Why Are Some Divorces So Expensive?

If you are considering the possibility of filing for divorce, you might be concerned about the financial costs of the divorce process. While you should certainly be planning a budget for life after your divorce is finalized, we know that many spouses have concerns about the sheer cost of the divorce case itself. You might have spoken with friends or family members who spent substantial amounts of money just to get their divorces finalized. Why are some divorces so expensive? The answer often concerns disputes between the spouses and the need for extensive time for a divorce lawyer and multiple hearings before a judge. Our Illinois divorce lawyers can provide factors that often affect the cost of a divorce, and we can offer some tips for reducing the overall expense of your divorce case.

Common Reasons Why Divorces are Expensive

According to a recent article in U.S. News & World Report, depending upon your particular circumstances, “with a divorce, you can easily spend $15,000.” What leads some divorces to be so costly? The following are factors that can increase the price tag of an Illinois divorce case:

• Disputes between spouses: When spouses cannot reach an agreement about one or more issues in their divorce, the divorce case tends to take much longer, and it tends to cost significantly more. When issues are in dispute, such as the division of marital property or the allocation of parental responsibilities, your attorney will need to prepare to handle the dispute and to advocate for you, and one or more court hearings will need to occur so that a judge can resolve the dispute. Generally speaking, the more issues in dispute, the more expensive a divorce is likely to be.
• Having minor children from your marriage: If you are getting divorced and you share minor children with your spouse, your divorce will likely cost more money because parental responsibilities will need to be allocated and the court will need to determine each parent’s child support obligation. Even if you can reach an agreement about the allocation of parental responsibilities with your spouse through a parenting plan, your divorce is still likely to take a bit more time.
• Contacting your divorce attorney often: While there will certainly be times in which it is necessary to be in contact with your divorce lawyer, making constant contact and asking for answers to a wide variety of questions can result in additional attorney’s fees. As such, you should only contact your lawyer when you need to do so.
• Hiring an expensive divorce attorney: While it is important to have an experienced lawyer on your side during your divorce—and your divorce is not a time to look for a “budget option”—some divorce attorneys charge significantly more than others. 

You may be able to reduce the overall costs of your divorce by considering family mediation to resolve disputes, creating an agreed-upon parenting plan if you have children, and limiting contact with your divorce lawyer (while still contacting your attorney when necessary).

Contact Our Illinois Divorce Lawyers

Our experienced Illinois divorce lawyers can provide you with more information about the divorce process, and we can explain how to reduce costs as much as possible in a divorce case. Contact Arami Law, Inc. to learn more about how we can assist you.