The real process
What a New York divorce actually takes.
Every decision two people have to make before a judge will sign off, in the order it happens, and who does each one. The two of you do most of it. SettleTerms™ is for the part in the middle.
- 1
Find out what has to be settled.
YouCustody and a parenting schedule where there are children. Child support. Spousal support. The home, every account, every retirement plan, every debt. Even the pets. Most people don't know the list until somebody hands it to them.
On your ownA lawyer tells you, at an hourly rate, usually after the retainer.
Weeks · a retainer of $5,000 and upWith SettleTermsThe list for your case, and the support figures New York's own formulas produce on your answers. Nobody is contacted until you say so.
7 minutes · free - 2
The other person answers too.
The other personA settlement needs both of you. Nothing moves until the other side has said what they want, and neither of you can see the other's answers until you have both finished.
On your ownThey hire a second lawyer. Two retainers now, and letters between the two offices.
Weeks to monthsWith SettleTermsInvited by email from SettleTerms, never from you. They answer on their own, in their own time. The fee is charged here, for both of you, and refunded in full if they never finish.
Their own time · $499 for both of you - 3
See where you already agree.
The two of youTwo people braced to fight about everything are usually apart on a few things. The surprise is how few.
On your ownNobody finds this out until the first four-way meeting, months in, with four people billing for the hour.
MonthsWith SettleTermsBoth sets revealed at the same moment, side by side. What matches is settled. What differs is the short list you work on next.
On the screen - 4
Work through what's left, one issue at a time.
Neutra™Each of you talks to Neutra privately, then enters a position for the round. Neither sees the other's until both are in. Up to six rounds an issue, then a private last word. On money and property Neutra puts the midpoint as a question; about the children it proposes nothing, ever.
On your ownNegotiation by letter and phone call, each one billed on both sides. Or a private mediator, once the two of you pick one and find a date.
Months · $7,500 to $20,000 a side for one contested issueWith SettleTermsNever face to face. No calendar to coordinate. Nobody is told what to accept.
Weeks, at your own pace · included - 5
Your report.
The two of youEvery term the two of you agreed, the arithmetic behind each figure, and a short list of anything still open. It is what the next person works from, whoever that is.
On your ownA term sheet one lawyer drafts and the other marks up, by the hour, on both sides.
WeeksWith SettleTermsEverything settled: the whole case, ready for an attorney to write up. Some still open: what you did settle, with the working, and the list of what is left.
Straight away · included - 6
Your own attorney writes it up.
Your own attorneyNew York accepts a settlement agreement only when it is signed and acknowledged the way a deed is. Each of you has your own attorney read it before you sign. That is the same on either path, and it is the step where the two paths meet.
On your ownThe same two lawyers, already on the clock, draft from scratch.
WeeksWith SettleTermsThey start from a settled report instead of a blank page. Hours of an attorney's time, not months.
Hours · an attorney's own fee, paid to them - 7
The court signs off.
The courtAn uncontested divorce is filed in the Supreme Court of your county; parents who were never married go to Family Court. A judge reviews the terms. The court has the last word, and nothing is final until the judgment is signed.
On your ownIf the two of you never agreed, this is where a stranger decides it for you, on the court's calendar.
A year or more · $100,000 and up, litigatedWith SettleTermsYou arrive agreed. The judge reads terms the two of you chose.
The court's own fees, paid to the court
How long it takes
Drawn to scale from weeks, months, and a year or more. Not a promise; the pace is yours.
What it costs
Your own attorney and the court's filing fees are separate on every path.