An Uncontested Divorce is of course a Divorce in which both parties reach an agreement on all issues.  A Contested Divorce is one in which the parties cannot agree on any or all issues.

The main things to be determined in a divorce and the ones most likely to lead to conflict are division of property, child custody, child support and alimony.  If any of the before mentioned cannot be agreed upon than the Divorce will be contested.

Of course, the first question people want to know when they call an attorney is how much is this going to cost me.  The price for an Uncontested Divorce can range from as low as a few hundred dollars to a few thousand depending on the complexity of the case.  However, the average price is around $500 plus filing fees and costs.

The price of a contested divorce can vary greatly.  Usually a retainer will need to be paid up front and the client will be billed hourly after that.  However, there is an increasing trend to charge flat fees in Divorce cases and dispense with hourly billing.  All attorneys whether they charge flat fees or hourly will still expect the client to pay for expenses such as court reporters, transcripts, large numbers of copies, expert witnesses, travel expenses and so forth.