Our Fees

 

Memphis Divorce Law Fees

Their are two types of divorces. A Contested Divorce and an Uncontested Divorce.

You Pick Your Fee!

We charge flat fees so you don’t receive any surprise bills in the mail, and have an open door policy when it comes to asking questions. We want you to understand your Memphis divorce and more importantly, feel comfortable with the planning you’re doing for it.

We offer a flat fee for all uncontested divorces where there are no children involved in the marriage.

OUR Memphis Uncontested Divorce FEES:

$500 for Uncontested Irreconcilable Differences (no fault) Divorces where there are no children.

$750 for All other Fault Based Uncontested Divorces.

These fees include ONE office visit and court appearance. Additional fees apply if more than one office visit or court appearance is needed. Their is an additional fee of $500 if there are children involved in the divorce. Additional court appearances cost $300 per appearance if requested and additional offices meetings are $250 if requested. All fees must be paid in Advance.

An uncontested divorce is for couples who have ALL issues settled and agreed upon. You will meet with your attorney to answer any questions you might have. Before this intial meeting we will send you a packet to complete which includes vital information and a worksheet to resolve all important issues. You must complete the packet and submit it to us along with your check in full at least 3 business days before your intial meeting. We will put the documentation into proper form and then will file it with the Court and set a hearing date . The spouse that filed the request will have to appear in Court. The Judge will then approve the Marital Dissolution Agreement and sign the Final Decree of Divorce which we prepare.

Memphis Contested Divorce FEES:

How Other Memphis Divorce Lawyers Bill

In a contested divorce it is impossible to determine beforehand the amount of work that will be required in handling the case. Many different issues arise in a contested divorce. Because of this there is no way to know what the cost will eventually be. A contested divorce using a Memphis divorce attorney could be as much as $100,000, depending on the issues and assets involved.

The intial legal stages of a contested divorce includes a lot of research and preparation that must be made. This is called discovery. If there isn’t a lot of discovery needed and if the case quickly settles in court then legal fees will be lower. However, if there is a big difference in opinion between the spouses and a lot of discovery is needed then the fees will likely be much higher.

Here’s how a typical Memphis divorce attorney would charge you for a contested divorce.

  • They would charge initial retainer fee for a contested divorce for about $5,000. They would then bill you for each hour they spent working on your case at roughly $200-$350  per hour, plus administrative costs. This would be drawn down off the intitial retainer.

  • Once the retainer is gone they would then ask for another retainer and bill you by the hour drawing from it.

  • This would continue on until you either ran out of money or the divorce was settled.

Our Value-Based Flat Fee Billing for

Memphis Contested Divorces Saves You

Money!

If we determine that your Memphis divorce is a case that we can take (i.e. if it is a good fit for you and for our firm), then we would set a fixed fee for the representation.

What that means is that we don’t charge you by the hour. So, you don’t have to feel like we are asking you to write a blank check - because you have the certainty of knowing what the fee will be. You also don’t have to worry that every time you call that the meter is running.

There are three phases to the litigation in a Memphis divorce:

  • the initiation phase

  • the discovery phase

  • and the trial preparation phase.

Each stage includes a different amount of work that is needed to be completed before moving on to the next stage. If we decide to take your case we will give you materials that map out the chronology of a typical Memphis divorce case and what we do in each stage along the way (including the value added services that we provide that other firms in our area do not). The fee if we represent you through all three phases is generally $30,000.

We customarily require an initial payment of $10,000 to begin our representation during the initiation phase. During this intiation phase we do the following work:

  • Filing of the divorce complaint

  • Filing discovery requests

  • And preparing a Settlement Agreement (if we have sufficient information to do so).

In the event the case settles during the initiation phase, then you do not have to pay the $20,000 balance.

If we are not able to settle the case in the initiation phase, then 60 days from the date we file the complaint, we move into the discovery phase. At that point the second $10,000 installment payment is due. 

If the case settles during the discovery phase, then the third and final payment for the trial preparation phase is not due us.

If we do reach the trial preparation phase without resolving the case then
the final installment is due.

Because we do not charge by the hour, you never have to worry about the uncertainty that comes from an unpredictable hourly fee. Also, you are not inhibited from seeking timely advice for fear of an endlessly running meter (e.g. no $75 invoices for a 20 minute phone call).