Flat fee “UNCONTESTED DIVORCE”
No children, no property $300 + filing fee*
No children, property & debt division $400 + filing fee*
With children, no property $500 + filing fee*
With children, property & debt division $600 + filing fee*
*Divorce filing fee is currently $192.30. All funds are required upfront.
Only in the following counties: Tulsa, Rogers, Mayes, Nowata, Osage, Bartlesville, Okfuskee, Pawnee, Wagoner, Muskogee.
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NOTE: PLEASE READ BELOW, particularly the paragraph at the bottom of this page.
Some people seek to fight for custody or their equitable share of property division at any reasonable cost. If you fall into category, please skip this page and read my "Divorce in General" page on this website. Other people want to do the same thing but while spending as little as possible. However, those people too need to visit my "Divorce in General" page on this website, since being a tightwad while asking for everything under the sun does not necessarily entitled you to a reduced rate.
An "uncontested" divorce, by my definition, means just that - that the the divorce is uncontested. So what does that mean? It means that there are no issues that the two of you have not agreed upon. It means you know who gets the house, who gets what automobile, and who gets the sofa. If you have children, it also means who gets primary custody of those children and what visitation the other parents gets. If you and your spouse have talked amicably and agreed on these issues, I may consider your divorce "uncontested" and can therefore perform it for a "flat fee" rather than hourly rate.
Sometimes people come to me with agreements that are unenforceable by law. The most common situation is that there will be no child support. I typically cannot prepare paperwork that the Judge will sign where there is zero child support since, in most cases, the Court will require the non-custodial parent to pay the other parent child support regardless of whether that parent is requesting it. Other common situations involve unenforceable property and debt division situations, where a couple has agreed that they will sign this asset over to that person and pay off this debt and so on. Once I know all the facts, I can give you my professional opinion as to whether what you want do can be prepared in a proposed Decree and whether that Order would be enforceably law. Regardless, most people come to me with uncomplicated, simple situations that, if agreed-upon, can be drawn up in a proposed Decree and which can qualify as an "uncontested divorce" from my perspective.
After communicating with you by e-mail at jkm@oklahomadivorceattorney.com or by telephone at (918) 371-1896, I will decide whether to accept your case as a "flat fee uncontested divorce." Even if I am convinced that all issues are agreed upon and that it is truly an uncontested situation, I reserve the right to decline any case. For example, I may decline the case under a flat-fee rate because I believe that the property and/or debt division is too complex to take on at a flat-fee rate; I may in turn offer to accept the case my usual hourly rate. Although I will gladly communicate with your spouse as is necessary to prepare paperwork, I cannot represent both of you. I will go down on record as representing only one of you, typically the person who initially approaches me for legal advice or with a retainer. If things later "blow up" between the two of you, I will be that person's attorney assuming they advance me further funds and meet the requirements below. Please read below.
IN THE EVENT YOUR SPOUSE EITHER (A) DOES NOT SIGN AND RETURN TO ME A PROPOSED DECREE WITH 30 DAYS OF RECEIVING IT FROM ME OR (B) REFUSES TO COMMUNICATE WITH OR PROVIDE ME WITH INFORMATION I NEED TO PREPARE A PROPOSED DECREE OR (C) CHANGES HIS/HER MIND AFTER THE CASE IS FILED AND BEFORE THE COURT ENTERS AN ORDER ON THE DECREE OR (D) RETAINS AN ATTORNEY, THEN IN ANY OF THESE INSTANCES YOU AGREE TO IMMEDIATELY ADVANCE ME AN ADDITIONAL $300.00 TO COVER FUTURE WORK AND THE CASE NO LONGER IS FLAT-FEE BUT BECOMES BILLABLE AT MY HOURLY RATE OF $150.00 PER HOUR, WITH PAYMENTS ON STATEMENTS FROM MY OFFICE DUE WITHIN A MONTH OF YOUR RECEIPT OF THEM.
