Our mediation fees are mainly “flat fee” based. For example, for divorce or separation, you will be charged a flat fee of $3,500 as follows:
- $1,000 for 5 hours of mediation sessions*
- $1,500 to draft a settlement agreement
- $1,000 to draft the documents necessary to file the submission forms for obtaining a judgment of divorce or other court orders.
- $370 to cover mandatory court filing fees**
In our experience, in addition to the mandatory court filing fees set forth above, the majority of litigated matrimonial cases result in initial retainer fees to your family of $5,000 to $20,000. This is because most matrimonial attorneys charge an initial retainer fee of $2,500 to $10,000 depending on the complexity of your case. If you both retain an attorney, the total initial legal fees expended by your family would be estimated between $5,000 and $20,000! In litigated cases, you would both be billed by your attorney at a rate of $250 to $450 per hour, which often well exceeds the initial retainer fee over time.
As you can see, mediation is a small, and generally fixed, investment compared to the cost that would be incurred through litigating in the court system. You and your family can save thousands of dollars by avoiding litigation.
If you have any questions or would like to speak to a certified mediator about your situation, please call us now at (631) 419-6111 or contact us online for a free consultation.
*Each additional hour of mediation will be billed at a rate of $250 per hour. However, the majority of our cases are resolved within five hours.
**Supreme Court filing fees are paid to the Court whether you chose to mediate or litigate your case. Court filing fees will be paid to the Court for the following: Index Number ($210), Request for Judicial Intervention ($95), Stipulation of Settlement fee ($35), Note of Issue ($30), and the fee for a copy of certified Judgment or court order is generally $5 each order (but may vary depending upon the length of the order).
