What is the Cost of Divorce In Washington State?

Key Takeaways:

• The average cost of divorce in Washington is between $10,500 and $12,000, more if the case involves children.
• Costs vary widely based on the complexity of the case. High conflict equals high cost.
• Simple divorces can be much less expensive than complicated ones.
• Attorney fees are usually the largest expense.
• Divorce costs don’t end when the decree is signed.
• You can reduce divorce costs with smart, strategic preparation.

How Much Does Divorce Cost In Washington State?

While no single number encompasses everything, the average cost of divorce in Washington is between $10,500 and $12,000. With children, the average cost of divorce is $15,500.

This amount shouldn’t be taken as gospel. We’re only sharing this to give you a rough idea of what ending your marriage may cost. Depending on the circumstances, the total can be much higher or lower.

Every step of the process has specific charges and fees. From the initial filing to relevant court costs to finding representation, it all has a price. Other expenditures that you’ll need to prepare for arise after you finalize your divorce.

It’s easy to anticipate the obvious expenses. You know upfront hiring a lawyer costs money, though how much greatly depends on the individual situation. Then you have to consider those that seemingly come out of nowhere. Or at least the ones that you don’t necessarily expect, like the impact on your taxes or buying a bed for a new home.

Countless factors will impact the final amount of your case. These are a few:

• The level of conflict in the split.
• The length of the marriage.
• Future earning potential of each spouse.
• Amount of property to divide.
• Number of assets to divide.
• Owning your own business.
• Whether or not you have kids.
• Child support.
• Spousal support, if applicable.
• Retirement accounts, like 401ks, pensions, and IRAs.

All of these factors and more will play a part. You can even fight about airline miles if you want. It happens all the time.

Simple, straightforward divorces can be relatively inexpensive. However, the more complicated things become, the faster the fees pile up.

With that in mind, here are some costs, obvious and otherwise, you should be aware of when dissolving a marriage.

Related Reading: How to File for Divorce in Washington

Divorce Process Costs

No matter how clear-cut and uncomplicated your divorce, you still can’t get off scot-free. In this day and age, it’s easier than ever to download the forms, fill them out yourself, file them, and be done. But even if you take a do-it-yourself approach, you have to pay.

Legal Fees and Paperwork

Filing for divorce in Washington costs around $350. This includes fees for filing, a judicial surcharge, and court facilitator costs, and varies from county to county.

From there, you have to serve your spouse. If you hire a lawyer, they can handle that, likely for a fee, or you can use an outside process server. Depending on the company, and how easy or difficult it is to find your spouse, this runs anywhere from $50 on up.

Essentially, any time you have to submit paperwork, file a petition, respond to motions, or appear before a judge, expect to shell out at least few dollars and watch the cost of divorce creep ever higher.

Again, the more complicated your case, the more money you’re going to spend.

Attorney Fees

In most cases, attorney fees promise to be one of, if not the highest, costs of divorce.

Hiring an experienced lawyer helps you navigate complex legal waters. A professional knows the process, can answer your questions, and steer you towards the best outcome. But this comes with a significant price tag.

The extent of these costs coincides with the complexity of your case. In short, the more issues you have, the more time you spend with your divorce lawyer, and the more fees you rack up.

In most cases, there’s a charge for an initial consultation, followed by an hourly rate. Some attorneys, however, do charge a flat fee, though that is somewhat uncommon.

Being organized, having all of your paperwork in order, and doing some of the legwork can cut down on how much your lawyer needs to do, thus how much they bill you for.

If you put in the time to educate yourself and focus on what’s most important, you can curb some of the costs of divorce when it comes to attorneys.

If your settlement isn’t sound, problems, expensive problems, can arise later on. Even if you take a DIY approach, it may benefit you to have an attorney examine your paperwork to ensure everything is in order before finalizing everything.

At the very least, ask your attorney what they will charge you for right away. Know what you’re getting for your money.

When they respond to an email, talk to you on the phone, or do anything on behalf of your case, they will likely bill you for that time. This surprises and upsets more people than you might expect.

Does Each Spouse Pay Their Own Legal Fees?

The court may order one spouse to pay the other spouse’s legal fees in certain circumstances. This usually boils down to need versus the ability to pay.

When there’s a significant difference in income, and one spouse pays more of the shared bills and living expenses, the expectation is that’s likely to continue while the divorce is pending.

Common Experts Necessary in Contested Divorce

The necessity of experts can impact the cost of your divorce. Many cases don’t require them to weigh in, but for complex cases that do, it can be an expensive proposition.

