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Mediation v. Litigation with Divorce
COMPARISON OF THE AVERAGE COST OF DIVORCE FEES
Divorce Mediation vs. Divorce Litigation, Custody Mediation vs.
Custody Litigation
Do you really want to spend your children's college education account, your vacation
money, & the full value of your home on your divorce? King Mediation asks you to
consider divorce mediation or custody mediation as a lower-cost, lower-stress alternative:
| Mediation |
Litigation* |
Savings by Using Mediation Instead of Litigation |
Life Beyond Divorce |
Time Value of Money (Savings) Over 20 Years ** |
Total Savings by Using King Mediation |
2 mediation sessions at 3 hours each, $150 max per hour
plus consultation with independent attorneys to review settlement options:
$900 |
Low conflict divorce, with some negotiation but uncontested
final judgment. Both spouses have attorneys who charge $150 p/ hour:
$ 7,000 |
$6,100 |
Trip to Hawaii for two, two weeks, all-inclusive package
including room with a view:
$5000 |
$13,365 |
$13,365
Enough for a new car or boat |
3 sessions, and consultation with attorneys to review settlement options:
$1,650 |
Limited contested divorce case, no children, trial on common financial issues:
$19,275 |
$17,925 |
1976 Rolls Royce Silver Shadow classic automobile, fully refurbished:
$15,000 |
$39,275 |
$39,275
Enough for 2 classic Rolls Royce cars |
5 sessions, and consultation with attorneys to review settlement options:
$2,550 |
Contested divorce case with custody issues which settles right before trial date:
$32,100 |
$29,850 |
Undergraduate education, 4 years in-state tuition at one of Utah?s four major universities:
$13,404 (avg.) |
$65,405 |
$65,405
Enough to send 4 children to college for an undergrad education
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6 sessions, and consultation with attorneys to review settlement options:
$3,000 |
Fully contested custody case which proceeds to trial:
$64,200 |
$61,500 |
Law School education, 3 years tuition at U of Utah:
$29,238 or
BYU: $21,600 |
$134,754 |
$134,754
enough to send 4 children to law school and buy each a car |
8 sessions, and consultation with attorneys to review settlement options:
$3,900 |
Fully contested custody & finance issues case with child custody
evaluators & forensic valuation experts for business, pensions, etc.:
$107,100 |
$103,500 |
Nice 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom town home:
$102,000 |
$226,781 |
$ 226,781
Enough for a town home with enough left over to send 3 children to college and law school.
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* Think we've exaggerated the costs of litigation? Consider this quote from one of Los Angeles California's
top judges made at a bar association meeting in September 2002: "By the time we see [divorce] cases in court,
most people have spent all of their community assets on the divorce itself. By that time, we're just dividing
debts and allocating attorney's fees."
** For this calculation, we've used a 4% simple interest rate and subtracted the cost of mediation from the
cost of litigation. This figure represents the amount of money you'd save by mediating your divorce instead of litigating,
and how much that savings would be worth if you invested it at 4% interest for 20 years.
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