Affordable divorce

Now more than ever before there is a great concern among my clients to keep the fees and costs low in their divorce and custody proceedings. In these troubled economic times, I have heard many people ask, "Can I afford a divorce?" When the State of Florida and the Pinellas County budgets shrank, one way they tried to deal with their problem was by raising the filing fees. It now costs $418.00 to file for divorce and a similar amount to file a Counter-Petition. Used to be there was no fee for the Counter-Petition and the filing fee was a good $50.00 cheaper. To make matters worse, in this economic slump, it’s not just the government’s pocketbook that has shrank but all of ours too. Fortunately the way I practice law lends itself to efficiency. I have always been attuned to the best way to get to the end goal with the least amount of time, stress and money. With all strategic decisions in a case I give my client the potential costs so that can be weighed in the decision making process like all the other factors. Often I work out payment plans for divorce to help those clients that want to get started but are having a hard time with the initial retainer. As a good friend of mine recently said, maybe the silver lining of this economic downturn is the opportunity it gives us all to really help each other. Going through a divorce is often gut wrenching and emotionally draining so I do my best to narrowly define the legal issues and steer my clients on the most direct route to finalization.