Resolving Child Custody matters can range from fairly easy and affordable Parenting Agreements to lengthy and costly Contested Custody battles. There is no question that the money spent on legal fees would have been better spent on caring for your children so it is usually best and we encourage everyone to resolve the situation as fairly and affordably as possible. However, if the other parent is not willing to be fair and / or reasonable and is giving you no other option but to fight – we are prepared for that as well.
To get started Fill Out and Submit the Child Custody Interview Form below. This will collect the basic information we need to represent you. You can also schedule a consultation below.
To help you resolve your Child Custody issues in the best way possible,
we offer three levels of service – often on a flat rate legal fee basis so that you know how much things will cost from start to finish – up front. This is a much better arrangement than old ‘retainer’ arrangement used by most attorneys, where you pay often a large lump sum up front and you have no idea if it will be enough to conclude the case (hint: it usually isn’t).
1) Parenting Agreement: This is for parents who don’t necessarily need or want a formal court order, have come to a fair arrangement themselves or with our help / guidance and want their agreements regarding custody, child support, visitation, etc. to be put into a formal written and enforceable contractual agreement. For most situations, this can be done for a flat rate fee starting at $295 and works best when the parent are at least somewhat cooperative with each other.
2) Consent Custody Order: This is for parents who need a formal court order. This can be required for many situations such as enrolling a child in school. A formal custody case is filed with the Court and a court order is signed by a Judge but is resolved by agreement instead of a lengthy and costly court battle. The advantage here is that there is an actual Court Order of Custody versus a mere contract as with the Parenting Agreement but without the expense of a traditional contested custody case. For most situations, this can be done for a flat rate fee starting at $1500 plus court cost (court costs can vary but are usually less than $500).
3) Contested Custody: This is where attempts to come to a fair and reasonable agreement or compromise have failed and it is necessary to fight it out in Court with a Judge making the final decision if the parents can not agree. This type of resolution is often, complex, lengthy and expensive. Depending on the complexity, some contested custody situations, can be completed for a flat rate fee starting at $5000 plus cost but most cases will be in the $10,000 plus cost rage. In rare and extremely complex cases where even we can not determine the total cost in advance, we will use a retainer billing system and your legal fee / court costs will be billed against the retainer.
To get started, Fill Out and Submit the Child Custody Interview Form below and then call our office at (910) 333-9679 or use the calendar below to schedule a consultation.
Schedule a consultation by calling us at (910) 333-9679 or using the calendar below. At the consultation, the attorney will assess your situation, answer your questions, lay out your options and quote you a flat rate fee for any needed legal services. There is a $250 consultation fee but that will be applied to your quoted fee if you decide to hire us to represent you.
NOTE: The calendar below is ONLY for CUSTODY consultations and the consultation fee is due now. Currently we only accept payment by PayPal using the calendar below, so if you need or prefer to pay by another method such as cash or check or at the time of the consultation instead of now – just call us at (910) 333-9679 to schedule.
