Divorce Fee

[ThailandLover]

I will like to know the average cost of hiring the divorce lawyer as I am looking for a lawyer with reasonable fee (contested / uncontested divorce). And lastly, how long will the divorce procedure last? Thank you very much.

[mseveninch]

Hi TS - Lawyer fees had no boundary - it's very much depends on the complexity of your case. Also the duration is one of the factors that caused the fees to up if either one parties does not give in for amicable settlements and more papers to file in court.

My experienced - engaged a lawyer with an upfront 3k for my case. The battle lasted over 3 years before come to out of court settlement ( settlement in Chamber ). The final bill's due to me - 12k!!

In summary - there is no clear estimation how much you need to pay. You need to standby at least 10k - just in - case you need to battle it out in court. The lawyer will ask for an upfront deposit first ( lawyer afraid you can't pay later and they need to discharge themselves from representing you because you can't pay and the court date is near ).

One more things need to note. Never engage a top class lawyer - cost more. Normal grade lawyer will do. they are many around to choose on!

Good luck!

[LittleDidIKnow]

Bro


Just get one of those based at Chinatown. For uncontested divorce and if you don't have too much property, $1.8k - $2k should be sufficient.

[kenstud27]

Hi TS

Best is to settle with your ex-wife on the terms and conditions so that you wont have all the disputes and prolonging your case longer than necessary.

I made all the agreement w my ex-wife before going to the lawyer in Feb.....everything went kinda smooth except for some typo mistakes done by the lawyer secretary so the appeal had to be resent to court.....now final judgement coming this Oct first week....all i spent about 2.5k....

Like the bros mentioned, prices vary n my lawyer is from People Park Centre.

All the best!

[5ag1_Boar]

Depends. Lawyers charge by the number of hours they spend in court for your case, how many documents/letters they have to produce for you, how many meetings/negotiations they attend for/with you etc.

Baseline 2K +/- a few hundred is about there for a really bare minimum case.

If you can, discuss and agree with your ex-wife-to-be the terms of divorce without the lawyers involvement. E.g.:
- The maintenance that you will pay her.
- If have children, the maintenance you will pay, who has care and control,and whether joint or sole custody.
- How assets will be split.

You can ask your lawyer, what needs to be discussed and agreed on, then have a private discussion with your ex-to-be, no lawyers present. Bring the agreements back to each of your lawyers and let them know. They will then do the necessary paperwork and court appearances to finalise the case.

You should also ask your lawyer what is reasonable, so you can negotiate accordingly.

All this is of course is provided that both of you can do this without major conflict.

Possible other costs: your ex-to-be's legal and related fees.

[cgcgcg]

can we DIY instead of go thru lawyer if simple case?

[NaNa]

Originally Posted by cgcgcg

can we DIY instead of go thru lawyer if simple case?

I doubt so.

[Mythbuster]

Originally Posted by cgcgcg

can we DIY instead of go thru lawyer if simple case?

Very hard bro

[callmebad]

fees vary
depend on how complicated is your case
depend on whether there are lots of things to fight over such as child custody, fight over how much she can claim as a % of the value of matrimony house, anything that you own and she wants to have a share

generally the longer the marriage it is, the more expensive will be the divorce proceedings because there are more things (child, house, other assets) to fight over as you ask your lawyer to write counter-argument letters against her claims/accusations

she can fight to claim for your assets even if she did not pay for them if the marriage is long

Singapore law allows divorce after 3 years of separation, in the eyes of the law, separation doesn't mean both of you are physically separated, both of you can stay under the same roof, but she stops performing her wife duties such as she stops cooking for you, she stops washing your clothes, of course she stops having sex with you - such acts are considered separation

but if either party contest the divorce, then divorce can only file after 4 years of separation (which happens to me)

[sleepygordon]

Originally Posted by callmebad

fees vary
depend on how complicated is your case
depend on whether there are lots of things to fight over such as child custody, fight over how much she can claim as a % of the value of matrimony house, anything that you own and she wants to have a share

generally the longer the marriage it is, the more expensive will be the divorce proceedings because there are more things (child, house, other assets) to fight over as you ask your lawyer to write counter-argument letters against her claims/accusations

she can fight to claim for your assets even if she did not pay for them if the marriage is long

Singapore law allows divorce after 3 years of separation, in the eyes of the law, separation doesn't mean both of you are physically separated, both of you can stay under the same roof, but she stops performing her wife duties such as she stops cooking for you, she stops washing your clothes, of course she stops having sex with you - such acts are considered separation

but if either party contest the divorce, then divorce can only file after 4 years of separation (which happens to me)

Not true. You or your soon to be ex wife can file for unreasonable behaviour. Dun have to wait for 3 or 4 years. But it will be painful. If you have kids under age of 8 years...it is now mandatory for counseling and mediation.

[kongkek]

Agree with most. Me 10K ant not done. Just missed one payment too

[Greendevil]

Since so many bros here mention fees already I just elaborate on the time. For uncontested case, it will take approx 5-6 months before you are officially single again. If your case if contested, just bear in mind every court session will wait for 1months before yours is heard again so the more issues the more court session means longer time. That explain why some ppl spend over a year to divorce.

[spidey7]

3yrs e divorce will b finalized. Hv u found a divorce lawyer yet? Dere will b alot o complications.

[Greendevil]

Also if your case is a contested case, I suggest you spend a bit more money get a barrister than a solicitor. It may cost a bit more but if may means save you a few rds of courts session and eventually be better off.

Just to share with you my experience. My barrister was the classmate of the family court judge who is also handling my case same with my opponent lawyer who is only a solicitor which is their classmate as well. So it turn out to be a mini law class gathering for them and good things is my lawyer is in good term with the judges as obviously they have soar to higher ground since graduate less the solicitor. Needless to say, I left the court as a happy man. The score is like 4 - 1, almost a full walk over. The only score my opponent able to score is because the 'coach' want to end the match fast and ask the goalkeeper to kelong.

[5ag1_Boar]

Let's clear some common misconceptions.

Ways to divorce:
1. If one party has valid grounds (i.e. valid reason), can file for divorce immediately (the legal process will still take a few months at least). No need to wait 3 or 4 years. However, the other party can contest the divorce. E.g. A files divorce on the grounds that B committed adultery. B can contest the divorce and deny the accusation. A then has to produce the proof and B has to defend. If A is not able to convincingly proved the case, then judge can deny the divorce.

Two of the grounds (reasons) for divorce I can remember are:
A. Unreasonable behavior. E.g. late nights, abuse, violence, etc.
B. Adultery.

2. After 3 years of separation, if both parties agree, can file for divorce without just cause. In this case no accusation or defense required.

3. If one party does agree to divorce after 3 years, than have to wait till 4th year, than either party can file for divorce without agreement of the other. Also no accusation or defense required.

Separation has to be proven. Best is get lawyers to draft out for you a deed of separation at the beginning. Both have to sign. 3 or 4 years later, use that as proof that you have been separated for that long. If don't have a deed of separation, there are other more troublesome ways, but I can't remember.

For all 3 ways, getting a decent lawyer familiar with divorce cases is still a good idea. How to reduce cost, already mentioned in previous posts above.