What Is The Average Divorce Cost?

Determining the cost of a divorce isn’t easy. The average divorce cost could range from $500 for an uncontested divorce to $15,000 or more. There isn’t a checklist that can tell you what your divorce will cost, but you can think about what expenses you will have.

What Factors Influence the Cost of Your Divorce? 

An uncontested divorce is probably the least expensive way to become single again. This means that you agree with your spouse on everything, all that’s left is to have a judge sign off on your divorce. If you don’t have many assets and there are no children, this may be an option. Usually, divorces are contested. There are many things to work out. If your marriage is breaking down, deciding child custody and support is usually a contentious process. If you and your spouse can’t agree through the process using mediation or through your lawyers, a trial will be costly.

What Are Some of the Financial Costs of Divorce? 

The first cost that most people think about with a divorce is the lawyer’s fees. An attorney will be a big part of the expense of the divorce, but you will also have court costs and outside experts. You may also have to refinance loans to get the other spouse off the loan. Your housing costs will likely increase because the rent or mortgage isn’t being shared between the two of you. Some of your insurance policies may increase when you separate. Sometimes, it can be better to pay off debt than to divide it up, so you may need to consider those costs.

Have You Considered the Indirect Costs? 

Divorce is a stressful process, whether you and your spouse agree or not. You may have expenses that aren’t necessarily financial, but they will impact your finances. Don’t forget to factor in time off work for court or lawyer appointments. Many people attend therapy sessions during and after their divorce to heal. If you have kids, you’ll want to make sure they feel comfortable. You may have to be more available while they process their own feelings.

Divorce Can Be Expensive. What Are the Alternatives? 

There are ways to save money on your divorce. The more you and your spouse agree on, the less expensive your divorce can be. However, that isn’t always realistic. You should speak to an attorney, like a family attorney about your options and situation to make sure you get the divorce done right to start your life in the best way possible.

Claim Workers’ Compensation

Most employees are eligible to claim workers’ compensation from their employers when they become ill or injured due to their jobs. However, not all workers are employees, and there are even some employees who do not qualify for compensation.

The question of whether you qualify for workers’ compensation is not necessarily straightforward because the requirements vary by state. If you fall into one of the following categories, there may be a question about your eligibility for workers’ compensation at the very least.

Undocumented Workers

Some people come to the United States from another country without going through official immigration channels. They get jobs without providing evidence of eligibility to work in the United States. These people are undocumented workers, and different states have different rules governing whether they are eligible for compensation when they get hurt on the job. Some states specifically require that workers’ compensation cover immigrant workers who are undocumented. These include states along the Mexican border, such as Texas, California, and Arizona. Other states, including Wyoming and Idaho, do not require that workers’ compensation cover undocumented workers.

Non-Employees

Not everyone who works for a company is an employee. Some employers outsource certain types of jobs to independent contractors. These are people who provide services to other companies on a contract basis. In the eyes of the law, independent contractors are self-employed, which means that they cannot claim workers’ compensation.

Difficulties can arise when there is uncertainty over whether a worker is an employee or an independent contractor. A worker may believe he or she is an employee only to find out that the employer has inappropriately categorized him or her as an independent contractor. Sometimes this is a genuine mistake, but there have been instances in which employers purposely misclassified employees as independent contractors specifically to avoid paying benefits like workers’ compensation. If you have been misclassified as an independent contractor, you may need to provide evidence to prove your status as an employee.

Other Workers

People who work on a temporary or seasonal basis are often not eligible to receive workers’ compensation. Agricultural workers are sometimes not included, even if they work full time. Workers’ compensation may not cover people like babysitters, housekeepers, and nannies who work domestic jobs.

Contact our office if you believe you have been denied workers’ compensation unfairly or if you have questions about your eligibility.  

How to deal with a car accident during COVID-19

According to experts, traffic in the United States has been down 38 percent during the COVID-19 pandemic, which means that car accidents have also been reduced thanks to fewer cars on the road (Researchers at AutoInsuranceEZ.com report that fatal crashes in the Seattle area are down 100 percent).

Despite quarantines and sheltering in place, there are essential workers headed to job sites, so there are still cars on the road, making anxiety-inducing crashes a real possibility. While you may think that COVID-19 has brought enough anxiety into your world, knowing what to do after a crash before one occurs is an important way to ease stress in the event that one should occur.

If you should find yourself in an accident with another vehicle, following guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as best as you can is the first step.

