here to schedule a free one-hour consultation.

5 Worst Divorce Mistakes - MISTAKE #4: "Do I have to tell the court about EVERYTHING?"

MISTAKE #4: FAILING TO MAKE FULL DISCLOSURE

Another costly mistake that many parties make in divorce cases is failing to disclose all of their assets or debts. As we have previously stated, divorce is about the break-up of a business partnership. If we don't know what went into the partnership, how can we split it up appropriately and completely.

Whether through laziness or deceitfulness, parties often fail to put all of their information on their Rule 401 Financial Statement. Financial Statements, however, are signed under the pains and penalties of perjury as TRUE, ACCURATE, and COMPLETE statements of all of your income, expenses, assets and liabilities. The consequences of lying or filing an incomplete Financial Statement are significant, and could include a Judge finding you to be an unreliable witness at trial (i.e. take all relevant testimony from your spouse only). In addition, if a settlement is reached in your case and it is later discovered that a particular asset was left off your Financial Statement, the settlement could be voided for fraud, and that asset awarded to your spouse.

Not taking the form seriously is such a typical mistake that one of the most common ways that a lawyer will cross-examine a party in a divorce case is to compare different financial statements filed during the course of the case. Carelessness often leads to inconsistencies that can make you look like a liar.

Even worse, parties that think that they can hide assets, are often found out. Not only is all of their testimony suspect from that point on, the Judge is then highly motivated to award an uneven share of the known assets to the other party in the event there are other hidden assets.

In short, take the Financial Statement seriously and don't lie. Full disclosure is the key to a reasonable and quick settlement. Failure to disclose will almost certainly ensure drawn out and expensive litigation.

Click here to view Mistake #3.

How Much Will my Divorce cost? How Can I Pay for it?

The one question that everyone asks at the end of their initial divorce consultation is "how much is this going to cost?" And with good reason, because cost is a valid concern, especially for many of our clients who have lower or middle class incomes and lifestyles. Unfortunately, the answer is vague and unsatisfying because it depends on so many factors. I try to provide clients at the initial consult with some idea of what I expect the range to be for their case based on what I've learned during that brief time. But some of the factors are truly unpredictable, most significantly how much the other side wants to fight.

There are many ways to reduce the cost of a divorce. In some cases, where both parties are well-informed and willing to cooperate, mediation can be a cheaper option then hiring two lawyers for the whole process. Even if you both have attorneys, following the court Rules and providing documents and other information in a timely fashion can help reduce the costs. For example, just spending the time to draft a complete Financial Statement saves your attorney time having to walk you through each individual question.

Unfortunately, if your spouse does not cooperate with the court Rules and Orders by trying to hide assets, or delaying the disclosure of documents, the costs increase because your attorney has to do more work to chase down the information necessary to advise you. This can be frustrating for clients because it means they do not have control over some of the reasons that attorney's time (and therefore fees) can increase significantly. Because family court is a court of equity it is possible to request that the opposing party pay for fees that are due to their delay or wrongdoing, but often these requests are denied or ordered only partially.

So what do you do if you don't have the funds to pay for divorce counsel, or don't have access to the funds because your spouse controls the finances?

For those with significant marital estates, a recent New York Times article has highlighted the latest in divorce funding options: companies that invest in your divorce. Of course, these companies request a contingency fee in exchange for funding your legal fees (something which attorneys are not allowed to do in divorce cases pursuant to the ethics rules). Because they expect a contingency, these companies only invest in high asset cases, one of the owners describing their ideal case as one with two to five million dollars in marital assets.

For many of our clients and probably many of our readers, these figures are not realistic. However, if you cannot pay for a lawyer there are a number of options for you to still obtain legal advice. There are numerous legal aid services that you may qualify for, and there is a webpage that contains a directory of these services available in Massachusetts.

