question about cost for custody battle

[Username2005]

NC
I have a question for anyone who has hired an attorney for a custody
battle. About how much might I expect to pay for the entire process?
Thanks in advance.

 

[brisgirl825]

It depends on many factors and no one here can give you an estimate.

 

[MomIsWorried]

I can only tell you what my husband and I paid for the attorney who represented my husband in his first custody case (which was in 1999) ... we paid the attorney $3700.00 (and lost). A court date was set, then was rescheduled per request from his ex's attorney...and there was a GAL involved (if I remember correctly, my husband and his ex both had to pay half of the cost of the GAL ...which was an additional charge).

In my husband's second attempt at custody, in 2001, he went pro se and was awarded custody of his kids ... with no more information or "proof" than what he had the first time he tried to get custody.

 

[stealth2]

You provide nowhere near enough information to even hazard a guess.

 

[Username2005]

Ok, what information do I need to provide to get a ball park figure/guess?
Thanks in advance.

 

[stealth2]

For starters - what you're looking for in terms of custody, what the other party's stance is, whether it's a new custody determination or a modification, what the circumstances are behind your desire for custody, etc.

It could be as low as a few thousand, to well into the tens of thousands, depending.

 

[jslopez711]

NC
I have a question for anyone who has hired an attorney for a custody
battle. About how much might I expect to pay for the entire process?
Thanks in advance.

I'll give you an idea.

My ex and I had to put everything in front of the judge because she didn't know that Standard was, well, Standard.

In 2000, I paid $3500.00 @ 250 p/h. This got me SOP in Texas.
In 2004, I paid $4200.00 @ 250 p/h. (and Won) A modification. My ex sued me for more CS and I countered sued for more time with my son (you can find this case here on the forum).

My ex wouldn't agree with anything. Save yourslef some money, if you have an unreasonable EX, then just let the judge hear it, don't allow your attorney to spend worthless time with the other attorney because they will come up with nothing.

And watch those phone calls too, in TX is a standard .25 hr. per phone call.

Good luck.

 

[stealth2]

Again - it depends entirely on what OP is looking to achieve. To get standard visitation is going to take a lot less than getting sole legal and physical custody (for example).

 

[CJane]

Again - it depends entirely on what OP is looking to achieve. To get standard visitation is going to take a lot less than getting sole legal and physical custody (for example).

Judging from this: https://forum.freeadvice.com/showthread.php?t=288131 I'm betting OP wants full legal/physical with some extremely limited visitation.

Though, I must admit, all I read of the thread was the first post...

What is the name of your state?What is the name of your state? NC
My baby is 10 months old. Her father has never seen her nor
showed any interest in her whatsoever. We were not married
at the time of conception and I haven't seen him since before
she was born. We live 15 hours away from each other.

Recently I filed to establish paternity and child support. He
now says if I seek child support that he will seek maximum
custody for summers and all available time.
It would be good if he truely wanted to be involved in his child's
life but I am certain he is just saying he would seek custody as
a threat to get me to drop the case. He also told me while I
was pregnant that he would "ruin my life" if I sought child support
so I feel I have been threatened already.

What are his chances of getting custody and how much time would
he have to have her to get his support obligation lowered?

 

[Username2005]

This would be a new custody, not modification. I've had the child
since she was born last December. He's never tried to contact me
about vistiting.
He says if he has to pay support he'll try to get as much time with
her as possible. He thinks that will lower his payments.

At this point I think he is just threatening me to get me to drop the case.
He has indicated if I decide to seek child support he'll seek maximum custody all summers and available time. In reality he doesn't want any parenting time but just in case he opens up a custody case I want to
be prepared on how much I may have to spend.

Not sure if this matters or not but I live in NC with child and that is
where jurisdiction is and he lives in AZ and CA when he isn't travelling.

 

[stealth2]

He'll certainly get visitation if he files for it. Initially there would likely be a "get to know each other" period of short/supervised visits, gradually increasing in duration and unsupervised. Eventually, he will likely get large chunks of time during school breaks (once she starts school) and a decent-sized chunk in the summer. If you're not willing to reach an agreement with him, you'll be paying more in legal fees than if you come to a reasonable settlement.

My guess would be that, if you fight visitation, you'll be spending more than jsl's numbers. During our custody case (we were fighting for/against a 50/50 arrangement), I spent in excess of $20k - and I think my ex spent more than that.

 

[casa]

On a filing to establish custody in 2001~ I spent about $300 (Pro Se) and nuttyX spent about $15,000.

On a filing to change custody in 2004 (which lasted until 2005)~ nuttyX spent about $70,000 and I spent about $24, 000.

My case depended on how long it got dragged out, there were Forensic Evaluators and Minor's Attorney and Mediation and both my attorney and my nuttyX's attorney and 2 depositions to pay for.

 

[CJane]

My divorce and original custody agreement (which ended up being agreed to out of court on the day of trial) cost me $2500 - and my ex almost $40,000.

The modification has cost me about $7000 so far, not including the GAL which was another $1000. It has cost my ex almost $12,000 so far.

Depends on who you hire, what they decide to charge you for, how much work the attorney does vs what's shifted to a paralegal, how many court appearances are scheduled, etc. I doubt ANYONE could give you any idea what you'd be facing.

 

[Username2005]

I wouldn't fight visitation so maybe it would just be easier to reach
an agreement.
I would want the visits supervised at first since she has never met
her father before. WOuld I need to hire an attorney to work out the
visitation?

According to the responses I'm getting, a custody battle could be
pretty darn expensive.

 

[thetsgtswife]

I spent about 2500 with my son and my husband spent about 21000 and his ex spent about 42000 on thier custody/divorce preceedings that started in 97 and lasted until 2000. Not to mention the little things along the way that always add up.

TSGTSWIFE