How Much Does A Divorce Cost In New Jersey?

The most popular question we are asked on an initial consultation is: how much is does cost in New Jersey? That seems like such a simple question, but the answer is anything but simple. The divorce cost in New Jersey can range from a couple hundred dollars to a hundred thousand dollars. You can imagine that potential clients do not like to hear that sort of range.

The truth is that the cost of the divorce depends, in large part, on two big things. First, the divorce cost in New Jersey is high when one or both of the parties are emotionally charged. Sometimes, one of the parties does not want to be divorced. His or her defense for the divorce is simply to put up unnecessary roadblocks at every turn. The first clue to a high divorce cost in New Jersey is a spouse that does not want to be divorced. Other times, a spouse is upset at the behavior of their spouse. It could be that they discovered an affair or there is some kind of domestic violence. In both cases, reaching the end of the divorce can be more difficult because one or both of the parties are not emotionally ready to reach the end. We find that the cheater has to be punished and the abuser has to be taught a lesson.

Second, the divorce cost in New Jersey increases when a party decides to treat his or her attorney as a therapist or friend. We tell all our clients that we are not mental health professionals or a friend that they can call up and gossip with. Nonetheless, many clients like to call us and tell us their story over and over again, and even tell us about things that have nothing to do with their divorce. They like to explain why their spouse is a bad person or provide us daily details of everything single thing that happens with their children. Despite being told multiple times that this type of behavior is simple consuming their attorney’s time and raising the their cost, some clients feel the need to continue to make the phone calls or send the emails in order to feel better. The result? A lot of unnecessary billable hours and a higher divorce cost.

The moral of the story is that the divorce cost in New Jersey is controlled, in large part, by the mentality of the parties. If you are committed to finding a resolution to your divorce and only communicating with your attorney about the things that are important to your divorce, the divorce cost should not be high. We admit that some New Jersey divorces are complicated and the divorce cost increases through no one’s fault, but those cases are the exception rather than the rule.

and what the cost is going to be for you. However, beware! We will not tell you what you want to hear. We will only tell you what you need to know.