Office Hours
I'm generally in the office during business hours, from about 8:30 in the morning until about 5:00 in the afternoon. I can schedule weekend appointments, but I'll need you to pay in advance before scheduling a weekend session (no-shows are a big problem on weekends).
The Divorce Line (www.divorceinfo.com/divorceline.htm) is available 24/7, of course, and so is my voicemail.
What Does It Cost?
I offer flat rates for uncontested divorce. The legal fee is $250 if you have young children, $200 if you don't. You'll also have to pay a filing fee. The filing fee is $163 in Talladega County where I file all my uncontested divorces. All my flat rates assume an initial session of one hour or less in which we prepare the papers and that you and your spouse sign them in the form we prepare them. If it takes more of my time after that, it's okay; I just ask that you pay me for the extra time.
Once you have prepared documents, making changes to them is simple and inexpensive, because everything's on computer. As always, of course, the less of my time you use, the less money you pay me.
I ask that you pay the legal fee for the uncontested divorce when you come for the first session. I would rather you wait to pay me the filing fee until you and your spouse have both signed the papers and you're ready for me to file them with the court.
I never charge a retainer. I just don't believe in them. I do ask, and expect, that clients pay me for work done as that work is done. That means clients are more in control. And that's good.
For services other than for uncontested divorce, and for extra time needed on uncontested divorces, I charge based on how much of my time is needed. I charge for my time at $200 per hour, whether I'm serving as a mediator, a lawyer, or a coach. There's no additional charge for setup or opening a file.
I charge my time in tenths of an hour. So if you spend 33 minutes with me, that's 6/10 of an hour, and I'll ask you to pay me $120.00 when we finish. I take cash, checks, Visa, and MasterCard.
People sometimes ask if I will set up a payment plan, meaning can they get my services now and pay me later. The answer is no. I'm not set up to take your money now and deliver services later (retainer agreement), and neither am I set up to deliver you services now and get paid later. I need you to pay me when I provide services. If you don't want to do that, please don't use me. You'll make life uncomfortable for both of us.
From time to time, someone who doesn't understand my approach to saving money in divorce asks if I offer an introductory free consultation. The answer to this one is also no.
A lawyer who spends 20 or more hours of professional time on an average case can justify an introductory consultation, because there's an expectation of a large retainer if the lawyer "takes the case." My whole business is set up to spend as little time as possible with (and charge as little money as possible to) each client. I'm totally comfortable spending 20 minutes with a client if that's all it takes to deliver the information the client needs, and I have no interest in trying to sell the client on using me more.
This means that, among other things, I spend far less time with each individual client than the average divorce lawyer (a little more than 2 hours per client on average, compared with an average of 15-20 hours for a typical divorce lawyer). If I offered a free consultation, I would be reducing my overall revenue dramatically; it wouldn't make sense, and it would make my wife angry with me.
