Attorney
Getting divorced can strain the finances of even the most wealthy individuals. There aren’t too many couples who can divide their net worth 50/50, and set up a second household, without feeling a sting.
The divorce process itself can also be a financial burden if you and your soon-to-be-ex are not interested in amicably parting ways. Fighting tooth and nail over every decision, and heading to litigation instead of resolving your issues at the negotiating table or through mediation, are big cost drivers.
Whether you are looking for someone to do a back of the envelope estimate of what a hypothetical divorce would cost you, or you are ready to file the paperwork and get things rolling, Attorney Bob Matteucci is here for you. Bob’s a seasoned attorney, who knows the ins and outs of New Mexico’s family court system, but he’s also got a head for numbers. Before going to law school — inspired in part by his own divorce — Bob got an MBA and spent years running his family’s fourth generation retail shoe business.
Getting into the financial weeds is not something Bob is afraid of. Below, he breaks down the cost of getting divorced in the Albuquerque area.
The Baseline: What You Will Pay No Matter What
No matter who you are, or how complex your financial situation is, the actual cost of filing for divorce and serving papers on your spouse is less than $1,000. The filing fee is the same for everyone, but the cost of officially serving papers varies based on who you hire to do it.
And that’s where the predictable part ends when you are trying to estimate the cost of divorce.
Attorney Fees
The next expense to consider is attorney fees. Most family law attorneys in the Albuquerque area charge somewhere between $200 to $500 per hour. That range matters, but it is not the most important number to consider when shopping around.
The most important number is how many hours it will take to resolve your case.
A childless couple that owns no property is going to have an easier time coming to an agreement and getting all the details written down than a couple with several children, a shared family home, and a business they have built together.
An uncontested divorce, where both spouses have reached agreement on the major issues before attorneys get deeply involved, or a mediation session that gets everyone on the same page, is going to take less time and therefore cost less than litigation.
Attorney Bob Matteucci is a strong proponent of going to mediation, or even doing a collaborative divorce, if there are a lot of tricky issues to work through because it can be a great way to save the couple money and give them a firm foundation to build their new lives on.
The Attitude Multiplier
The single biggest cost driver for couples who are getting divorced is not attorney fees, court costs, or even the difficulty of dividing assets 50/50. It is the attitude of both spouses.
A couple with significant assets who approach their divorce as a practical problem to solve together will almost always spend less — and wrap things up more quickly — than a couple with modest finances who are using the process to try and get a judge to validate their feelings and officially blame the other side for their unhappiness.
Divorces that drag on because you cannot let go of the past will drain your finances so fast it will make your head spin. This leads to more resentment and emotional distress, which can easily spiral out of control. It is far better for your pocketbook and your mental health to put the past behind you and focus on how you can move forward.
Serving Families With Dignity & Compassion
Getting divorced is never going to be a pain-free process. But the benefits you derive from it should far outweigh the costs.
Attorney Bob Matteucci works hard to ensure his clients in the Albuquerque area take the necessary steps to secure their financial future and enjoy their post-divorce life. Please contact Bob today to schedule an initial consultation if you have questions about how a divorce may impact your finances.