Payments and Pricing

Paying your invoice, retainer, and initial consultation fee: We currently accept cash, checks, money orders, cashier's checks, VISA, MasterCard, American Express and Discover. To Send a Payment by Mail: Thatcher Law, LLC 120 Sturges Ave, Suite 9 Mansfield, Ohio 44903 To Pay Online please visit your My Case client portal or pay here:



Domestic Law:

The cost of most matters will depend on the time and complexity of the issues involved. As such, an initial consultation is required in order to gather more information from you. Initial consultations are $100. Thatcher Law has the following retainers (initial, upfront payment - a deposit towards your legal fees) and flat fees for the following matters:

Dissolution/Uncontested Divorce: A flat fee of $2,500 for a dissolution without children and a flat fee of $3,250 for a dissolution with children.*



Contested Matters: Please call to schedule an initial consultation. Retainers will be based on complexity. Most divorce retainers range from $4,000 to $8,000 plus filing fees *

** Please Note: If your case is complex, Attorney Thatcher might require a higher retainer.



If your spouse cannot be found, service by publication requires an additional $400 - $600 added to the retainer

Estate Planning:

Estate Planning initial consultations are at no charge.

• Will Package (Will, Durable Power of Attorney, Health Care Directives): $800 for a single person, $1,300 for two people

• Transfer on Death Affidavit or Deed: $400

• Stand Alone Durable Power of Attorney: $300

• Stand Alone Will: $400

• Other matters: Please call for pricing and to schedule an initial consultation.

Other Matters:

Please call for pricing and to schedule an initial consultation. WHAT DOES IT COST?

This is perhaps the number one question clients have when contemplating divorce. Unfortunately, it is also one of the hardest to answer. Divorces are expensive. A dissolution of marriage cost less but is still not cheap by most people's standards. The cost of terminating a marriage generally runs from $2,500 to $20,000; with the low end being simple, uncontested matters and the higher end being contested divorces. The average cost of a contested divorce in the United States is approximately $15,000. The long and bitter divorces you hear about can cost significantly more. The cost of your divorce will depend on a number of factors. The number one factor is your relationship with your spouse and the level of cooperation between you and your spouse. If you and your spouse can come to an agreement on the terms of your divorce, you will spend significantly less. Other factors include (but are not limited to), whether you have children, where you live, what you own, if you own real estate, business interests, retirement accounts, debts, child support issues, spousal support issues, etc. The more complicated the matter and the more fighting between the parties, the higher the cost. I will try to answer some of the questions related to the cost of divorce below. Types of Fee Arrangements: The most common fee arrangement for divorce work is an hourly rate, as it is hard to predict just how much time and work will be involved in each case. Every divorce is different. Frequently the attorney will ask for a retainer (an upfront lump sum) to begin work. See "What is a Retainer?" below. There are some attorneys who charge a flat fee, but that is usually only for uncontested proceedings, such as dissolution of marriage and uncontested divorce. I prefer to charge an hourly rate in domestic cases, so my clients only pay for the actual work that is done on their case. It is rare to see an attorney charge a flat rate for a contested matter. Initial Consultations: Most attorneys charge for the initial consultation. Some charge their regular hourly rate whatever that might be and some charge a flat fee. Thatcher Law, LLC charges a flat fee that can be found on our Payments page. What is a Retainer? Almost all divorce attorneys require a retainer upfront to begin work on your case and then their bill time at an hourly rate. The retainer is a upfront, lump sum that you pay the attorney before they begin working on your case. The amount will vary depending on the type of proceeding and the factors listed above. The retainer can be anywhere from $500 to $5000 and up. The attorney deposits your retainer into a special bank account called a Trust Account or IOLTA (Interest on Lawyer’s Trust Account). All lawyers who accept retainers in Ohio are required to maintain a trust account. These accounts are regulated by the Supreme Court of Ohio. The lawyer will take money out of your retainer as he or she earns it. The balance will remain in the trust account until depleted. Most attorneys will send you a periodic statement to show you how much the attorney has charged you and how much is left in your retainer account. Some attorneys will ask you replenish the retainer if your balance gets too low, others will just start sending you a monthly invoice if your retainer is depleted. If the attorney completes your case and there is still a balance in your retainer, however, you would be entitled to have the balance returned to you. Court Costs: The initial court cost deposit, often called a filing fee, will depend on the county where you file for divorce or file your petition for dissolution (or other domestic matter). Most courts in Ohio require a deposit of $150 to $450 for domestic law matters. Like a retainer, the court will charge costs to your deposit until your court costs exceed the deposit. Then the parties will be required to pay the excess costs. Typically, divorces and dissolution of marriages with children exceed the initial deposit. The same holds true for other matters, such as custody disputes and so forth. A simple dissolution without children will frequently be less than the deposit and the person who paid the deposit may get a refund from the court. Do not expect a refund, however. It is best to assume you will owe than to expect a refund. Attorney’s Fees: This is the part that is most difficult to estimate and the part most people want to know with precision. Unfortunately, precision is impossible. Divorce attorneys charge anywhere from $200 to $500 an hour, with $250 an hour being the nationwide average. Hourly fees are charged in fractions of an hour; usually fifteen-minute increments or in tenths of an hour increments. Thatcher Law, LLC charges in tenths of an hour, so the client does not pay for more than actual time worked. Expenses: In addition to attorney’s fees, you will likely be billed for costs and expenses such as printing, postage and, if your attorney is not located in your area, mileage or travel expenses. Every attorney treats costs expenses differently, so it is a good idea to inquire into how these are billed. Retainer Amounts: As stated above, most attorneys will require a retainer. The amount of the retainer will vary depending on the type of proceeding and the factors listed above. Retainer amounts can range from $500 to $5000 or more, depending on the type of action, location, issues, etc. I generally require a retainer of $1000 to $5000 for domestic issues, plus court cost deposit. The exact amount required would be determined after talking to you and learning more about your situation. For a simple dissolution or other uncontested matter, the retainer may be all you pay. For more complex cases and cases that require more time, the retainer may need to be replenished or you might be invoiced after it is depleted. These are issues that will be discussed at your initial consultation. Payment Plans and Credit Cards: Some attorneys also offer payment plans or accept credit cards. Most attorneys will still require the initial retainer, however, and will consider a payment plan only once that is exhausted. As a way to help clients pay for representation, Thatcher Law, LLC always accepts credit cards and offers Affirm through My Case. For many clients, paying with a credit card enables them to pay their retainer(s), but still pay it off over time.