We know money matters, especially when a marriage splits up, and the same old income now has to support two households instead of one. Yet divorce can be complicated and often very expensive (not to mention stressful)! That’s why we designed a special program for those of you who don’t need all the hand-holding, don’t expect a battle, and want to get the paperwork done right. We call this our “Fast Track” to divorce or legal separation. Take a look at the questionnaire below to determine if you are a good candidate to “Take the Fast Track”.
- Have you already divided the household furnishings without incident, or do you expect that to be a simple process that need not involve lawyers?
- Have you already split up the bank accounts and taken your names off any joint credit cards?
- Are you still civil with each other?
- Are both of you really ready to get this divorce behind you?
- Are you reasonably sure there are no hidden assets?
- Do you know exactly where your assets are, generally what they are worth, and how much debt you have?
- Do you each have a paystub or W2 form that will tell us exactly how much you actually earn, on average, over a 12 month period?
- Are you childless, or are the kids over, say, 16 years old, such that there will be no arguments about parenting time or legal custody?
- Are you pretty organized, so that your lawyers don’t need to spend a lot of time trying to find documents or information to complete the paperwork?
If you answered all these questions YES, we suggest you try our FAST TRACK to an uncontested divorce or legal separation.
In a nutshell, here’s how it works: One spouse meets one time with one of our Family Law attorneys to discuss the process and design your proposed settlement of all issues. In case your settlement falls apart and you find yourself back on the “normal track” or worse, the “slow track”, this will be your trial attorney. Once you pay your retainer, our experienced associates draft the opening documents and at the same time, a proposed final judgment that, if accepted by your spouse, resolves all issues between you. We file your opening documents and pay your county filing fees on your behalf. You both waive your rights to “discovery” of each other’s bank and credit accounts, emails, pay stubs, etc. Your spouse agrees to “accept service” of the relevant paperwork and either agrees to all the proposed terms or requests a few minor changes. Once the documents are finalized and agreed to, you both sign in our office in front of a notary. We file the final divorce judgment, obtain a judge’s signature, and deliver a “certified true copy” of the final decree to each of you. NEITHER ONE OF YOU WILL EVER STEP FOOT IN A COURTROOM.
The cost? That will depend upon how many revisions are required to the final judgment, whether your spouse hires his/her own lawyer to review our documents, and/or whether the case ends up requiring extensive negotiations. Our retainer will be $5,000, which, if all goes smoothly, can cover 100% of your fees and court costs. In the best case, you may agree to split our fees between you.
How fast is fast? A truly uncontested case can be finalized very quickly, depending upon which county you live in. We have completed some divorces within as little as 3 weeks.
What if you were overly optimistic and settlement falls apart? Don’t worry, we will simply step back in to negotiate on your behalf or, if necessary, try your case. We have your back either way.
