The first step in obtaining a divorce from your spouse is to find a Rhode Island attorney with whom you are comfortable. Many attorneys provide free initial consultations, while others charge for the first consultation. I have always taken the position that initial consultations will be free.
It is important to ask the proposed attorney about their experience and qualifications in handling your case. It is also crucial to determine the hourly charge and the amount of any initial fee or advance.
It is often impossible to determine how much a divorce will cost from start to finish. However, it is a good idea to obtain an informed estimate of the eventual fee. Usually this will never be more than an estimate because the cost of a divorce usually depends on a number of factors. Those factors could include how quickly a settlement is reached, the number of motions each party will file, the amount / nature and complexity of the assets to be divided evenly, the number of documents involved in the case, the animosity of the parts in each case. another, the waiting time while you are in court and many other potential problems.
The rule of thumb is that the longer it takes to reach an agreement, the more the divorce will cost because the lawyers will spend much more time working on the case. If there is no agreement and the case goes to trial or on trial day, the divorce could be very costly. If everything is agreed or almost agreed and the parties are relatively friendly, then the divorce should take much less time and therefore be much less expensive.
Contested divorces in Rhode Island should be much less expensive than contested divorces. However, there are many different types of uncontested divorces. There are uncontested divorces with no actual assets and uncontested divorces with assets to divide. If the divorce is uncontested and there is property, the attorney may need to prepare a property settlement agreement, deeds, qualified domestic relationship orders, etc. Therefore, the cost of an uncontested divorce may vary depending on the circumstances. For example, if an attorney has to draft a property settlement agreement, the attorney will spend more time on the case.
I think a fair price for an uncontested walnut soup divorce in Rhode Island with no assets and no property settlement agreement is about $ 800 flat fee plus costs. Typical costs are a filing fee of $ 100 and process service fees of approximately $ 40.
After you have hired the attorney, there is usually an intake process in which the attorney obtains the basic information so that they can adequately represent you. Usually the lawyer draws up the divorce papers and you sign them in front of him or another notary. These documents include a claim for divorce, financial statement DR (6), statement of children of the marriage, statement of counseling, report of divorce, summons and automatic divorce order, etc. It is important that the DR6 form, also known as a financial statement, be completed accurately.
You may have to make many important decisions before filing for divorce in Rhode Island. Strategy is crucial in many cases!
In some cases, the attorney will file a motion for temporary orders when the divorce petition is filed. A motion for temporary orders must be filed if the husband or wife needs temporary resolution of the issues while the case is ongoing. These temporary motions generally ask for temporary child support, childcare payment / contribution, contribution to medical bills, alimony, payment of household expenses, mortgage payment, taxes and insurance. A motion for temporary orders may also address issues related to visitation and custody of minor children, as well as issues regarding exclusive use and possession of the marital home. The temporary motion can also request temporary orders regarding: financial and personal restraining orders and a myriad of other temporary matters. The motion for temporary orders will generally be heard by the Court within 30 to 40 days after the filing of the petition for divorce.
If no temporary orders are entered, the spouse has no legal obligation to pay anything as the case progresses until the judge or the parties sign a property settlement agreement. If there are no temporary orders, financial issues, visitation, and custody issues will be up to the parties to resolve as the case progresses without the benefit of a court order.
If there is an emergency where irreparable harm will be caused if the party has to wait for a short date, then an emergency motion must be filed with the complaint. An emergency motion must be verified under oath or accompanied by an affidavit. The attorney will take the emergency motion to the appropriate judge and request an ex parte order. Ex parte means that the other party is not present to object. The Rhode Island judge will only consider the affidavit and documentation before him. If the judge signs the emergency order, the bailiff will serve your spouse along with the divorce petition.
These types of emergency motions generally address issues related to the abuse of a child, the dissipation or unreasonable expenditure of marital property, domestic violence, child abuse, or a plethora of other potential emergencies. If there is domestic violence involved in which you have an imminent fear of physical harm or have been abused or threatened with abuse, please discuss with the attorney the benefits of filing a separate case called Abuse Complaint Protection. Please note that Abuse Complaint Protection is very different from an emergency motion.
When the divorce or Abuse Protection Complaint case is filed first or whether they are filed simultaneously could be crucial to your case.
If an emergency motion is granted and emergency orders are entered, a hearing of approximately 20 days will be set to determine if the order should remain in effect while the divorce case is processed. At that hearing, your spouse has the opportunity to contest the motion and tell his side of the story. At that hearing, the Court will determine whether emergency relief will remain in effect while the divorce case proceeds.
See the second part, to be completed later, which describes the process from the filing of the complaint to the nominal divorce hearing.