The most common billing method in family law cases is the hourly method. The scenario starts with an up-front retainer which the attorney will bill against at their hourly rate (often between $250 and $550 per hour). Once the retainer amount is expended, the law firm will typically ask for a new retainer to bill against or simply send you monthly invoices for the remainder of the case. Here are a few issues with this type of billing:

1) Hourly billing does not incentivize efficiency and the biller actually earns more the longer the case drags on.

2) The customer has no way to...

A common issue in contested divorces is a spouse hiding income or understating their income to gain an unfair advantage. Most often, this situation occurs when one party is self-employed. I highly recommend hiring an experienced family law attorney if you are facing this situation. In the meantime, here are some suggestions:

1) Review the business records from years prior to the divorce. Often, the older records will be more accurate as the transactions were recorded before the marriage was undergoing strain. Compare the current information with the older records. Look to see...

A common question asked when someone is facing divorce is whether or not they need to move out of the home. Typically, there is no requirement to do so. Assuming that both the husband and wife can continue to cohabitate amicably in the family home during the divorce, then there is no reason to move out of the home. In some situations, if the parties are hostile toward each other to the extent that it is determinantal to the children or unsafe to the parties, or in the situation of domestic violence, then the court can require one party to move out during the divorce case.

There are...