In our office, we do our work on an hourly basis. The hourly rate depends upon attorney representing you. We have two (2) attorneys to chose from, Peter W. Mogren  and Michelle R. Ahrens.

In most cases, we require an advanced fee deposit to be paid. This deposit goes into our trust account, which means it is your money, not ours. We send out monthly bills, summarizing our costs and attorney fees, and we then deduct this amount from the trust account. In many cases, you will be requested to replenish the trust account to maintain a minimum balance for future work.

The amount we request in the trust account depends upon our evaluation of the case. The simpler the case, the less we require. The more difficult the case, the more we require. Frequently we break it down depending upon 1) if all issues are agreed upon, 2) issues are not agreed upon, or 3) whether an order to show cause is necessary for immediate temporary orders. Other issues that can affect it are whether there are children (parenting plan and child support), or complicated property issues (separate property, retirement benefits, etc.). The more complicated the case the more work that is generally required, that necessitates a larger balance in trust.

The amount we require to be placed in trust is not a flat fee for the work done or the maximum amount that will be charged. It is an initial prepayment only. If there are any funds left over after the work is completed, it is refunded to you. It is usually a minimum balance amount, and you will be asked to replenish it each month as we draw it down to pay your fees and costs. The ultimate cost for you will be a product of the work and time required. The simpler the case and more issues that can be agreed upon the lower the fee. The more complicated the case and the more hearing required the higher the ultimate fee will be. Every case is different and is hard to predict.

We offer an initial (half hour) consultation with clients for $150.00. At that we can get some background information from you, explain procedurally how things happen, explain how the court wrestles with the various substantive issues, answer your general questions, and explain our attorney fees, including how much the advanced fee deposit will be.

Our attorneys currently charge an hourly rate of $400.00 per hour for our legal work. We accept cash, check and credit cards for payment.