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We are experienced and reasonably priced.
You will get a realistic assessment of your
case and the potential outcomes based on
over 20 years of legal experience.
Let us help you with:
Divorce (Simple and Contested)
Annulment (Used for a short term marriage and
based on some type of fraud)
Separate Maintenance Agreement (Often used to
maintain health care benefits for a spouse)
Paternity (DNA testing and/or court establishing
father's rights)
Child Custody (Legal and physical custody, primary
residence/domicile)
Child Support (Calculated by the Friend of the Court)
Parenting Time (Often negotiated)
Prenuptial Agreements (Used prior to marriage
when one party has significantly more assets than the
other party)
Spousal Support (Often negotiated)
Change in Domicile (When a person with physical
custody wants to move to another state or another
country with the child or children)
Change in Custody (When custody of a child or
children changes from one person to another)
Enforcing a Judgment (When a person is not
complying with the terms of a Judgment)
Motions and Appeals (Requires legal research and
asking the Court to do something to further your case)
Attorney Fees Explained:
Attorney fees should not be complicated or
vague. When hiring an attorney you should
know exactly how you are being billed. Our
family law invoices are itemized monthly and our
billings are reasonable.
Retainer fee: A retainer fee is an advance
payment to retain the attorney and begin the
legal matter. This advance payment is then
applied to the attorney's billable hours, unless
the fee agreement states otherwise. Sometimes,
the legal matter will require an additional
retainer at a later time.
Our attorney retainer fee agreement:
Estimating the length of time and work done on
a case is difficult, even for the most experienced
attorneys. However, as a general rule our
retainer fees are:
Divorce with no minor children: $1,200 to
$3,000.
Divorce with minor children: $1,500 to $5,000.
Depending on the complexity of the legal case,
the initial retainer fee could be more. Most
attorney fees are incurred at the beginning and
ending of your case.
Our billing:
Office time is billed at $150.00 an hour and
broken down in increments of 1/10 of an hour.
Consequently, the minimum billing for office
time work is $15.00.
Court time is billed at $200.00 an hour with a
minimum of one and a half hours, or $300, for
each court appearance. In a divorce you can
expect at least two or more court appearances.
Costs:
The client is responsible for all costs, including
filing fees ($150.00 with no minor children or
$240.00 with minor children), process serving
($50 to $150), postage, etc., which is also
deducted from the retainer fee.
For a copy of our retainer fee agreement please
submit your request to:
michlawyer1@comcast.net. Retainer amounts
will vary depending upon your case.
Unlike many law firms, we do not charge for
telephone consultations or travel time to
court.
Attorney fees should not be complicated or
vague. When hiring an attorney you should
know exactly how you are being billed. Our
family law invoices are itemized monthly and our
billings are reasonable.
Retainer fee: A retainer fee is an advance
payment to retain the attorney and begin the
legal matter. This advance payment is then
applied to the attorney's billable hours, unless
the fee agreement states otherwise. Sometimes,
the legal matter will require an additional
retainer at a later time.
Our attorney retainer fee agreement:
Estimating the length of time and work done on
a case is difficult, even for the most experienced
attorneys. However, as a general rule our
retainer fees are:
Divorce with no minor children: $1,200 to
$3,000.
Divorce with minor children: $1,500 to $5,000.
Depending on the complexity of the legal case,
the initial retainer fee could be more. Most
attorney fees are incurred at the beginning and
ending of your case.
Our billing:
Office time is billed at $150.00 an hour and
broken down in increments of 1/10 of an hour.
Consequently, the minimum billing for office
time work is $15.00.
Court time is billed at $200.00 an hour with a
minimum of one and a half hours, or $300, for
each court appearance. In a divorce you can
expect at least two or more court appearances.
Costs:
The client is responsible for all costs, including
filing fees ($150.00 with no minor children or
$240.00 with minor children), process serving
($50 to $150), postage, etc., which is also
deducted from the retainer fee.
For a copy of our retainer fee agreement please
submit your request to:
michlawyer1@comcast.net. Retainer amounts
will vary depending upon your case.
Unlike many law firms, we do not charge for
telephone consultations or travel time to
court.
| Call Attorney Derik Girdwood (586) 783-8095 |
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