Understanding Attorney’s Fees
In any contested family law matter, it is highly advisable to have an attorney represent you and your interest. The primary reason not every party in a family law case has an attorney is due to the high cost of attorneys. Attorneys are unquestionably expensive. No one is ever excited to hire an attorney to help them with a family law case, but many people retain and work with attorneys despite the high cost, due to the importance of the issues in the case and the complexity and difficulty in representing yourself in a case.
Hourly Billing
In family law matters, attorneys’ fees are typically billed hourly, or in 1/10 portions of hours (6 minutes at a time), and the amount or rate usually of the fee depends on the experience and expertise of the attorney and the prevailing fees in the local market where your case is located. As of 2025, it is our experience that most family law attorneys in Asheville and Buncombe County charge between $250 to $450 per hour for most family law matters. We have found similar rates in Hendersonville and Henderson County, with the only difference being fewer attorneys outside of the Asheville area charging more than $400 per hour. Keep in mind that prevailing rates in a particular community can change over time, so these rates may change may not be accurate since this website was updated. Also, attorneys are free to charge any rate they wish (within ethical guidelines), and may have rates higher than those stated here.
Retainers and Trust Accounts
Most attorneys ask for a retainer before taking a case. It is important to understand the difference between a retainer that is the pre-payment of legal fees and a “true” retainer. A “true” retainer is a fee that is charged simply for retaining the lawyer and does not go toward any hourly legal work to be performed on the case. For example, an attorney might charge a true retainer at the outset of representation of $1000, which is a fee simply for hiring the lawyer and that fee will not go to pay for any legal work done in the case. Few attorneys charge a true retainer but such fees are seen from time to time. It is important to be clear when paying a retainer whether your retainer is true retainer or the prepayment of legal fees.
Generally, when a family law attorney asks for a retainer, it is simply a pre-payment of legal fees. The retainer is held in a trust account that is regulated (and sometimes audited) by the North Carolina Bar. The retainer payment stays in that account until work is performed on the case and a bill is issued. Once billed, the money moves from the trust account to the attorney’s operating or other account as that money has now been “earned” by the lawyer or law firm. These retainers are solely to pay for the attorney’s fees and other costs associated with a case. They cannot be taken from the trust account until work has been performed to earn the monies in the trust account.
Family law firms in Asheville, Hendersonville, and western North Carolina, generally bill their clients at least monthly. Some bill every two weeks and a few law firms bill as frequently as weekly. No matter how often you are billed, every client should get an itemized bill on a regular basis so they can see what work is being done and how much they are being charged.
Flat Rate Fee Structures
Many firms offer a flat rate for an absolute divorce as such cases are short, simple and predictable. These rates can vary, but the practice of flat rates in absolute divorces is very common. Some attorneys also offer flat rate pricing for appeals, especially defending an appeal. Again, flat rates in these kinds of cases are fairly normal and do not appear to cause any issues. However, there is a very small minority of family law attorneys that charge a flat rate for certain cases or issues in litigation at the district court level.
Blue Ridge Family Law Group does not offer flat rate pricing for cases in litigation at the district court level, as such cases can be extremely variable in terms of time, and as a result, costs. Any flat rate pricing in such cases has a significant chance of overpricing or underpricing a case. Obviously, overpricing a case is a problem for the client, who will pay much more than they would have paid for hourly representation. In the case of underpricing, there can also be major issues as the attorney may pressure a client to settle because the legal work has exceeded the flat rate fee, or the attorney may not be able to allocate appropriate time to the case because they are not being fairly paid on the case. The attorney is much more likely to focus on those cases where they are charging $400 per hour and not the one that was a flat rate and is ending up closer to $50 per hour (and that rate continues to go down with each hour worked). For these reasons, we strongly recommend against flat rate pricing for cases at the district court level (where family law cases are heard).
Contingent Fees
Generally speaking, contingency fees are not allowed in most family law cases. Specifically, the ethical rule “…prohibits a lawyer from charging a contingent fee in a domestic relations matter when payment is contingent upon the securing of a divorce or upon the amount of alimony or support to be obtained. This provision does not preclude a contract for a contingent fee for legal representation in connection with the recovery of post-judgment balances due under support, alimony or other financial orders because such contracts do not implicate the same policy concerns.” See https://www.ncbar.gov/for-lawyers/ethics/rules-of-professional-conduct/rule-15-fees/.
Awards of Fees from Opposing Parties
One of the most frequent questions we get at Blue Ridge Family Law Group is “can I get the other side to pay my attorney’s fees?” Unfortunately, the answer is both simple, and fairly complex. The simple answer is that it is never guaranteed that the opposing party can be forced to pay your attorney’s fees. Attorney’s fees are not allowed to be taxed to the other party unless there is a specific rule or statute that authorizes it. So the default position is always that each person pays his or her own legal fees. For example, there are no provisions in the equitable distribution statute that allow for attorney’s fees. So if your case includes on a claim for equitable distribution, you will be paying your own attorney fees.
Other statutes, such as the one for spousal support and child support, do allow for attorney’s fees, but carry some restrictions. For example, to get attorney’s fees from the other side, the court must make a finding that, “the party ordered to furnish support has refused to provide support which is adequate under the circumstances existing at the time of the institution of the action or proceeding.” Absent this finding, the Court cannot order an award of fees.
Other aspects of family law that due allow for the payment of attorney’s fees require that the person seeking fees is acting on good faith and does not have sufficient means to defray the cost of the suit. The best way for most people to think about attorney’s fees is, when the law allows for them, to consider their need for fees and the other party’s ability to pay fees.
There are ways to get attorney’s fees when people engage in bad conduct in litigation. Fees are awardable on matters of civil contempt, Rule 11 sanctions for bad conduct, discovery violations, subpoena abuses and cases of domestic violence. Those rules typically focus on the bad conduct of the other party and not the finances of each party. Again, such fees, even when allowed by law, are not guaranteed as it falls to the discretion of the court to award fees in a specific case.
In our experience working as family law attorneys in Henderson County, Buncombe County and all of Western North Carolina, obtaining attorney’s fees can be very challenging and courts often exercise their discretion to not award attorney’s fees. It is more common to see an award of attorney’s fees when someone has engaged in bad conduct, such as violating court rules in a significant manner.
How Our Family Attorneys Can Help
Our family law attorneys have extensive experience in pursuing and defending claims for attorney’s fees in various family law cases. We can provide our clients with valuable advice on when they may be entitled to a fee award, how to best pursue or defended against such claims. If you are seeking an award of attorney’s fees or are concerned you may be at risk of being awarded a fee against you, our family law attorneys can help. At Blue Ridge Family Law Group, we take pride in helping our clients pursue the best possible outcomes and receive compensation for their attorney fees. Contact us to discuss your case and how an award of attorney’s fees might affect your case.