Recent studies tell us that nearly half of all marriages end in divorce. It’s just the reality we live in.  If you’re reading this then maybe you are thinking about getting a divorce. I want to first say that you should try every reasonable effort to stay married if it is a loving and healthy relationship. Once you’ve made the decision to get a divorce there are many things you will need to consider. Some of these will apply to every case. It just depends on your circumstances. The main considerations in a divorce case are child custody and visitation, child support, division of property and the division of debts.

  Here are some general considerations for every divorce case. Once a divorce is filed you must wait 60 days before it can be finalized. Although it is rare, you can actually have everything ready and get your divorce finalized on day number 61. However, you should not expect that to happen. Most divorces simply require more time to gather all of the necessary information and to work everything out.

This is a very important consideration. Divorce cases can get very expensive. They can also be properly managed to keep costs down.

Initiating any kind of family law case will have some court costs. The amount of court costs depend on what is being filed. You can expect anything from $50.00 - $320.00. There are also fees to have a person served with the papers, and possible subpoena and witness fees as well. It just depends on your particular case.

I promise, I understand the concern and worry over how much it is going to cost. Most  lawyers charge by the hour. This can be anywhere from $100 - $400 dollars an hour here in the Panhandle, depending on the attorney and their experience. Charging by the hour creates a big question on how much it will cost. After years of experience and handling thousands of cases I can make a pretty good estimate of the amount of time it takes to accomplish certain things in a divorce. There are many things that may be needed in a divorce case. For example, your case might need a hearing to establish some temporary orders for everyone to follow while the divorce is pending. This is usually necessary in cases involving children. You might need a special order regarding the division of retirement funds. Your case might need to go through a discovery process to gather information about property and debts. Your case might also need a full blown contested trial in the end. After years of practice I have a pretty good idea how much work it takes to accomplish these separate tasks. Obviously, a simple divorce with no children, and an agreement on how to divide property and debts will cost much less. A more complicated case requires more work. Sadly, it also relies a little on the other side. If they are combative and refuse to cooperate it can drag out and get costly. Working with your attorney and dividing some of the work can help keep your costs down.