No. A lawyer’s job is to enable a client to make his/her own informed decisions about what is best for them and their family. That requires an at length discussion about the legal principles involved and how a court is likely to deal with the case, heaven forbid it ever lands in a courtroom. The other component is to ensure the client is fully aware of all the steps and associated costs involved in a litigated outcome as opposed to a negotiated or mediated one.

It all depends on how the two parties conduct themselves. If separating partners are collaborative and reasonable they can get to the finish line for approximately $2,000. 

JBT Law’s Family Law Hourly Rate – $ 325.00
JBT Law’s Mediation Hourly Rate – $ 375.00

The first step is for each party to have a consultation with a family lawyer so they know what the parameters of a reasonable settlement are. With that knowledge they can negotiate their own agreement at the kitchen table, and then have a lawyer prepare a Separation Agreement and provide one party with Independent Legal Advice (ILA).  In that case, at JBT Law, the all-in quote is $1,700, unless there is significant complexity concerning business assets with tax implications or special employment pension provisions.

The only other scenario where a fee quote is fixed is for an uncontested Divorce, which is $1,200, or $1,500 if there are minor children involved. If legal services are required to negotiate a Separation Agreement, the cost is a function of the time spent. 

At JBT Law, we offer two guarantees. First, we provide honest and practical advice, and second, we bill honestly in accordance with the actual time spent on your case.

This eliminates the “kitchen table” approach because that requires collaboration and reasonableness. Bullies are unreasonable and need to be managed. An experienced lawyer will have dealt with this kind of personality many times before, and has in his/her toolbox a number of strategies to help the client manage the circumstances, and deal with bullying.

The solution is multi faceted, involving patience, understanding and education. A relationship breakdown is often a devastating experience for the one who didn’t want it and children are often used as a tool to strike back.

The first challenge is to avoid the temptation to act out in a similar fashion, and to recognize that time usually heals wounds. There is a great deal of literature available about “High Conflict Divorce” and how to manage it for the benefit of the children, and the parents. In some cases parents engage a professional co-parenting coach to help them improve communications and develop effective co-parenting practices and guidelines.

It is important to recognize that children should be insulated to the extent humanly possible from adult issues in a relationship breakdown, and making decisions is one of them.

Children are almost always caught in the middle. They usually love each parent and have an uncanny ability to tell each parent what they feel that parent wants to hear. They are also adept at playing two sides against the middle and manipulating one or both parents if it gets them what they want. 

It’s difficult to manage a 15-year-old who feels or has been told she/he can make their own decisions.

Empowering children by allowing them to make huge decisions can wreak havoc with their emotional and psychological development, and make life a living hell for parents as a child moves through adolescence.