Money Crashers: How Much Does a Divorce Cost? – Types & Ways to Save

Here's a new Money Crashers post on a topic that has, sadly, been deemed COVID-adjacent: divorce. According to the New York Post, attorneys in New York City — the epicenter of the COVID outbreak in America – are being "flooded" with calls from couples who have decided, after weeks of being cooped up together 24/7, that they just can't stand each other anymore. And ABC says divorce attorneys anticipate a similar surge nationwide.

Getting a divorce may or may not be the right choice for all these couples, but they've already made one expensive mistake: hiring a lawyer to handle it. According to a 2019 Nolo survey, people who used lawyers to handle their divorces in 2019 paid an average of $13,000, or a median of $7,500. That's a significant sum to lose at a time when you’re preparing to split your assets in half and take on the expense of living on your own again — particularly in the middle of a recession.

Fortunately, there are cheaper alternatives. The key to saving money on a divorce is to use lawyers as little as possible, and in particular, to keep it out of court if you can. If you and your partner agree on all the major issues, you can potentially save thousands with an uncontested divorce (average cost $4,100) or a DIY divorce (possibly as little as $500). If you still have some issues to work through, hiring a mediator (average cost $970) can cost much less than battling it out with lawyers (average cost $11,300). And if you absolutely need a lawyer, you can save by paying them only for the jobs that really require legal expertise and not for routine tasks like phone and email correspondence (average cost $4,600).

Here's hoping that none of you readers need information about divorce any time soon. But if you do, here's hoping for the next best thing: a quick, easy, and relatively inexpensive route to a fresh start.

How Much Does a Divorce Cost? – Types & Ways to Save