When you hire an attorney, he or she will tell you what the retainer is. Basically, this is the amount of money that you must pay up front as part of the agreement that you made with your attorney.
The attorney will then charge you whatever his or her billable charge is and these billable hours will be deducted from the retainer. As your attorney spends more and more time on your divorce, the retainer money will be depleted.
After the money paid to retain your attorney is depleted, you will be charged for each billable hour thereafter.
It is crucial that you have a written fee agreement that informs you of the exact amount of money that you will owe. If you don’t have one, you might be charged for time that did not actually accrue on your account. Read the fine print. It will only help you save money during your divorce.
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