You cannot give a fixed price for the costs and legal fees associated with your family law case in Michigan. Even if your attorney wanted to estimate a fee, they couldn’t. Divorce cases involve too many variables to be able to forecast how they will turn out, and you are typically reacting to the other party’s actions. It gets even less foreseeable as a result.
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Time is always a factor, along with court procedures and internal law firm procedures. Your own client dynamics haven’t even been taken into account yet. What you may reasonably anticipate is a minimum expense that includes retainers and the cost of appearances. Consider any retainer or appearance costs your lawyer may have provided as a starting point.
Somethings You Need To Know About Before Taking The First Steps in the Divorce Process
Even before getting down to the initial process of divorce, there’s just some things you need to remember because you need to be aware if you should even be doing your divorce in Michigan.
Here’s some things to keep in mind when filing for divorce in Michigan:
[ a ] Michigan is a no-fault state. No-fault divorce means you can obtain a divorce without demonstrating adultery, abandonment, cruelty, or any other wrongdoing. You can get a divorce even if your spouse doesn’t consent. Even if your actions caused your marriage to fail, you are still eligible for a divorce.
[ b ] Before filing, you or your spouse had to have resided in Michigan for at least the previous 180 days. Circuit court in the county where you or your spouse have resided for at least 10 days prior to filing is where you must file for divorce. Although it is customary, you are not required to file in your county of residence. Wherever your spouse resides, you may file.
[ c ] If you meet the aforementioned residency criteria and were married in another state or nation, you are still eligible to file for divorce in Michigan. In Michigan, a divorce can be granted to either spouse without regard to citizenship. However, if your marriage is a condition of your ability to live in the US, a divorce may damage that right.
[ d ] If you have a legally recognized common law marriage, a Michigan court may award you a divorce. A common law marriage is an arrangement between two people to live as husband and wife even though they are not legally wed. Today, just a few states still accept common law marriage. Since 1957, Michigan has prohibited common law marriage. Now Michigan only recognizes common law marriage if such a marriage was entered in a jurisdiction or state accepting common law marriage.
It Does Matter If It’s Contested or Uncontested And If You Have Minor Children
Your divorce can split into distinct categories depending on whether you are both in agreement amicably about your divorce or if there is animosity between. It will also matter if you have minor children.
The Contested Divorce
The terms of the divorced are disputed by the parties in a contested divorce. The couples can dispute on how to divide the property or whether one spouse has to be paid spousal maintenance. Custody, visitation, and child support arrangements between parents are sometimes disputed.
It may take months or years to resolve a contentious divorce. Discovery and trial planning are conducted by both sides. The court schedules a trial if the parties are unable to resolve their disagreements through mediation or settlement talks. Both sides offer their proof and witnesses at the trial to back up their claims. The judge then renders a decision in accordance with the evidence offered in court and the relevant family court laws.
The Uncontested Divorce
In Michigan, a divorce is considered uncontested if both parties agree to all of the divorce’s terms and circumstances. Property, children, or spousal support are not the subject of their disagreement. The divorce process becomes contentious if there are any terms of the divorce the parties cannot agree upon. The couple saves time and money with an uncontested divorce.
One spouse serves the other spouse with a divorce petition before filing it with the court in an uncontested divorce. The spouse who receives the divorce papers has the option to reply, declaring they are in agreement with all of the terms set forth therein and jointly asking the court to grant the divorce in accordance with those terms.
Divorce With Minor Children and No Minor Children
When your divorce documents are actually filed, it will be designated as a DM designated divorce or a DO designated divorce.
DM is Designated Divorce, Minor Children. All applications for divorce, for separate maintenance, or for annulment involving minor children. Additionally utilized when there are young children involved in intrastate custody, maintenance, divorce, custody, and post-judgment transfers.
DO is Divorce, No Children. In the absence of minor children, any and all demands for divorce, separate maintenance, or annulment. It is also used for intrastate transfers of post-judgment divorce complaints when there are no young children involved.
We just need to mention this here because having a contested divorce means a lot more to do with your divorce matters like property division and alimony. A divorce with minor children will mean you have to talk about custody and parenting time which will define a set of new cases aside from just divorce.
Each case entails a distinct set of attorney fees and per hour servicing costs not to mention court filing fees, mediation fee, petition fee, process server fees, and the more motions and petitions…I think you already get the idea how the calculations will work on your case.
Remember each of these sets of action means more servicing time from your attorney.
Not only are there many forms for each of these filings, there’s a lot of processes to get these forms and documents filed, signed, stamp, and routed. Copies of these documents are usually provided to the other party which means added cost for copies. You will get a rundown of these filings as your attorney’s billing gets into your mail.
The Steps In Your Divorce Process, It Does Add Up Somehow
Before starting the process of divorce, you need to think through if you should or should not file for divorce. Like what we mentioned earlier you must have lived in Michigan for at least 180 days and in the county where the case is filed for at least 10 days in order to petition for divorce in Michigan. The earliest date a divorce can be finalized has a waiting time as well. A couple without children must wait a minimum of 60 days, and a couple with small children must wait 180 days.
