According to recent statistics, only New Jersey has a lower rate of divorce than New York. Rather than assuming New York couples are happier in their marriages than the rest of the country, the low divorce rate may have more to do with how long and expensive the divorce process is in the state. Family law attorneys can streamline the process with EzSupport-NY, Easysoft Legal Software’s NY matrimonial law software, and make divorce available to a larger number of couples.
Cost Of Divorce
Divorce is expensive in New York, which imposes a filing fee of $335. Only four other states — Illinois, California, Minnesota and Florida — impose higher fees. At the other end of the spectrum, five states have filing fees below $100, the lowest being Mississippi with a paltry $52 cost. When you add the cost of attorney fees, divorce in New York is one of the costliest decisions a couple can make.
The net result is that people stuck in bad marriages simply can’t afford to split up. They might live separately and no longer communicate, but in the eyes of the law they are still married. What’s worse is people trapped in abusive marriages may be unable to find the financial help they need to leave and start new lives.
What Can Attorneys Do To Help?
Often divorce is the best decision for all concerned, spouses and children alike, and it is tragic that economic reality may force people to stay in unhealthy relationships. As a family law attorney, you can make divorce more affordable and available to anyone regardless of social background. You may not be able to reduce the state’s filling fee but they can reduce their own legal fees — without impacting your practice’s profitability.
Attorney fee boils down to a charge for the time spend on a matter. Although many divorce attorneys charge flat fees for simple divorce, those fees are based on the approximate time they expect to spend. If you can provide the same service and use less of your time, you can charge clients less and yet handle more cases per month to keep your cash flow healthy. That is where using specialized NY divorce software makes a difference. You can complete the information gathering, financial analysis and final paperwork in a fraction of the time it used to take when doing it by hand.
If you are still filling out the NY Statement of Net Worth by hand then you are wasting time and money. Start using EzSupport-NY, process cases more quickly, and provide better and more affordable services to your clients.
