How Much Will My NYC Divorce Cost?

Divorce Cost in New York City

Divorces are costly, and it takes substantial planning and budgeting to guarantee that you can afford the sort of divorce you want with the desired outcomes. Prior investigation and comprehension of your choices will eliminate costly surprises and unnecessary lessons found the hard way before embarking on a legal process or divorce plan, advocate for yourself and ask a lawyer questions.

Divorce attorneys get asked various questions, but one issue that just about every client asks is how much a divorce will cost. However, there are so many factors in a divorce that estimating all of the fees you will pay before filing your action is difficult.

Divorce Court Costs

Court fees are uniform throughout the New York metropolitan region and do not differ by individual. Unless the party seeking a divorce is judged indigent by the courts, these fees are always paid by the client (or their spouse) (you must apply for poor person status before filing for your divorce to have your fees waived). To begin the action, New York State imposes an Index Number Fee of $210.00 to all other people. Even in the most uncomplicated divorces, the court will demand additional fees of $95.00 and $30.00 to have a Judgment signed (for the Request for Judicial Intervention and Note of Issue papers). As you can see, a non-poor person must pay at least $335.00 in court expenses to secure a divorce.

Costs of Divorce Filings

Additional costs of $45.00 are charged for any motions filed, and a $35.00 fee is levied if you wish to enter into a formal Stipulation of Settlement after the action has begun. It is possible that you will not need to file a motion or settlement papers (depending on your circumstances).

Your spouse must be served with your original divorce papers. Fees for this service may range between $100.00 and $200.00. (unless your spouse is avoiding service or cannot be located).

The court or a third-party process server levied all the fees indicated above and do not include any attorney fees.

Lawyer Fees for Divorce

New York City Divorce Lawyers are among the highest-paid in the US. A contested divorce in NYC costs between $14,000 and $28,000 (for each spouse)

Your specific circumstances will determine your attorney costs. The attorney or law firm with whom you speak may charge anywhere from $250.00 to 450.00 per hour of labor. In most circumstances, a retainer deposit is required upfront to secure his / her costs and have the attorney formally ‘appear’ in action. Attorneys who ‘present’ in court on behalf of clients cannot just ‘leave’ or withdraw from your case without court authorization (even if you owe them money), therefore a retainer serves as security for the lawyer, ensuring that they will be paid (at least the retainer amount) for their efforts.

Uncontested Divorce

Uncontested divorce indicates that you and your spouse have agreed to separate or that no objections to the divorce have been raised.

Assuming an equitable arraignment is reached, you and your husband can proceed with the uncontested divorce. They’ll handle filing your papers with the County Clerk’s office, which contains the settlement agreement and arrangements for continued healthcare coverage. This is accomplished by purchasing an index number from the clerk’s office in your home county. The index number must appear on your Summons and Complaint, which is your legal divorce filing.

In the circumstances like this, the judge must evaluate whether a divorce is genuinely uncontested—whether the final arrangement was reached without duress and is equitable for both parties. The final documentation is signed once that decision has been made. The Divorce Judgment must be filed with the County Clerk, and the service process must be repeated. The final divorce order is legally served to the non-initiating spouse by the spouse who initiates the dissolution.

If you try to divorce without the help of an attorney, your papers may be rejected by the court, resulting in a waste of money and time. It’s not as easy as it appears.

The New York divorce index number cost is $210. The index is the case number and should be included in all papers filed. In New York, the filing fee for an uncontested divorce is $335, which includes the index charge. Attorney expenses, court costs, and litigation or mediation costs can add up.

Calculating Divorce Attorney Fees

Your attorney determines the amount of your retainer based on their assessment of how long it will take to complete your case (Will motions be required? Will there be a lot of court dates?). Also, if they believe they are worth more than other attorneys (due to experience, training, or ego), their hourly fee will be higher.

The following items will increase the ‘complexity’ of your divorce lawsuit (and, in most cases, additional fees if contested by your spouse.)

Is your husband willing to divorce you?

Good. This will result in far fewer mandatory court appearances.

Do you and your spouse agree on how to divide your property?

Property settlements also result in lower court expenses. If you cannot reach an agreement, you may need to retain accountants, business and/or house appraisers, and experts to determine the value of the property you possess.

Do you and your spouse agree on child custody, visitation, and child support?

Again, agreeing on these matters reduces the overall expense of your divorce.

If custody is in dispute, the court may decide that a “Lawyer for The Children” (previously known as a Law Guardian) should be appointed to meet with your children, analyze the facts, and make recommendations to the court on how custody should be determined. The parties will be responsible for paying the Attorney for the Children’s retainer.

Do you possess any valuable property?

Is there a marital home or any retirement assets? In general, a couple separating with no major property will pay significantly less in costs than a couple divorcing with significantly more property to divide. Again, the services of companies other than lawyers may be required here.

Essential Elements of Divorce Costs

While these considerations are vital, the most significant component of your divorce is YOUR SPOUSE. During your divorce, your spouse may act maturely, rationally, or utterly irrationally. The acts of your spouse in relation to your divorce will have the most impact on any divorce, as a non-combative spouse ALWAYS results in lower costs and helps to reduce your emotional stress.

How quickly can you get a divorce in NYC?

That’s a significant amount of paperwork and procedure for a divorce in which both parties agree. However, in New York, everything is usually completed in four months. Just remember two things: the timeframe is not certain for every instance because they are all unique. And that doesn’t include the time it takes to reach an agreement. A fair and equitable settlement may take longer to reach due to the complexity of your assets. As much as both spouses in this challenging scenario want to move on, rushing through the settlement is a huge mistake. Lawyers are there to make sure that happens on your behalf.

Judging Whether to Resolve with Your Spouse or Look for More

Furthermore, your finances will impact the legal fees required in your lawsuit. Some divorcing couples resolve their concerns for less than what each party wants to avoid legal expenditures and fees. When negotiating a settlement, every decent attorney will consider the price of other legal bills. You’ll often have to decide whether what you’re looking for is worth the time and money (and the risk of not getting such relief).

Overall, determining how much your divorce will cost is challenging since you may not be able to predict how your husband will react to your divorce request. However, I follow one rule:

If any lawyer guarantees any result (or the entire cost) before seeing how your spouse responds to the divorce, they are most certainly dishonest and not worth dealing with. In divorce law, there are no crystal balls, only hypothetical situations that may (or may not) materialize.