A single case rarely needs all of these experts, but these are some of the common outside professionals you may encounter. Again, these numbers are estimates, and the true costs vary depending on the person or company involved.

• • Vocational evaluation:  $4,000 to $5,000.
  • Custodial evaluation: $1,000 to $2,500.
  • Forensic accountant:  $3,000 to $5,000 to get started.
  • Special Master:  $2,500 to $5,000.
  • Home appraiser $300 – $400.
  • Personal property appraiser: $150+ per hour.
  • A computer expert for data recovery and discovery: $75+ per hour. Some companies charge based on the amount of data.
  • Court reporters and transcripts: $0 to $2,500, depending on the length of documents.
  • Private investigator: $50 to $200 per hour.
  • Mediator: $100 to $200 per hour.
  • Financial planner or accountant: $1,000 to $2,000 flat fee; for ongoing services, most firms require monthly retainers.

Another way these expenses vary is whether an expert provides information, like a report, or if they also have to appear in court. Someone will likely be billed for any in-court testimony, and that may be you.

Related Reading: How To Choose The Best Mediation Style For You

Post-Divorce Costs

Though fees for paperwork, court appearances, and lawyers are the most obvious costs of divorce, none of them last forever. Once your divorce becomes official, these stop accumulating.

Depending on your situation, other expenses continue long after you sign the divorce decree.

Child Support

If you have children and you’re not the custodial parent, you’ll likely pay child support. These payments provide for the continuing care and well-being of your kids and cover necessities like food, shelter, and clothing.

The parent with the most overnights usually receives the payments from the other, though the court may award child support even in cases of 50/50 shared custody. Your child support responsibility should be included in your parenting plan.

Related Reading: How is Child Support Calculated?

Spousal Support

After dividing the shared assets, if financial need or a large gap in earning potential still exists, the court may award spousal support. These payments take into account factors like:

• Employment prospect.
• The length of the marriage.
• The age and health of both spouses.
• The ability to pay.

Many people also fail to consider the impact divorce has on their taxes.

After finalizing your divorce, your filing status changes. You can’t continue to file as married if you’re not actually married, can you? It seems obvious, but people often overlook this fact.

If you pay or receive child support or spousal support, that also impacts your taxes. Be aware of these changes and know how they will affect you.

Related Reading: How Is Spousal Support Calculated?

Credit Score And Debt

It’s even possible for your credit score to take a hit following a divorce.

Moving forward, your ex’s finances won’t impact your own. But if your name stays on any shared debt, that can come back to bite you.

Ending your marriage doesn’t automatically alter any pre-existing financial obligations. Your name is still on any shared accounts. So, if you have joint credit cards, a car loan, or a mortgage, you remain liable for those.

Much like shared property, the court also divides shared debt. Ideally, your divorce agreement should include explicit details about who covers what expenses. The court may order you to make mortgage payments or your ex to pay the car loan.

Your settlement can also include stipulations that your ex must refinance loans to be in their name only. In a perfect world, that’s what will happen. But if it doesn’t, it can reflect negatively on you and ding your credit.

Related Reading: How Is Debt Divided During A Divorce?

Moving Costs

By the time a divorce becomes final, most couples already live apart. If you’re the one who moved out, setting up a new home base comes with its own set of expenses.

You have deposits, down payments, replacing furniture, stocking a new kitchen, and other costs incurred while setting up a new residence. Though small on their own, these add up quickly. Beyond that, even paying all of the bills from a single paycheck is a first for many newly divorced people.

Divorce doesn’t come cheap, and these are just a few of the financial elements to keep an eye on. No two situations are alike, which makes determining the average cost of divorce difficult.

Remember, the more complicated the case, the costlier it becomes. Children, high levels of conflict, significant property to divide, long marriages, all of these factors, and more, tend to send the cost of divorce in Washington skyrocketing.

Related Reading: How Does Legal Separation Differ From Divorce?

Tips to Save Money On Divorce:

As daunting as looking at divorce-related costs can be, there are things you can do to cut expenses and save money. These are a few general ideas about how to lessen the financial burden of ending your marriage.

Educate Yourself

As the adage goes: Knowledge is power.

Educate yourself on your rights and how your circumstances will affect your case. This is an essential first step in the divorce process. Knowing how the unique details of your situation impact the process helps you prioritize and create a strategy.

If you understand how things work, you can even do some of the easier tasks yourself, instead of paying a lawyer to explain every last element or handling things you can tackle on your own.

Organize

Gather all the relevant documents and arrange them in an accessible, logical way.

