If you are getting divorced, one of the first questions a lawyer will ask you is whether it will be “contested” or “uncontested.”  Most people don’t know what that means. 

A “contested” divorce means that there you and your spouse cannot agree on some aspect of the divorce:  child custody, child support, visitation, property division, etc.  A disagreement as to any of these issues means, to a lawyer, that the case is “contested.”  Because there is going to be disagreement, which means there will be negotiating and/or a trial battle, a “contested” divorce is more expensive than an “uncontested” divorce.

An “uncontested” divorce means that you and your spouse have agreed to everything, and all that the lawyer needs to do is write it all down and make it legal.  That is why an “uncontested” divorce is less expensive than a “contested” divorce.

If you and your spouse have agreed to all of the terms of your divorce (child support, child custody, visitation, property division, etc.), then you have a couple of options for getting the divorce finalized in most counties.  You can file an “irreconcilable differences” divorce (”ID” for short), or you can file a “stipulated” divorce.  Until July 1, 2007, “stipulated” divorces did not have a waiting period.  The reasoning was that if you had “just cause” for wanting a divorce, there was no need to apply the waiting period applicable to “no-fault” divorces.

Now, with a new law, all divorces in Tennessee have a waiting period of 60 or 90 days.  This is true regardless of whether there are domestic violence issues, fraud, or nearly any other reason why one would think a divorce ought to be able to be finalized immediately.  Some judges may allow extraordinarily limited exceptions in certain circumstances. Perhaps in the future the legislature will consider the important public policy reasons that would be in favor of permitting a court to end a marriage more quickly.

Some counties require a court appearance for a divorce; others will allow a divorce with no court appearance.  If you can avoid a court appearance, you won’t have to take off work to go to court, and your lawyer fees may be lower as well. 

Whenever possible, our office charges a flat fee for uncontested divorces.  That way you know how much it will cost you before you get involved in the process.  Our fee generally starts at $700 plus the filing fee charged by the court, which varies from county to county but generally is $170-260, depending on whether there are children.  Our fee will increase if there are children of the marriage, if there is property that needs re-deeded, or if there are other factors requiring additional paperwork or court appearances.

In contrast, in our office contested cases generally require a retainer (an upfront payment for attorney time) and hourly fee agreement.  Depending on the complexity of the case and what you want and need done, the retainer may be $3000-5000 or more. 

We can take credit cards for fees in divorce cases.