What it costs
One price for both of you,
not by the hour
$499 to settle it, covering both of you — and nothing at all until you ask the other person to join. That is the whole price: no second fee, and no hourly rate.
Free for now: the fee is waived, nothing is charged and no card is asked for.
That is 30 to 75 minutes of a New York matrimonial attorney's time, at $400–$1,000 an hour.
- No hourly rate
- No charge per issue
- No retainer
One price, for both of you
1 · Settle it
$499
total · not each
- Both assessments, and every New York calculation with the arithmetic
- Saying what you each want, one issue at a time, privately
- Seeing what you already agree on
- Neutra, the built-in mediator, on anything you can't settle
- A detailed report of where you got to, whatever you settled
Charged once, when you send the invitation, and returned in full if they never finish their side.
Three points, one payment
When money moves, and when it doesn't.
- 1No card
Your own assessment and your own report
Free
Free, and no card. Both of you can do this without the other knowing, and the numbers are yours to keep either way.
- 2
Inviting the other person
$499
The fee to settle it, covering the two of you. Charged when you send the invitation, and returned in full if they never finish their side. Free for now.
- 3No card
Everything through Neutra
Included
Their assessment, the comparison, working through every issue, Neutra on anything you can't settle, and a detailed report of where you got to — every term, with the working behind it. All inside the fee you paid at the invitation: no hourly rate, nothing charged per issue, and nothing after it.
If they never finish their side, you get all of it back. The first fee is only kept once the other person completes their own assessment. Declined, ignored, or started and abandoned — after 30 days the refund is automatic and you don't have to ask.
How it compares
The same two people. The same things to sort out.
SettleTerms™ one fee, both of you | Private mediation billed hourly | Two attorneys a retainer each, then hourly | |
|---|---|---|---|
| How you're billed | $499 once to settle it, covering you both. Nothing by the hour, and nothing after it | By the hour, plus attorneys to review | $5,000–$30,000 each up front, then $400–$1,000 an hour |
| Finding out where you stand | Free, before you pay anything | Inside the billed hours | Inside the retainer |
| New York's support calculations | Shown, with the arithmetic | Usually explained to you | Usually explained to you |
| Seeing what you already agree on | Both answers, side by side | Worked out in the room | Through letters, over months |
| Sitting down together | Never required | The whole format | Eventually, or in court |
| Working around two schedules | Neither of you has to be free at once | Three calendars, every session | Plus the court's |
| Writing it up and filing | An attorney you choose, working from your report. Their fee, not ours | Usually an attorney, separately | Drafted and filed by the attorneys |
| If you can't settle it all | Keep what you did, take a short list on. Nothing more to pay | Keep what you did | It goes to a judge |
| The court's own fees | About $335, paid to the court | About $335, paid to the court | About $335, paid to the court |
The two right-hand columns describe how those routes are normally billed and what they structurally include, not any particular firm. The New York figures come from Val Kleyman, New York matrimonial attorney, from practice.
In proportion
Everything on this list is money somebody spends on a divorce.
The question was never whether this costs something. It's which of these you end up paying — and the figures below are what a New York matrimonial attorney of twenty years says they are.
- A divorce with children and property, litigatedwhen a judge decides what the two of you could not$100,000+
- The same divorce, settled by two attorneysno courtroom, still two retainers and two hourly rates$20,000+
- One retainer, before anybody does anythingand that is one of you$5,000 – $30,000
- One hour of a New York matrimonial attorneybilled in six-minute pieces$400 – $1,000
- SettleTerms, to settle itonce, for the two of you$499
- The court's filing feespaid to the court$335
What the price doesn't cover
Here, rather than found out later.
Two things, and every one of them is paid to somebody other than us.
The court's own filing fees
Paid to themPaid to the court whichever route you take, and nothing to do with us.
A mediator or an attorney, if you want one
Paid to themTo write up what you settled, or to take on anything still open. Anyone you bring in sets their own rate and is paid directly. You choose the person, and we take nothing from it.
The court's own fees are about $335 and are paid whichever route you take. New York court filing fees, paid to the court whichever route you take — index number, Note of Issue, and related filings.
Is it really $499 for both of us?
Yes — $499 between the two of you, not each, and that covers everything through Neutra, the built-in mediator, and the report. There's no hourly rate, nothing charged per issue and nothing extra for taking longer. Two people who need six weeks pay what two people who need two weeks pay. Free for now: the fee is waived, nothing is charged and no card is asked for.
When am I charged?
Free for now: the fee is waived, nothing is charged and no card is asked for. After the launch period: the $499 when you send the invitation, and not before. Everything up to that — the questions, your numbers, what you own, where you stand — is free and needs no account or card. If they haven't finished their side within 30 days, the refund is automatic and you don't have to ask.
What isn't included?
The court's own fees of about $335, paid to the court. An attorney, if you want one — to write up what you settled, or to see the divorce through — chosen by you and paid by you. And anyone you bring in on something still open: a mediator or an attorney sets their own rate and is paid directly. We take nothing from any of it.
Are there hidden charges?
No. The one price and the extras above are the whole list. You're never billed for time, and nothing renews.
What happens to everything I put in?
It's yours. You can download or delete everything you entered at any point, including after you've finished, and deleting it deletes it for good rather than hiding it.
What if we only settle some of it?
You keep everything you did settle, with the arithmetic behind every figure, and you take a short list to a mediator or an attorney instead of a whole divorce. That's a far smaller and far cheaper piece of work than starting cold, which is most of the point.
See where you stand before you spend anything.
About seven minutes. No account, no card, and nobody is contacted until you say so.
Start free →