The Costs of Family Court

By Elaine Hirsh, Guest Writer

elainehi86@gmail.com

No matter how one looks at it, divorce is a costly matter. In addition to the emotional toll it takes on family members, there is also a financial consideration that cannot be overlooked. In fact, divorce has become a $28-billion-a-year business, with the average cost coming out to approximately $20,000 per couple. The cost of divorce for both spouses involved, as well as to taxpayers, is more extensive than people realize.

Of course, not every divorce costs $20,000. You don't need an online PhD to realize that the greater the parties' financial assets and the more emotional baggage is involved, the higher the costs tend to be. If a divorce is amicable and straightforward, the costs can be substantially less than when the divorce is being contested or where assets are being hidden.

Divorce attorneys typically charge by the hour, with fees ranging from $100 to $500 an hour. Some high-priced attorneys charge upwards of $10,000 for a retainer. In general, those attorneys deal especially with high-profile divorce cases, such as sports figures and celebrities.

Divorce fees aren't restricted to just paying the attorneys involved. In addition, court costs usually include filing fees, process-serving, and serving subpoenas. The total divorce cost rises if the case goes to trial or requires any additional costs involving temporary court orders.

Another factor that shouldn't be ignored is the cost of divorce to taxpayers. According to a study conducted by economist Ben Scalfidi, the cost of divorce and childbirth out of wedlock to United States taxpayers comes out to over $112 billion annually. This cost reflects federal, state, and local expenditures on government welfare and related support programs, as well as lost taxes.

When individuals find themselves having to go to family court for divorce proceedings there are additional, less tangible costs involved. For example, employees tend to become less productive when going through family crises such as divorce. This toll is taken both in terms of worker concentration and also the work hours lost when employees are in family court to resolve legal issues.

Lastly, when children are involved with divorce the psychological repercussions can be devastating. In order to keep children from feeling responsible for the breakdown of their parents' marriages, counseling is sometimes necessary. The cost of therapy can easily be greater than the fees involved in the divorce itself.

In light of the financial factors involved, some couples seek therapy and counseling rather than using the “nuclear option” of divorce. Naturally, if the marriage is beyond repair no amount of therapy will keep it intact. However, if a marriage can be salvaged, the emotional and financial benefits cannot be overemphasized.

About the Author:

Elaine Hirsch is kind of a jack-of-all-interests, from education and history to medicine and videogames. This makes it difficult to choose just one life path, so she is currently working as a writer for various education-related sites and writing about all these things instead. She is currently writer for an online PhD website.