The first step to getting a divorce from your spouse is to find a Rhode Island attorney with whom you are comfortable. Many lawyers provide a free initial consultation while others charge a fee for the first consultation. I always take the position that the initial consultation will be free.
It is important to ask the proposed attorney about their experience and qualifications to handle your case. It is also important to determine the hourly charge and the amount of any initial fees or charges.
It is often impossible to determine how much a divorce will cost from start to finish. However, it is a good idea to get an educated estimate of the eventual cost. This will usually never be more than an estimate as the cost of a divorce usually depends on several factors. Such factors may include how quickly a settlement is reached, the number of motions each party will file, the amount/nature and complexity of the assets to be divided equitably, the number of documents involved in the case, the hostility of the parties to each party. others, waiting times while you are in court and many other potential problems.
The Golden Rule is that the longer it takes to reach a settlement, the greater the cost of the divorce because the attorney will spend more time working on the case. If there is no settlement and the case is brought to court or trial day, divorce can be very expensive. If everyone agrees or almost agrees and the parties are relatively friendly then the divorce will take less time and therefore be much cheaper.
An uncontested divorce in Rhode Island should be much cheaper than a contested divorce. However, there are many types of divorce that are indisputable. There are irrefutable divorces with no real assets and irrefutable divorces with assets to share. If the divorce is uncontested and assets are present then the attorney may need to prepare a property settlement agreement, deed, qualified domestic relations order, etc. Therefore, the indisputable cost of divorce may vary depending on the circumstances. For example, if an attorney has to draw up a property settlement agreement, the attorney will devote more time to the case.
I believe that a reasonable price for an uncontested divorce from soup to beans in Rhode Island with no assets and no property settlement agreement is approximately $800 in flat fees plus fees. Typical fees are a $100 filing fee and a processing service fee of around $40.
Once you have defended an attorney there is usually an admissions process where the attorney obtains basic information so that he or she can properly represent you. Lawyers usually draft divorce documents and you sign them in their presence or another notary. These documents include divorce complaints, DR(6) financial statements, children’s statements from marriage, counseling statements, divorce reports, automatic divorce summons and warrants, etc. It is important that the DR6 form otherwise known as financial statement is filled out accurately.
There are many important decisions that may need to be made before you file for divorce in Rhode Island. Strategy is very important in many ways!
In some cases, attorneys will file a motion for a provisional injunction when a divorce complaint is filed. A motion for a provisional injunction must be filed if the husband or wife requires a temporary settlement of the matter while the case is ongoing. These temporary moves usually require temporary child support, payments/contributions for child care, contributions to medical bills, alimony, payment of household expenses, mortgage payments, taxes and insurance. A motion for a provisional injunction can also address child visitation and child custody issues relating to minors as well as issues regarding exclusive use and ownership of marital homes. Interim motions can also seek interim orders regarding: restraint orders both financial and personal and a myriad of other temporary matters. Motions for interim orders will usually be heard by the Court within 30-40 days of filing for divorce.
If no provisional order is received, then there is no legal obligation from the spouse to pay anything during the case until a decision is made by the judge or the parties sign a property settlement agreement. In the absence of a provisional order, financial issues, visitation and custody issues will be the responsibility of the parties to find out while the case is ongoing without the benefit of a court order.
If there is an emergency where irreparable harm will occur if the party has to wait for a court date, then an emergency motion must be filed with a complaint. An emergency motion must be verified under oath or accompanied by a written statement. Lawyers will take an emergency motion to the appropriate judge and request an ex parte order. Ex parte means that the other party is not present to refuse. A Rhode Island judge will only consider affidavits and documentation before him. If the judge signs an emergency order than it will be presented to your spouse by the police along with the divorce complaint.
These types of emergency movements typically deal with issues of child abuse, unreasonable waste or spending of marital assets, domestic violence, child abuse or a large number of other potential emergencies. If there is domestic violence involved where you are in fear of physical harm or have been abused or threatened with harassment, please discuss with a lawyer the benefits of filing a separate case called Protection Complaints from Abuse! Please note that Complaint Protection from Abuse is very different from an Emergency motion.
The timing of whether the divorce or Abuse Protection Complaints are filed first or whether they are filed concurrently can be very important to your case.
If the emergency motion is granted and an emergency order is issued, a hearing will be held for approximately 20 days to determine whether the order should remain in effect while the divorce case is ongoing. Hearing that, your partner has the opportunity to challenge the motion and tell his or her story from his side. At that hearing, the Court will determine whether the emergency assistance will remain in effect for the duration of the divorce case.
Please see the second part to be completed later which describes the process from filing a complaint to a nominal divorce hearing.