How TalkingParents Can Save You Thousands in Attorney’s Fees

Most divorce and family law attorneys charge by the hour. Should parents end up in court for a child custody dispute, they can cut costs by using TalkingParents.

4 min read
custody
family law

Posted on June 21, 2022

The cost of family law cases can vary widely based on the type of dispute, the location, and the attorney. Though it is imperative to take these factors into account when budgeting for your specific case, at a minimum you should expect to spend hundreds, if not thousands, on legal fees.

The three most common fee schedules that attorneys use are contingency fees, flat fees, and hourly rates

Lawyers tend to use flat fees when the services being provided are more predictable. You should always ask your attorney exactly which services and/or expenses are covered (or not covered) if they are charging you a flat rate.

With contingency fees, the lawyer doesn’t charge a fee, but instead earns a percentage of the damages awarded at the end of the case. If they do not win the case, they do not get paid. In some cases, contingency fees are prohibited.

Hourly rates are by far the most common type of fee, particularly in family law cases, as these disputes are often complicated and void of monetary gain. 99% of divorce and family law attorneys charge their clients by the hour. According to legalmatch.com, the average family lawyer charges between $100 and $400 per hour, and some attorneys cost as much as $1,000 hourly.

This means that costs can skyrocket quickly if evidence isn’t organized

On average, child custody lawyers cost between $1,200 and $4,500 per case. And if your attorney is forced to spend hours upon hours sifting through evidence to formulate your case, expenses can become far greater. For parents in child custody disputes, messages and documents are often unorganized and hard to verify unless both parties are using a co-parenting communication service, like TalkingParents.

For example, let’s say you and your co-parent are communicating and coordinating through various messaging platforms, phone calls, calendars, and expense -sharing services. This forces you and your attorney to sift through all these channels to record evidence for your child custody case, which could rack up dozens of additional hours that you must pay for.

TalkingParents keeps all communications and coordination between you and your co-parent in one, secure place, streamlining the evidence gathering process. Your attorney can easily reference your message strings and call transcripts through features like Secure Messaging and Accountable Calling. TalkingParents also offers a Shared Calendar tool for co-parents to coordinate schedules and the Accountable Payments feature to share expenses, giving your lawyer access to all this information within one platform.

Should you end up in a custody dispute, keeping all communications and coordination regarding your child in a central location can save your attorney hours of time, in turn, saving you hundreds or thousands of dollars in legal fees.

Communicating through TalkingParents keeps everything on an Unalterable Record

Using TalkingParents ensures that you never have to worry about a message being edited or deleted, a concern that is only about to worsen with iPhone’s upcoming software update, iOS 16. All communications made within TalkingParents are unalterable and on the Record, meaning nothing can ever be changed or deleted, and everything is admissible in court. Your Records are available in PDF or printed form for your attorney.

With Unalterable Records, your lawyer doesn’t have to spend time verifying that communications with your co-parent are genuine for court, once again saving you money. Each Record includes a Digital Signature and unique, 16-digit Authentication Code that verifies the Record is genuine and has not been modified in any way. Electronically Certified PDFs and Printed Records are available for the following TalkingParents features:

TalkingParents can save you time, headache, and thousands in attorney’s fees

With most family law attorneys charging by the hour, TalkingParents can lower your legal fees considerably. We offer a variety of plans to fit the needs of any co-parent, and our subscription-based service provides monthly and annual billing options so you can pay your way.

Our Premium plan gives you access to all TalkingParents features and functionality for just $27 per month, per subscription. Our Standard plan is available for just $12 per month, per subscription. With our monthly billing option, you can change your plan at any time without being locked into an annual fee. We also offer a free 30-day free trial for monthly plans so you and your co-parent can try it out at no charge. However, if you prefer the ease of a one-time payment and don’t plan on adjusting your subscription throughout the year, purchase an annual plan and get two months free. Alternatively, TalkingParents offers a Free plan, which allows you to send and receive messages, create Shared Calendar events, receive payments, and receive recorded phone calls.

Custody disputes can be extremely difficult, and cost is just another factor that can make the situation harder. Keeping communications with your co-parent organized and unalterable could save you thousands of dollars if you end up having to go to court. TalkingParents can help give you peace-of-mind if that happens.