In addition, it is possible that the Judge will order your spouse to pay your legal fees if he or she has control over assets that would help you pay for counsel. This request will depend on the specific facts of your case and the availability of funds. You may be able to find an attorney who will take your case and file such a Motion based on a small retainer and the likelihood of receiving further funds.

Also, many attorneys offer a free initial consultation. Even if you are unable to eventually hire that attorney, the initial consultation could still provide you with invaluable information regarding your rights and obligations in a divorce case.

Finally, there is also a Lawyer-of-the-Day program in many courts in Massachusetts. As part of that program an attorney volunteers their time for the day to answer legal questions and help potential litigants fill out forms in the courthouse. If you plan to meet with the Lawyer of the Day try to get to the Courthouse early (it opens at 8:30 A.M.) because the line can fill up quickly on a busy day and sometimes they only stay until 3:00 P.M.

How do I get Divorced if I don't speak English?

Even if you don't speak English, the Probate & Family Courts in Massachusetts have made an effort to be accessible to all. If you do not speak English well enough to be comfortable understanding a Judge at a court hearing or to complete the forms, notify the court staff and they can arrange for an Interpreter to be present at any court hearing through the Office of Interpreter Services.

In addition, if your native language is Spanish or Portuguese (which represents 86 percent of the non-english speaking litigants in Massachusetts), the Court has released a short form Financial Statement and Instructions in each of those languages, available for download here.

Unless the irony of this blog title is lost on you, you're probably wondering how someone is supposed to read this who doesn't speak English. For that reason, we are re-posting this Blog in both a:

Spanish Version / Versión española
Portuguese Version / Versão Português

(with special thanks to the friends of our firm who translated this post for us)

The Cleavers Divorce: Collaborative Law, Mediation or Litigation - Part I

The votes are cast - The Cleavers and Mediation:

Ward is a businessman and June is a stay-at-home mom. They have two children Wally and Beaver. Ward handles all of the finances and June handles most of the home care including parenting, although once in a while Ward is needed to help discipline the children (in a very stern but fair kind of way).

Ward and June agree that the spark and color had left their marriage long ago and that they were only staying together for the children. They have agreed that a divorce would be best and have already sat down to a family meeting with Wally and the Beaver and explained that although Mom and Dad are getting a divorce, they will still both be involved regularly in the children's lives, that it is not the children's fault and that they both love the children very much.

Ward, eager to move forward with the divorce quickly and as cheaply as possible, suggests that they attend mediation and provides June with the name of a mediator he has found. Agreeing with the logic of using a mediator, June agrees and they attend their first mediation meeting.

At the first meeting, the Mediator explains how mediation works, telling Ward and June that the mediator does not represent either of them, and that their job is only to help Ward and June reach an agreement, not to steer them in any particular direction. The mediator explains that they will both have to provide a Financial Statement and that they should begin thinking about what they each want for a custody and visitation plan, and for the division of assets and liabilities.

After the meeting Ward informs June that he wants joint custody and that he will help her do her Financial Statement since he has all of the financial information. He also wants to sell the house and he asks her to agree to this immediately so they can list the house for sale as soon as possible.

June is worried that she doesn't know enough about their finances to know whether the house has to be sold. She also realizes that she doesn't really know what joint or sole custody means. June talks to her friends who all suggest that she meet with an attorney. After meeting with a few attorneys, June realizes she needs help and hires an attorney. Upon realizing that June has hired an attorney, Ward feels like June was trying to get an advantage behind his back and hires an attorney as well. They end up proceeding through litigation, because June's attorney insists on filing the Complaint for Divorce to protect the assets with the Automatic Stay and to provide for mandatory discovery. Eventually they settle their case at Pre-Trial.

COULD THIS HAVE GONE BETTER: Because of June's lack of knowledge about the finances it was likely that she would feel uncomfortable at some point in the mediation, even if Ward hadn't pushed her at the beginning to be more ready to make decisions. Her lack of information was going to make it difficult for her to make decisions. This could have been resolved by June being more aggressive, but if this has not been the pattern in the marriage it was unlikely to change now. For these reasons June needed an adviser/advocate, i.e. her own lawyer.