Once you have made the decision for the divorce, you can now start the process. Of course, you have to start with a divorce complaint.
The Filing of the Divorce Complaint
A complaint, which is a formal legal document, is the first step in a divorce. The divorce complaint is filed in the Family Division of the Circuit Court in the county where the parties reside and assigned to a family court judge at random. The individual who files is referred to as the “Plaintiff” and the other spouse is the “Defendant.”
Don’t worry about the terms “Plaintiff” and “Defendant”. It’s not good or bad those are just names the court assigns to someone filing and someone receiving the complaint. It does not signify any advantage or disadvantage in the filing process.
The defendant has 21 days (or 28 days if served by mail or outside of the state) from the time the complaint and summons are filed and served on him or her to file an answer admitting or denying each allegation in the complaint.
There are a few different ways to serve divorce papers, but most often a process server delivers the documents to the other party personally. This is usually done with contentious divorce cases. The complainant has the right to petition the court to make specific orders, sometimes known as ex-parte orders, if necessary.
Ex-parte orders can deal with things like child support, parenting time, child custody, protection from abuse or harassment, and an order that forbids the other party from hiding, stealing, or destroying property after receiving divorce papers. At the same time the party receives the complaint, they are simultaneously served with these directives.
The Defendant’s Filing of the Answers to the Divorce Complaint
The defendant responds to the charges in the complaint, stating whether they are true or not. Any contested issues then typically start to surface in the answers. Additionally, a counter-suit for divorce will typically be filed by the person who responds to the complaint.
The case is in dispute after the answer is submitted.
The Defendant’s Failure To Answer the Divorce Complaint
A default order may be entered if the defendant fails to submit an answer. After that, the case becomes an uncontested divorce. However, before the case is over, a defendant who has defaulted may choose to hire a lawyer and ask the court to overturn the default.
Uncontested or contested divorces must first go through a final court hearing to decide if the allegations mentioned in the complaint are true. The party who shows up for the last court hearing is often the plaintiff. The last hearing is not mandatory for the defendant to attend.
The Case Begins In Discovery
As soon as the case gets underway, the attorneys determine which issues are likely to be contested and gather the pertinent information through research and discovery. The several types of discovery include depositions (questioning a witness under oath), third-party subpoenas, interrogatories (asking a party questions that they must respond to under oath), requests to produce documents to the other party, and requests to admit (asking the other party to agree that certain facts are true).
The discovery process is not required if the parties are aware of the values of the assets and liabilities. Discovery is required if the values and amounts are unknown to either one or both parties. The goal of discovery is for the lawyers to ascertain all of the parties’ assets and debts. In the event that one party makes an effort to conceal or misrepresent facts regarding assets or obligations, this phase of the divorce may be quite challenging. The other party must provide several records upon request. Usually, one party will send the other party interrogatories to do this. Interrogatories are questions that must be answered under oath by the other party.
Discovery is often used to obtain data on assets and debts, but it can also be used for other things. Information collection is one of these additional goals in the event that one party is allegedly at blame for the divorce. Numerous behaviors, including alcoholism, drug misuse, adultery, gambling, and abandonment, are examples of fault. This error can be demonstrated by discovery.
When necessary, attorneys frequently consult with and hire experts like appraisers, accountants, or psychologists. A lot of these experts don’t come cheap. This can substantially drive your legal expenses.
Your Negotiation Begins Here
Following the conclusion of discovery, the attorneys will talk about the client’s objectives and start settlement negotiations. The exchange of written settlement proposals between attorneys is common. In an effort to address as many issues as feasible, the attorneys may also schedule a conference among the parties and the attorneys. The court is not involved in this process, which is also known as an informal settlement meeting. In the event that a settlement is achieved, the parties may sign a document outlining its terms.
Meeting the Friend of the Court
When there are minor children involved in the divorce, the parties may be obliged to attend an Early Intervention Conference with a Friend of the Court Referee, which is followed by a course meant to help parents lessen the impact of divorce on their kids. Depending on the county in which the divorce is being heard, a specific program may be necessary.
And then, The Waiting and Waiting
There is a 60-day waiting time before your divorce can be finalized if you and your spouse don’t share custody of any children. Even if you and your husband were already separated when you filed for divorce, the waiting period starts when you do. Your divorce may take far longer than 60 days if you and your husband cannot come to an agreement on everything.
Even before the case is filed or at any point during the waiting period, the parties may voluntarily decide to go through with mediation. Except in cases where there has been a history of domestic violence, the court would ordinarily mandate mediation in every case. The court will appoint a mediator if the parties are unable to reach an agreement.
Mediation is not advised if there has been domestic abuse in your marriage.
Depending on the situation, mediation may occur with or without the attorneys present. The mediation process is not legally binding. Making every attempt to settle every issue is the mediator’s responsibility. This minimizes court involvement and is less expensive than going to court.
