What Will My Divorce Cost?
One of the first questions people ask when hiring a divorce or family law attorney is how much it will cost. While we cannot guarantee what your total cost will be (it depends on your own individual facts and circumstances), the guidelines below will give you an estimate. Van Wyhe Law Firm hourly fees are $325 for attorneys and $145 for paralegals. We require a retainer payment to be made at the first client meeting. The retainer amount that has to be paid up front is generally between $3,000 and $6,000.
Iowa Mandatory Parenting Class
In any Iowa action which involves child custody or visitation/parenting time, the parties are to take a court-approved education course designed to help the parties understand the needs of the children during and after the court proceeding. Below is a link to the website that contains the class schedule and other information for classes available in northwest Iowa.
Joint Physical Custody Parenting Time Schedules
Other schedules are as follows:
Collaborative Divorce
This is an older clip from the Today Show. However, it does a nice job explaining what collaborative divorce is all about.
More information is also available at the International Academy of Collaborative Law Professionals website.
Iowa Supreme Court Held Husband was Properly Awarded Joint Physical Care
The Iowa Supreme Court held that father was properly awarded joint physical care notwithstanding mother’s testimony alleging communication problems and the parties contentious relationship. The court gave deference to the district court’s finding that mother’s testimony lacked credibility. The court noted that the children had thrived under the joint physical care arrangement for the past two years, i.e. the daughter was doing well in school, the son was developing well for his age, both children benefited from frequent contact with both parents, and both parents had been actively involved in caring for the children and their activities. Accordingly, the Supreme Court held that joint legal custody and shared physical care were in the best interests of the children. In re Marriage Harris, No. 12-1969 (Iowa 2013).