The legal system can be a toxic and traumatizing experience to couples who are divorcing. Oftentimes, people get caught up in unnecessary court battles which cost them tens of thousands of dollars, damaging their children, and destroying any chance they might have had to successfully co-parent. Even the cases that end in settlement, it still takes an average of 1 year to complete and for each spouse to spend $10,000 or more to complete their divorce. DFL Divorce in a DayTM workshop is a low cost, practical solution to a broken system.
WHAT IS A DFL DIVORCE IN A DAYTM WORKSHOP?
DFL Divorce in a DayTM is a type of mediation process with attorneys, paralegals and divorce specialists with the goal of streamlining the divorce negotiations and the completion of all legal documents needed to obtain a dissolution of marriage in either Kentucky or Ohio into a single day.
In doing so, we have partnered with other local family law attorneys and divorce specialists to conduct workshops twice a month to assist qualifying couples seeking to obtain a divorce but not wishing to incur the cost and time of unnecessary litigation.
During one of our workshops, we will walk you through the divorce process, help you negotiate a fair settlement, and complete all the required paperwork to obtain a divorce by the end of the day. All you need to complete one of our workshops is your financial information, your spouse, and an open mind.
WORKSHOP DETAILS
DFL Divorce in a DayTM workshops are held on Fridays at our Covington location. They are typically held on the first and third Fridays of the month. You must have completed the sign-up process at least seven (7) days in advance to participate in a workshop.
To participate in the DFL Divorce in a Day program, you and your spouse must sign up together. If you and your spouse qualify, you will be given a detailed questionnaire to fill out at least 7-days before your scheduled workshop. A fifty percent (50%) deposit must be paid to reserve your workshop day, with the remaining balance due 72-hours prior to the workshop.
DAY OF THE WORKSHOP
At the workshop, you and your spouse will be given an overview about the divorce process by one of our attorneys and an attorney from another law firm participating in the DFL Divorce in a DayTM program. You will also be assigned a paralegal who will complete all of your documents for you that same day.
If you own real estate, you will briefly meet with a Terry Mooney, a Certified Divorce Lending Professional (CDLP®) who will gather the information needed to come up with options available (or potentially unthought of) to provide to the parties and attorneys in negotiating the terms of real estate assets and divorce-related mortgages matters. Meeting with the CDLP is purely an informational part of the program at no additional cost and has proven to be quite helpful to the parties as well as the attorneys in streamlining the process.
Next, you will meet in a conference room with an attorney from DFL and an attorney from another law firm participating in the DFL Divorce in a DayTM program. Each attorney will negotiate a different aspect of the case. You will be given 2 hours to negotiate the terms of your divorce, and 3 hours if your divorce involves minor children.
Afterwards, we will break for lunch at either 12:00pm or 1:00pm depending upon whether the divorce involves minor children. During the lunch hour, your paralegal will draft the terms of your agreement. Afterwards, you and your spouse will review and sign the agreement and all other applicable Court forms and pleadings. Our office will then notarize the agreement and file everything with the court.
The entire process is completed in a period of 5 hours for divorces without minor children and 7 hours for divorces with minor children.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
In order to qualify for the DFL Divorce in a DayTM program, you and your spouse cannot have a combined gross annual income over $250,000 and/or a total net worth in excess of $500,000. Although we may offer a full mediation plan for couples of higher net worth, Divorce in a DayTM cannot accommodate such cases.
If you do not agree to a full divorce settlement in our workshop, your fee is nonrefundable, and you will either have to retake our workshop or retain counsel. Once you participate in DFL Divorce in a DayTM, we are unable to represent you or your spouse in the future.
Absolutely! If you and your spouse are close to a resolution but need a little more time to negotiate the particulars of your divorce, you are welcome to go through the program a second time. Depending on the circumstances, we may offer a ½ day program for the second time around.
DFL Divorce in a DayTM without minor children is $5,000 and $7,000 with children, plus the cost of the court filing fee. This is the same cost as one party's initial retainer for a standard divorce for an experienced lawyer. Some lawyers will offer a lower retainer to obtain new business, then deplete the retainer and bill you twice or triple the initial retainer amount or more - and take months to work on your case. We believe such process is deceiving and unhelpful. With DFL Divorce in a DayTM, we offer a single, one-time fee for the entire process - start to finish - and the couple is done in one day.
To participate in DFL Divorce in a DayTM you and your spouse will need to provide information to our office in advance. This includes: paycheck stubs, bank records, credit card statements, tax returns, and other financial information. More information will be required based upon the facts of your case once you qualify for the program with our office.
DFL Divorce in a DayTM is a workshop designed for couples who wish to accelerate the divorce process. It requires both spouses to participate with an open mind and be willing to compromise. If your spouse will not participate in the workshop, you do not qualify to participate.