Typically, the parties split the mediator’s expenses.
If there are points in your case that you and your spouse cannot agree on, arbitration is another alternative. Arbitration is a purely optional process. This means that in order to enter into arbitration, all parties must concur on the question or issues that will be decided by the arbitrator.
The arbitrator is paid a fee by the parties to hear and decide their dispute.
Because the arbitrator’s conclusions are enforceable in the same way that a judge’s decisions are, arbitration is distinct from mediation. The arbitrator is a skilled decision-maker who is an impartial third party. Their selections are incorporated into the verdict in a legal proceeding.
Court Appearances
The court will schedule a trial if the parties are unable to reach a settlement. Divorce trials are similar to other trials in most ways. To present testimony and evidence in support of each side’s case, the parties and their attorneys must appear. Depending on the circumstances, it could take a few hours or even days. The Family Court Judge will issue an Opinion on the contested matters following the trial (sometimes verbally from the bench and, sometimes, in writing). The Judge will then instruct one of the attorneys to draft a divorce judgment that includes all of the terms and clauses outlined in the Judge’s Opinion.
It goes without saying that the Judge will not sign this judgment unless all parties and their attorneys have studied it and agreed that it accurately reflects the judge’s opinion. The divorce is finalized when the Family Court Judge signs the Judgment of Divorce. The judge and court’s availability is the issue with going to trial.
A trial will frequently be set alongside several other cases and continually postponed. Before the trial is held, the case may have been open for a year or more. When the trial is held, it may take a long time because the judge may need to handle other cases or crises that were on his or her docket longer.
Remember the per hour cost of attorney fees will accumulate as the trial progresses. This will make it difficult for your attorney to estimate the cost of servicing you. The length of the trial is not something they can approximate due to a lot of reasons. The judge’s time is one of these reasons.
Final Divorce Judgment
The Judgment of Divorce is an official court document declaring the end of your marriage and the terms of your divorce. The final, legally enforceable document approving the divorce is the Judgment of Divorce. It decides on a variety of matters, including child support, property division, spouse support, and custody and parenting time. Before the judgment is entered with the court, the parties will have a chance to read it, review it with their attorney, and sign it. There are separate orders for child support and spousal support payments if there are any.
Legal Fees and Costs For Your Family Law Case
You have to look at your legal fees and costs in the context of your desired outcome because the legal process always has costs. Whether you call it expensive or low cost is really dependent on the outcome you desire. This outcome is something you should discuss with your attorney at the beginning of the engagement. It is a matter most considered and decided even before you have your first meeting with your attorney.
If you have already asked about legal fees, you will likely get a quote for two fees: The retainer and the per hour fee.
Attorney Retainers and Per Hour Service Fees
Your retainer fee based on experience, expertise, and reputation of the family law firm may range from a low of $275 to $375. If you get closer to highly urbanized cities and business centers these per hour fees can go up considerably. The range will be wider if you look at the whole US with a range starting from a low $200 to a high of more than $400 per hour.
Retainer fees can range from $2000 to $6000. The bigger picture shows a range of a low of less than $5000 to a high of $7000. This could vary from city to city and state to state.
Now, a lot of factors can drive costs like we mentioned here. Each phase of divorce process and cases such as child custody, parenting time have their own unique costs.
Court Filing Fees
As of the time this article was written, court filing costs could be anywhere from $85 and $150. Fees cover custody and parenting fee, support fee, friends of the court fee, arbitration, mediation, contempt for parenting time violations, sanctions, etc.
Ancillary guardianship and conservatorship filing fees are $150, as are other civil filing fees for cases filed in the family division, according to the circuit court fee schedule. A petition for a subpoena to testify outside of the state is free to file. Do check with your local Circuit Court for an updated schedule of court filing fees.
For those who can’t afford lawyers, they have a choice of approaching the Friend of the Court for free services but usually these are reserved for child custody cases.
Client Driven Costs
There are actions driven by clients that are not really driven by fairness or the best interests of anyone. It is driven more by pride, anger, jealousy, fueling animosity between ex spouses. We refer to this as acrimonious battles. The representation of the child is so bad the court has to get someone else like an expert to represent the child. The cost of this expert will be charged to the parents.
Some costs are related to the valuation of assets in property division. Cost can escalate fast and enormously in these situations.
When a law firm or an attorney is quoting you an hourly rate, the attorney isn’t talking about the total cost. The attorney is merely giving you the hourly rate they will be applying when they put in the hours to work on your case. Your attorney doesn’t really know how much will be seen in your billings because they don’t know yet how many hours they have to put in until they actually work on the legal requirements of the divorce case.
So the best approach is to talk to an attorney and have a vision of your outcome. Talk about how you are going to approach it, and then talk about fees.
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Goldman & Associates Law Firm is here to with information about Child Custody and Divorce in the State of Michigan.