Getting the important paperwork together cuts down the amount of work your attorney must do. Too often, people show up with a box or folder full of loose documents jumbled together.

In most cases, some simple clerical work you can do on your own helps immensely. If your attorney spends a few hours organizing a mess, that’s time you get charged for. A bit of work on your end can save money.

Prepare

It’s important to organize. It’s also important to organize in advance. Once the process gets going, you have motions to file and serve, paperwork to fill out, responses to make, and appearances to keep.

If you’re bad at organizing or don’t have the time or patience, you also have other options. Some people hire temporary assistants to handle the task. It may still cost you money, but paying $50 an hour, for example, is cheaper than the hundreds most lawyers charge.

Pick Your Battles

Going into the divorce with a clear set of priorities will help you pick the important battles.

The more a couple fights, the more contentious the divorce. The more contentious the divorce, the longer it takes. The longer it takes, the more money you spend. If you truly want to save money on divorce, prioritize. Know what you want and what’s most important.

Figure out what you’re willing to let go of and what you aren’t. Know where to spend your time, energy, and resources.

That said, don’t simply roll over to avoid spending money. If visitation is important or a certain item has a special significance, fight for it.

Divorce has a huge impact on your life moving forward. And once you have a divorce settlement in place, the details are difficult to change in the future.

Be Honest

It’s often costly to withhold information from your attorney or to be untruthful about your circumstances. If your divorce lawyer has all the facts, they can create the best strategy for meeting your goals.

If you lie or try to hide things, it can undermine their plan. Don’t force your divorce lawyer to change directions mid-stream. That will likely cost a significant amount.

Your lawyer is not your therapist

It’s easy to lean on your attorney for emotional support. This can be a draining, stressful time, and they are in a unique position to understand what you’re going through. A good divorce lawyer truly has your best interests at heart.

But remember, they also charge you money.

Having emotional support in place is hugely important during a divorce. It’s not even that your lawyer doesn’t care, but that’s not their job. Instead, turn to family or friends.

If necessary, talk to an actual therapist or mental health professional. Taking care of yourself throughout the process is vital. An experienced professional will generally much more effective, and usually much cheaper, than using your attorney for that purpose.

Crowdfunding Divorce Legal Fees

Can you crowdfund your divorce? The short answer is yes.

Not all platforms allow for divorce, so before you begin, it’s important to examine the rules. Websites like FundRazr, where you can raise money for legal fees, have options for divorce and family law matters. Others, like GoFundMe and Indiegogo, while not specifically intended for divorce, do permit you to use their services for that purpose.

A couple of years ago, Josh and Sara Margulis, a California couple, launched Honeyfund, which allows newly married couples to crowdfund dream honeymoons. From there, they created the offshoot Plumfund. Through this service, you can finance “life events,” like baby showers, birthday parties, or support various causes. They even added an option to crowdfund your divorce. In this way, their efforts essentially come full circle, from the beginning of a marriage to the end.

Even relatively straightforward cases often come with a hefty price tag. Thinking about the financial side of ending your marriage can be scary.

If you want to save money on divorce, basically, anything you can do to streamline the process and make things easier for you and your lawyer goes a long way toward that end.

Related Reading: Child Custody: What’s In A Parenting Plan?

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From The Radio

Rick Jones, our founding partner, regularly appears on the KZOK Morning Show, where he answers listener questions about divorce and family law. As you might expect, the topic of divorce and the associated costs comes up regularly.

CALLER: “My wife and I have been married for 6 years, and we’ve been separated for the last year. We haven’t done anything legal yet in terms of the courts, but I’m just curious of what a ballpark of what this is going to cost me would be?”

Rick: “The expense is really going to be based on how much time is required on both sides of the case to resolve the case, and that’s what your ultimate goal is is to be done. So, a lot of the legwork you can actually get done yourself if the two of you can communicate and keep an amicable nature going on, scribble on the back of a napkin, take it to an attorney, and if that’s all that needed to be resolved, you’re going to be out of there really quick.

“Unfortunately, we also see a lot of the other side, which is you got two people at each other’s throat a little bit, and contested issues which are emotionally packed, and those are cases that can last months and months, and go all the way to trial.”

Danny:  “People say all the time when they call the show, in my life and even in one of my many divorces, “ah we don’t need a lawyer, this is going to be really friendly.” And I will tell you that’s always going to be more expensive than from having a lawyer from the get-go. Cuz [sic] by the time you say,  ‘turns out we do need a lawyer!’ Now you’re mad. You should have started with a lawyer before anyone got mad. That’s my advice to you.”

Related Reading: How the Division of Property Works in Washington