If the parties had communicated their intentions better, it is possible June and Ward would still have been able to use mediation, and just have their lawyers advise them individually as to the Agreement and disclosure of financial information.

This was likely a more ideal case for Collaborative Law, because of June's need for a representative. In Collaborative Law both parties and lawyers agree to commit to working towards a settlement and to not file litigation. In a true Collaborative Law agreement, the lawyers also agree that if the case goes to litigation that they will not represent the parties, i.e. both lawyers are thus committed to the settlement path as well. Although there's the danger of having to pay two lawyers each, the advantage is the great potential for a less acrimonious process.

Because both Ward and June committed to settlement, but just had an imbalance of power/knowledge, they would have been best served by Collaborative Law.


There's still time to vote for what the Huxtables and Kramdens should do: leave a comment here.

Should your Mediator draft Court Paperwork?

Once an agreement is reached, a mediator who is also an attorney can help the individuals prepare court documents, such as the Separation Agreement. If you need assistance preparing your Financial Statement, or you need advice as to whether an Agreement is in your best interest then you should consult with an individual attorney. Although, a Mediator can help you prepare an Agreement, they cannot provide you with individual legal advice.

Some attorneys do not believe it is appropriate, or "kosher", for attorney/mediators to prepare any court documents because it is too close to the services performed by individual legal counsel. At Kelsey & Trask, P.C. we assist our mediation clients in completing the necessary court forms to ensure that they have been adequately informed about how to successfully present a Joint Petition for Divorce. We believe the goal of a divorce mediation is to reach this successful conclusion and part of that is correctly filling out a Joint Petition for Divorce and the appropriate and required pleadings.

For other opinions on this issue check out the Email Exchange entitled Is it Kosher for an Attorney/Mediator to Draft Court Paperwork for Clients? located on page 22 of the Spring 2010 issue of the Family Mediation Quarterly.

Is my iTunes Account a Marital Asset?

In Massachusetts, everything that either party to a divorce action owns or owes, regardless of whether it was acquired during the marriage or not, is subject to division in a divorce case. How it might be divided is a different question, but in order for that evaluation to happen, all assets and liabilities must first be disclosed. Massachusetts requires individuals involved in divorce cases to submit financial statements disclosing all of their assets and liabilities within 45 days of opening a divorce case.

The assets to be listed on a financial statement are to include everything. This includes the most commonly thought of assets, such as physical assets (artwork, automobiles, jewelry, houses, etc.) and financial accounts (bank, investment, stock, retirement, etc.). This disclosure should also include items which you might not think about as assets.

One example of an asset that many people don't typically think about is their frequent flyer miles, which was parodied in the beginning of the movie Wedding Crashers (warning: link includes profanity).

In the digital age there are other digital assets (such as a significant iTunes library) which you may also not think of as a typical asset, but which should be disclosed. These are becoming more common as digital libraries can now include, games, movies and even books. A recent article on TechCrunch, What If You Could Legally Resell Your Digital Music? ReDigi May Have Found The Solution., suggests that companies may start brokering digital accounts, which could result in them being even easier to transfer, and therefore more similar to a traditional (non-digital) asset. Essentially your iTunes account of 200 CDs would be similar to actually owning 200 CDs. Of course, there may be restrictions on transferring these assets and any agreement should be mindful of recent legal decisions concerning the distribution of digital copyrighted materials.

While, a digital asset is subject to division in the resolution of a divorce case, they will not always have significant value and may be a non-issue. Failing to disclose an asset, however, could be a significant issue and open you to criticism and possible fraud or perjury allegations. Therefore, when completing your Financial Statement we always advise, err on the side of disclosure even if you have to include explanatory footnotes regarding value or restrictions on transfer.

To read more visit our post: The Financial Statement and the Importance of Honesty.