As with any legal practice area, what a child custody lawyer costs in California may vary profoundly depending upon the individual lawyer, law firm, or complexity of the child custody case. The State Bar of California agrees, “Lawyers consider various factors when setting their fees. A lawyer who is well-known in a certain area of the law might charge more than someone who is not. A lawyer also may consider the complexity of the case and the amount of time your matter could take.”
In addition, in the state of California, custody lawyers often base their fees on what the market will bear in their given location. In other words, because the cost of living and working varies greatly, a child custody lawyer in San Francisco will most likely charge more than a child custody lawyer in Bakersfield.
What is the average cost of a child custody lawyer in California?
It’s estimated that the average cost of a child custody lawyer in California is $300-$600 an hour. That’s the average lawyer working on an average child custody case.
While that might sound like a lot, family lawyers, including child custody lawyers, are actually paid less than lawyers in other practice areas. For instance, patent lawyers and intellectual property/IP lawyers charge more, as do tax attorneys and corporate lawyers for the most part.
Just as child custody attorney fees vary, so do fee arrangements. In some aspects of family law, like wills or premarital and postmarital agreements, family lawyers often charge a fixed fee. As the State Bar of California explains, a fixed fee, also known as a standard fee, is “commonly used for routine legal matters, such as preparing a simple will. Before agreeing to a fixed fee, find out what it does and does not include, and if any other charges may be added to the bill.” “Routine” is the operative word. In other words, drawing up a will or premarital agreement is generally a limited engagement whereas divorce, asset division, child custody, these are thornier issues that can take considerably longer to resolve.
Child custody cases are typically billed by the hour and will require a retainer. A retainer can mean different things at different firms. Make sure you understand your retainer agreement. …at Laughlin Legal, your retainer fee is held in a trust account to ensure payment of your final bill. Other firms subtract from the retainer until the retainer is used up. The lawyer would then bill you for any additional time spent on your case or ask you to pay an additional retainer.”
Where do you find affordable child custody lawyers in California?
Perhaps a better question would be: can a California custody lawyer give you an estimate of what your custody case will cost to resolve? The answer is almost always no. While some California custody lawyers will offer an estimate, the truth is, it’s just a guess. With a subject as consequential and emotionally charged as where and with whom your child or children live, anything can happen. That you cannot control.
What you can control is the kind of child custody lawyer you choose to retain. And the primary qualities you should be looking for are experience and compassion.
As a California custody lawyer and family lawyer who has been practicing for many years, Amy Laughlin, Founder of Laughlin Legal, knows better than most what’s at stake for the children of divorcing parents. Amy herself is the divorced, pre-nupped and remarried mother of two sons, and in addition to her firsthand experience, she has helped hundreds of other families struggling to reach the best outcome. Those experiences have made her a committed children’s advocate. “We always err on the side of what’s best for the children. The data around the trauma children of divorced parents experience is so compelling. They face challenges their peers with married parents simply don’t. And it’s our job to mitigate that trauma as best we can to give them their best shot at a happy, healthy future.”
So what does ‘best California child custody lawyers near me’ actually mean?
It means highly experienced child custody lawyers who dig in deep to successfully resolve legal disputes that are also human disputes. The ‘best child custody lawyers near me’ won’t hustle you or hassle you or lecture you. They’ll listen and advocate.
Laughlin Legal’s skilled child custody mediators and child custody attorneys help parents achieve the custody or parenting time they deserve. They also provide a number of other custody-related services such as establishing paternity or seeking permission for relocation if a parent wants to move with the children during or after a divorce. They are trusted throughout California for their ability to understand and secure their clients’ needs.