Oakland County Child Custody Attorney - The Fees

[Antonia Eastwood]

Hiring a Oakland County child custody attorney requires that you pay
fees and expenses.
Different Types of Legal Fees
There are various charges a lawyer can charge you. Some are standard
and most are pretty common between lawyers and clients. They can be
major differences between the following arrangements, but the goal is
still that the lawyers sell their time and the people who want that
time will pay based upon how much they want a particular lawyer's
time.
Some common fee arrangements include:
Hourly Fees
Family lawyers charge an hourly fee, and in fact this is perhaps the
most common arrangement. With this type of arrangement, the lawyer
charges you for each hour he or she works on your particular case.
These rates can vary depending on many factors, including the Oakland
County child custody attorney's experience, whether your location is
in a large city, or whether you are in a small town. In general, large
cities tend to cost more than small towns do. Some lawyers also charge
one more expensive rate for time in court and then a lesser fee to
meet clients in their offices.
Hourly fees are typical with family law, because many unpredictable
things can happen. For example, there can be parental kidnappings,
clients can move away, or custody battles can happen. All of these
things require the lawyer to react with specific legal responses on
short notice. For these types of efforts, the lawyer will typically
charge from between $75 an hour to $400 an hour. In some cases, very
experienced family lawyers in a large city can even charges much is
$500 an hour.
Contingency Fees
Contingency fees are a popular way for a Oakland County child custody
attorney to be paid. In this case, the lawyer is only paid if the
client wins in court or is given a settlement. With this type of
arrangement, the lawyer takes a percentage of the amount awarded to
the client. Many states forbid contingency fees in family law cases,
so it's not likely that you'll find many lawyers working for
contingency in family law. There is one exception, which is when a
parent pursues another parent for a support delinquency. In these
types of cases, the lawyer can take from 20 to 50% of the final
settlement or collected amount. Other typical contingency fees may
include personal injury cases or medical malpractice. Workers'
compensation is also another type of contingency fee arrangement.
Fixed Fees
Fixed fees occur when a child custody lawyer charges you a specific
amount for the legal work that is done. This is common if the legal
matter is relatively simple and standardized forms can be used.
However, because unexpected things can happen which may change this
scenario, fixed fee rates can also have contingencies that will allow
the lawyer to charge extra if this becomes necessary. Some examples of
fixed fee arrangements include simple wills, uncontested divorces, and
personal bankruptcies. With a divorce involving children, most lawyers
will not work for a fixed fee, because custody disputes can be
volatile; they may require unexpected changes and therefore more time
and effort on the part of the lawyer.
Referral Fees
If you as a client are referred to another Oakland County Custody
lawyer, there may be a fee involved. You don't pay this, usually, but
one lawyer may pay the lawyer doing the referral. A referral may
happen if another lawyer has the skills you need and your present one
does not. Many states specifically govern how lawyers can split fees,
and it's forbidden when there is no overt benefit to you, it other
than to increase your total fees paid to the lawyer.
Statutory Fee
A statutory fee is set by statute for a particular type of work. These
fees are approved by the court.
These are the fees that will occur when you hire a Oakland County
child custody attorney.