Following social distancing or donning a mask before exiting your vehicle are both important elements during the pandemic, even though they can be tricky to remember in the midst of a traumatic event.

Staying calm can help you process the accident and prevent the potential spread of coronavirus in the aftermath of an accident.

Here’s what to do:

• Contact 911 to ensure the safety of everyone involved. There will also be police on hand to communicate safely with the other driver if you don’t feel comfortable doing so yourself or the other driver fails to take social distancing or other safety measures seriously.
•   Practice social distancing (that’s six feet away from the other driver) and wear a mask to collect information, including the driver’s name, insurance information, plate number, license number and contact information. For safety, collect information to input into your cell phone rather than accepting a piece of paper, which according to experts, could carry the coronavirus for four or five days after handling.
• Take photographs of the scene. Photos are important pieces of evidence, and along with a police report can tell a complete story of an accident scene.
• Seek medical attention. We understand that visiting a medical facility can be nerve-wracking during the COVID-19 pandemic, and if your injuries aren’t serious, you might be able to set up an appointment by videoconference to reduce anxiety levels. Still, if you are experiencing any kind of pain, medical treatment is necessary. Because of rising wait times at emergency rooms, however, you might be better off visiting an urgent care facility to seek treatment.
• Contact your insurance company. It’s important to report an accident as soon as possible to begin the claims process, if the accident was your fault. If it was not your fault, the at-fault driver’s insurance company will contact you.
• Consider calling an attorney. If you expect to have medical bills, physical therapy, or extensive car repairs, an attorney can help ensure that the other driver’s insurance company doesn’t try to offer you less than you need to cover your expenses, including lost wages and pain and suffering if your injuries are severe.

Preparation is key

In order to ensure your safety in the event of a car accident, keep masks, gloves, and hand sanitizer in your vehicle at all times so you won’t find yourself at risk if you do have an accident.

A card with your personal information on it should also be kept in your car in case you are knocked unconscious in a crash and are unable to share such information.

Regulations on E-scooters

With today’s younger generations, climate change and sustainability has become a hot button issue. A charge led by the millennials and generation Z, they want to encourage greener practices and to alter the slippery slope of increasingly negative effects that result from climate change before it’s too late.

One innovation that’s becoming more popular with the masses is the usage of e-bikes and e-scooters. Being solar powered, you’ll never have to worry about it running out of energy as the solar panel is built into it. The concept is that you open the corresponding app, open a map to show available e-scooters in your area, pay a small fine to unlock it and you have a greener way to travel at your disposal.

But unfortunately its greatest benefit is also its greatest caveat. E-scooters are faster than regular bike while being slower than a motorcycle. Motorists have already managed maintaining a rocky relationship with those on regular bikes so that relationship becomes even more precarious with the integration of e-scooters which are even less easy to track in one’s peripheral vision while keeping an eye on the road. All it takes is one hairpin turn by either person to cause a collision and with the technology still being newly integrated into society, the laws and guidelines regarding e-scooters are still murky and a tad difficult to interpret.

While there’s no federal mandate regarding e-scooters, nearly every state has its own guidelines regarding e-scooters, as an attorney, like a Personal Injury Attorney at Patterson Bray, can attest. Each of these guidelines are seemingly tailored to the infrastructure in the state’s most populous cities as well as the landscape and their ability to accommodate e-scooters with the least amount of risk to motorists and other pedestrians.

For instance in the state of Nevada, the mandate is that one needs to be 16 years of age or older and that you can only ride them on a sidewalk. An interesting detail considering that slower bikes are allowed on the street. Meanwhile, in Oregon, the usage of e-scooters on sidewalks is prohibited and can only be used in the street. These guidelines can be expected considering that sidewalks in Nevada are larger, wider, and better kept up by local city governments compared to Oregon’s. Also, Oregon has invested more state finances into the development of bike paths and multiuse lanes compared to Nevada.

There are some states like New Mexico that increases the age limit to 18 and others like Rhode Island where you need a driver’s license just to use one even though the mechanics of using one is immensely different than that of a car. On the opposite hand, in Hawaii, e-scooters are treated in the same manner as bicycles and in New York, e-scooters aren’t legal for anyone to use altogether.

No matter where you happen to be traveling, make sure you keep up with the regulations and guidelines regarding e-scooters. Though federal laws are still murky, what guidelines that do exist were put up for the safety and well-being of everyone.