How Divorce Mediation Payment Works in Staten Island
Video Transcript
Staten Island mediation is usually paid per session or by retainer, split between both spouses rather than one side covering the cost as in a contested Richmond County Supreme Court case. Ask about payment structure during your free consultation.
Ray Hrdlicka – Host – Attorneys.Media
So, who pays for the cost of a divorce mediation?
Bill Leininger – Divorce Mediation Attorney – Staten Island, New York
Great question. Common sense. If we have a house husband or a housewife and they’ve been taking care of their kids, maybe the most important job either one has, and the other person is out working six days a week, making 0,000 a year, does it make any sense to say, oh, you each have to pay 50% of the fee?
The answer would be no, unless there’s a joint bank account, which is accessible by the parties. In that case, it may be from a joint bank account. But ordinarily, we’ll do it pro rata. You know, if someone has a part-time job, you know, while the kids are in school, they’re making $10 an hour, maybe $300 a week, and the spouse is making $200,000 a year. You may want to have the person with the part-time job paying 10 or 20% to have skin in the games.