Attorney’s Fees
Attorney’s fees can be a significant cost in a divorce. The amount of the fees is related to how simple or complex your situation is, the level of disagreement between you and your spouse, and of course the hourly rate charged by your lawyer. As a general rule, you are responsible for paying your own fees.
However, it is often appropriate for one spouse to pay all or at least a part of the other’s fees and costs of representation such as expert witness fees. As a statutory matter, the court has authority to order one spouse to pay all or a portion of the other’s attorney fees and costs. C.R.S. §14-10-119. If one spouse has substantially higher income or access to more assets than the other, it will likely be considered appropriate for the more financially well-to-do spouse to help pay the other’s fees and costs.
The idea behind this is that it is important for everyone to have access to a lawyer and experts that might be needed. Bear in mind that it can take months to get such an order, because of the pace of judicial process.
Because of this possibility, you will likely agree that it is in your interest to always consider the value of what you are trying to accomplish with your lawyer or experts. Some tasks are best done by the professionals you hire; others are more quickly or cheaply done by you. We believe in working with our clients to help them keep their fees and costs down.