How much does divorce cost?  To a large degree, you control the cost of your divorce.  If you or your spouse want a knock down-drag out heavily litigated case, fees can be high.  If you and your spouse are willing to sit down and discuss resolution without the legal bloodshed, we can get you through with minimal costs and damage to the estate.

I’ve had cases where I’ve literally been in court 2-3 times PER WEEK on every issue imaginable.  If your case requires that kind of attention, I give it.  I’ve also had cases where I’ve been in court 2 times during the entire process.  Guess who was happier in the end?  Guess who got a higher percentage of the total estate?  Guess which case had more left in the marital estate to divide? Guess which case cost less?

It’s impossible to tell you, with any degree of accuracy, how much your case is ultimately going to cost.  So many factors play into how much work needs to be done.  During our initial consultation I will give you a ballpark estimate.  But it’s impossible to do that until I know more facts.

Your case will be as expensive as you and your spouse want it to be.  I’ve thrown punches with the rest of the best, but  I think my job is to also fight for you to actually have something left after the fight is over.

For an uncontested divorce WITHOUT children, most divorce attorneys will charge between $2,500.00 and $3,000.00 plus court costs.  If children are involved, and the case is truely uncontested, between $3,000 and $4,000.00 plus court costs.  The “spread” on how much each service costs is a function of how much that particular divorce attorney charges per hour to draft your documents and appear in Court.  My rates for an uncontested without children? $1,500.00 plus costs.  With Children $2,000.00 plus costs.

The reason I charge more for cases with children is the additional work that’s necessary preparing the Parenting Agreement.  See my attorney rates page for more information on how we can budget your divorce.

I do know that each county has it’s own fee for filing the Petition for Dissolution as well as the defendant’s appearance. Each county is different, but the general costs for filing a divorce petition are between $223.00 (Kendall County) and $290.00 (DuPage County) and around $180 for the defendant’s appearance.  All other filings after that point are free of court costs.

During your initial consultation we’ll discuss a realistic approach to not only leveraging your strong points and minimizing your exposure, but we will also develop strategy to do it in a cost effective manner.

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