According to Forbes, the median cost of a divorce in Washington state is $8,399.17. It’s no wonder many couples have been exploring low-cost flat fee divorce or “online divorce” options in Washington state. And while it is true that in some situations hiring a divorce lawyer can be expensive, it is also important to remember that these figures can be misleading. Before you go with a “boilerplate,” low-cost flat-fee, or “online divorce” option, you might want to consider some things first. Boilerplate, low-cost flat-fee, and online divorce options have their limitations, and the costs of going for a generic solution can sometimes exceed the benefits of legal fees.
Why are “average” divorce costs misleading?
According to the Harvard Business Review, average figures can be distorted by the “‘flaw of averages’ which states, simply, that plans based on assumptions about average conditions usually go wrong.” To illustrate the problem, we are presented with the parable of the six-foot tall statistician who cannot swim. He drowns while trying to cross a river with an average depth of 4.3 feet. The depth by the shore is just one foot; the measurement nearer the center is a safe 4 feet; but the depth in the very middle of the river is eight feet, and the current sweeps him away.
Another example of how averages can distort reality is the example of the billionaire who moves to a poor rural town. To an economist casually looking at the change in the town’s average income from one year to the next, he could make the error that the citizens’ income increased, when the reality is just that one rich person happened to move in, while incomes remained the same.
Averages hide the individual variation that can arise in a specific situation that can affect outcomes. When looking at the average cost of divorce in Washington, it is important to keep this fact in mind. A couple with no assets, no debts, and no children, who have only been married for a year or two won’t likely rack up an $8,000 divorce bill when they seek assistance from a lawyer who might only need to work with them for a few hours to hammer out their divorce paperwork, while a wealthy couple with a prenuptial agreement, equity in their shared multimillion dollar company, a house in Switzerland, fifteen years of marriage, and two children, won’t likely end up with a bill of only $8,399.17 for their divorce.
The reality is that the specifics of your situation can influence the cost of your divorce. Sometimes couples choose low-cost flat fee options, boilerplate solutions, or online divorce options because they think they cannot afford to divorce any other way.
What are some of the factors that can influence the cost of divorce?
If your divorce involves significant disputes about who owns what or questions about community and separate property, then your divorce might end up being a little more complex than a couple who has a strong prenuptial agreement or when two people agree about what assets should be considered shared community property and what assets are separate. High-asset divorces will likely be more complicated and more costly than low-asset divorces, simply because of the negotiations that will likely be involved in a high-asset divorce. High asset couples might need to hire additional specialists to help them with their divorce, including accountants, real estate appraisers, forensic accountants, and other professionals, which can increase the costs of their divorce.
High conflict also leads to higher divorce costs. For example, couples facing a tough child custody battle will find their costs increase. When couples face difficulty with a parenting plan, they might need to hire child psychologists or counselors to assist them and may require additional mediation (including being required to go to court-ordered mediation) if they cannot resolve their custody dispute outside of court. High-conflict divorce can also leave couples facing multiple court dates and more litigation, meaning more billable hours for lawyers, more court fees, and higher costs.
The method you choose when filing for divorce can also impact the cost of divorce. But again, here we find ourselves back at looking at averages. According to Forbes, some sources put the average cost of mediated divorce at $3000 to $8000, with other sources reporting that a mediated divorce can cost anywhere from $7000 to $10,000.
As Forbes notes, the costs couples will pay for a mediated divorce will depend upon the complexity of the divorce, the ability of both parties to effectively negotiate and reach a settlement (the faster you can agree with one another, the fewer hours of mediation you’ll need, and if you’re paying your mediator by the hour, this can make a big difference in your costs). These costs might sound high, but in general, litigation will cost more than mediation, though each method can carry different costs depending on the situation.
For example, the cost-effectiveness of mediation and collaborative divorce is highly dependent on both parties’ ability to negotiate a solution outside of court. There are also benefits to mediation and collaborative divorce that you can’t really put a dollar value on. Couples tend to be happier about their parenting plans and their divorce settlement when they negotiate their divorce agreement rather than litigate. Happier co-parents can lead to happier children, which is priceless.
What about “flat fee,” “boilerplate” or online divorces?
Some couples try to cut the costs of divorce by choosing low-cost flat fee online divorce or using software that helps them create a boilerplate divorce settlement. The problem is that most of these “boilerplate” divorce services can only help in the simplest of divorce situations. And even some of the flat fee uncontested divorce providers are limited in what they can do should issues arise. In most instances, these low-cost or fixed-cost options are typically only available to couples who want to file for “uncontested” divorce. That is, these options are typically only available to couples who already agree about everything to begin with, who are more interested in a quick settlement, and who may be willing to forego going through the discovery process or closely examining their finances to truly distinguish separate property from marital property. Choosing the cheaper and faster way out can have long-term costs, though, especially if it comes at the cost of giving up your rights to a retirement account you might have had a stake in without realizing it.
Yet, even if you and your partner agree about everything, issues can arise that may fall beyond the scope of the legal assistance available, when couples choose these cheaper flat-fee options. For example, questions about community property and separate property can seem, on the surface, to be deceptively simple, but when you dive in, distinguishing between shared and martial property isn’t so easy. Even if only one person’s name is on the title or deed, the property might still be considered community or marital property in the eyes of the law. A diligent and dedicated lawyer can help you understand what’s what in your situation.
If you have a retirement account or if one partner has a retirement account, both partners may have a right to some of the money. When partners live in different states, questions about jurisdiction can arise. Child support is calculated based on standardized tables, but if one parent stayed at home to raise the kids and sacrificed career and income, this partner might also be entitled to alimony. Child support tables also don’t consider other costs that can arise when a child has special needs, or when children go off to college and need additional support.
