Paying for Your Divorce
Did you know that in many states, when a major financial disparity exists between spouses, the spouse with higher earnings or greater wealth may have to pay for both parties to have an attorney?
This is to attain the goal of balanced financial footing so both sides have access to (hopefully) equal representation. How the attorney’s fees incurred or still owed get reallocated between divorcing couples is most often negotiated at the end of the case.
So, before you throw down a large retainer, remember, if you are the only one working or contributing to the marital financial pot, you are probably going to throw down two large retainers.
If you are the non-working or lower-earner spouse, you may be borrowing money, incurring credit card debt or liquidating assets to secure your large retainer only to pay more attorney fees to negotiate the disposition of both parties’ collective costs later as part of the divorce settlement.