Many low-cost flat-fee services fail to consider some of the more complicated issues that can arise in divorce. With online divorce services, you might be asked to answer generic questions about your assets and property that may not account for these complexities.
And the truth is that if your situation is truly that simple, you may not need the low-cost flat fee boilerplate, or online divorce services at all. You might be able to fill out Washington’s dissolution of marriage forms yourself and have a courthouse facilitator help you by providing you basic information about court procedures, give you required forms, explain legal terms to you, and help you calculate child support. A courthouse facilitator isn’t a lawyer and cannot offer legal advice but can refer you to legal resources if legal questions arise and can offer quality free or low-cost options if you are low-income and need additional assistance paying for a lawyer.
If you are considering a low-cost flat fee, boilerplate, or online divorce because you cannot pay for a lawyer and think these flat fee or online divorce services might be more affordable, you might want to also explore publicly funded legal aid options. For example, the Northwest Justice Project offers free legal aid to low-income individuals (with income at 125% to 200% of the federal poverty line). Courthouse facilitators might also be able to recommend other programs to low-income individuals.
What are the serious drawbacks of using low-cost flat fee, boilerplate, or online divorce services?
You Might Pay More.
It might sound counterintuitive, but you might end up paying more for flat fee or online divorce services than you would have had you first spoken to a courthouse facilitator, explored whether you qualify for free legal aid services, or spoken to a lawyer near you. For example, if your divorce is truly simple enough for a very low-cost flat fee or “uncontested divorce service,” it’s possible you could do it yourself. A courthouse facilitator can probably give you the forms you need, provide an overview of the steps you need to take, and answer your questions. If your divorce is truly “uncontested,” a few hours with a divorce lawyer, collaborative lawyer, or a mediator might cost less than an uncontested flat-rate or online service. Again, you won’t know until you ask questions and explore your options. Finally, some flat-fee divorce contracts might include clauses that allow your lawyer to add fees if additional issues arise during the drafting of your uncontested divorce settlement. If the advertising claims that fees “start at” a given rate, keep in mind that if your situation turns out to be more complex, you might end up paying more. It can’t hurt to get a quote from a few lawyers before choosing one option over another. Sometimes couples go into the process thinking their divorce is uncontested, but then, as they learn more about their rights or start to dive into the specifics of their situation, they realize that they might need more legal work than they initially expected. Read over a flat-fee contract before you pay and sign.
You Might Miss Important Details or Unexpected Issues Can Arise That Can Increase Costs.
With flat-fee divorce services, you are often paying a lawyer or service for a specific scope of work. This might mean that you are paying a lawyer to help you fill out uncontested divorce paperwork or to help you draft a settlement. Yet, issues can crop up. For example, distinguishing between separate property and community martial property might not always be easy. For example, if you owned a home or car before you got married, but your partner helped you with car payments or mortgage payments, helped you repair the vehicle or make improvements on your home, then some of the value of your property might be considered marital property, and thus shared. The same can be true for debts, where one partner used his or her personal credit card to purchase marital property. If you’ve been married a long time, or one partner has a retirement account in his or her name, you might want to explore your rights regarding alimony and your right to a portion of the retirement account. Sometimes spouses also make significant sacrifices in career or earning capacity to support their partner or raise children. These sacrifices could also affect the divorce settlement you might be entitled to receive and could include alimony. While child support calculations are based on earnings and state tables, there might be other aspects of child support that aren’t incorporated into these formulas, like paying for college.
Flat Fee Arrangements Have Limitations.
Attorneys who quote flat fees, often average the amount of time they’ll spend on a specific type of divorce case. As we explored earlier, when we use averages, issues can arise. Flat fee arrangements might be very specific about the scope of work provided (for example, a lawyer might tell you that their flat fee doesn’t cover the discovery process, and for some high net-worth couples or couples with complex financial situations, discovery might be beneficial). Many flat fee arrangements explicitly take litigation off the table (without offering the protections and incentives that collaborative divorce offers, where both parties agree not to litigate and stand to lose something if they fail to negotiate an agreement).
The problem with taking litigation off the table without using the collaborative process is that if a more well-resourced spouse chooses to push for litigation, your divorce fees can go up. With collaborative divorce, you both agree contractually to not pursue litigation. Finally, if your divorce settlement is truly uncontested, you may still end up paying more for a flat fee service than you would have for an hourly rate attorney near you or for collaborative divorce, especially if your divorce settlement only takes a few hours to hammer out. Whether a flat fee arrangement makes sense will depend upon your situation.
So, what’s the key takeaway on using “flat fee,” “boilerplate,” or “online divorce services”? It’s always a great idea to explore your options before you choose the service that’s right for you. If you are low-income, explore whether you can access Washington’s free legal aid options. If you divorce is uncontested or if you plan to file for uncontested divorce, consider speaking to a few attorneys near you to explore what they can offer you, their hourly rates, and how long they think your divorce agreement will take to work out. You can then compare these rates to flat fee quotes offered either online or locally.
The collaborative divorce lawyers at Truce Law in Washington, Seattle, and the surrounding area, work with clients seeking uncontested divorce, and with clients who want to negotiate their divorce settlement outside court. We can chat with you to explore your situation, help you understand your options, and help you take the next steps when you’re ready.
This article is for educational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Every situation is unique. For guidance specific to your circumstances, consult a licensed family law attorney in your area.