AGREEMENT FOR LEGAL SERVICES

CONTINGENT FEE ARRANGEMENT

This agreement is entered into by and between the attorney(s) signing this document and the client(s) hereinafter stated and concerns the relationship entered for providing legal services and the payment therefor.

CLIENT: TONIA ___

The attorney agrees to represent the client in connection with any and all claims the client may have against anyone (individual or corporate) arising out of the following occurrence or situation:

Date of Loss: auto accident 12/22/2009

The attorney agrees to represent the client’s interests and to keep the client reasonably informed as to the status of the matter involved herein.

A. FEES In consideration of the attorney’s services contemplated herein, the client agrees to and shall pay the attorney a sum of money representing 33 1/3% of all amounts, the gross recovery, obtained on the client’s behalf whether through settlement or trial. If, however, there is an appeal taken to a higher Court, the client agrees to pay the attorney a sum representing 38% of the amount eventually recovered on the client’s behalf, the difference resulting from additional efforts expended during the appellate process. It is understood that payment to the attorney hereunder is entirely contingent on the attorney making recovery for the client or in the client’s behalf, except as noted in Section D, herein. If settlement is reached through a “structured settlement” the fee will be computed on the basis of the present value of the settlement as of the date of settlement and, at the attorney’s option, shall be made from the initial payment, or from any periodic payment. Otherwise, payment shall be made from the proceeds of the settlement and the client agrees to allow the attorney to serve as agent in disbursement of settlement funds.

It is understood that the fee quoted above DOES NOT INCLUDE representation in a dispute, whether in litigation or negotiation, with the client’s own no-fault insurer (PIP) over its payment of expenses and medical examinations it may request. It is agreed that professional services for these matters shall be billed hourly at $200/hr and billed and collected at the conclusion of this overall representation.

B. SETTLEMENT The client shall not settle any claim hereunder without first having advised the attorney. The client has the final say as to the agreement to settle, upon which the attorney may offer advice. The Attorney shall not settle any claim hereunder without authority to do so from the Client.

C. WITHDRAWAL The attorney may withdraw as attorney for the client in this matter at any time the attorney in good faith concludes the facts do not merit further action, at which time no fee will be charged. The attorney may also withdraw as attorney

for the client if continued representation and/or following the client’s directives is likely to result in a violation of the attorney’s ethical obligations, at which time a fee will be charged on the basis of time spent on this matter at the hourly rate stated below, which client agrees to pay.

D. TERMINATION In the event the client terminates the employment of the attorney hereunder, or in the event the client fails to abide by the client’s obligations hereunder and the attorney elects to terminate this agreement, the attorney shall be compensated for all work performed herein at the rate of $200 per hour or 33 1/3% of the amount eventually recovered, whichever sum is the greater. The amount due is payable upon presentation of a statement to the client by hand or regular mail regardless of the status of settlement, trial or outcome.

E. EXPENSES The client is solely responsible for all of the costs and expenses incurred by the attorney in connection with the services rendered hereunder. This includes, but is not limited to, filing and arbitration fees, service of process and subpoena fees, sheriff’s fees, expert’s consulting and testimony fees, long distance phone charges, contracted legal research fees, photocopying, reproduction and printing charges, and travel expenses. The attorney may ask for a sum of money to be advanced for these costs, which shall be used as needed in this representation, and is not required by this agreement to advance the funds himself. The failure to advance requested costs is grounds for immediate termination of this contract by the attorney. At the conclusion of the representation, the balance, if any, of these costs shall be applied to any fee owed and the balance returned to the client.

F. THIRD PARTY CHARGES OR LIENS The attorney shall not, without the client’s consent, agree to payment of the claims of or liens by third parties to this agreement from any and all sums received through this agreement. Said third parties may include medical care providers, subrogated insurers, Medicare and Medicaid, workers compensation insurers/payors and general creditors of the client. At the direction of the client, the attorney may pay medical bills, repair expenses, etc. from the funds collected. In the case of a dispute between the client and a creditor, the attorney shall not act as a mediator in the resolution of the dispute but may, at the attorney’s option, pay the disputed funds, less the attorney’s fees stated herein, into Court and petition the appropriate Court for relief.

G. RECORD RETENTION It is agreed that the Attorney has no obligation to retain records relating to representation hereunder once the representation is concluded, whether by judgment, settlement, withdrawal of claims, discharge or otherwise. The Attorney may, at his discretion, keep said records for a period of time, but is under no obligation to do so. The Client may retrieve any file item, including materials the Client provided, at the conclusion of representation hereunder, subject to a reasonable photocopying cost. Records hereunder include, but are not limited to, pleadings, discovery materials, notes, file memos, photographs, videotapes, deposition transcripts, computer records and correspondence.

H. DISBURSEMENT AND LIEN. It is expressly agreed that the Attorney shall place settlement proceeds into his Trust Account and disburse said sums from that account.

The Attorney shall have a lien upon any recovery in this matter, whether in money or property, whether by settlement, judgment or otherwise, and the Attorney may deduct therefrom all fees, expenses and costs to which he is entitled. It is further agreed that the Attorney may deduct from said funds the amount of all unpaid bills for doctors, hospitals and related items, making disbursements directly to the concerned parties, pursuant to F, above. The Client also agrees to pay any and all reasonable attorney’s fees and costs incurred by the Attorney in collecting sums due under this agreement.COST ADVANCE REQUIRED:

OTHER TERMS:

WE HAVE READ THIS AGREEMENT, UNDERSTAND IT, AND AGREE TO EMPLOY THE ATTORNEY ACCORDING TO ITS TERMS.

________________________________________ CLIENT DATE

________________________________________ CLIENT DATE

This representation accepted by:

________________________________________ THOMAS L. ROUSE

KBA # 60330ATTORNEY AT LAW

___________________________________________________________________________

FEE AGREEMENT

I hereby retain THOMAS L. ROUSE, dba THOMAS ROUSE LAW, Attorney at Law, to represent me with regard to the following: collection debt from ___ Depot KY, Inc.

RETAINER AND FEES

In consideration of the Attorney agreeing to this representation, and agreeing to make himself available for this representation, I/we hereby agree to pay said Attorney as follows:

1. A non-refundable retainer in the amount of $ 500.00. This is not paid to cover specific items except as noted below. It is specifically agreed that this retainer is paid to secure the Attorney’s availability to handle this matter, is earned at the time of payment and commencement of representation and is not refundable even upon discharge.

2. A retainer in the amount of $3,000, to be held in the attorney’s trust account and used to pay monthly statements as outlined below.

3. Regular payments in the amount billed by attorney based upon $225 per hour. Hourly charges shall be rounded to the nearest one-tenth of an hour (6 minutes).

CASE EXPENSES

It is further agreed that in addition to the above fees, the Client shall pay all Court costs, subpoena, service, photograph, reproduction expenses, court reporter and videographer fees, extraordinary reasonable travel expenses (outside of Greater Cincinnati area,) postage and express mail charges, computer assisted legal research charges, long distance telephone expenses, document preparation costs, expert witness and investigation fees and other out-of-pocket expenses incurred by said Attorney or others employed by him in the investigation of and/or litigation of this claim, and are not included in the fees to be paid hereunder. It is agreed that I will advance such sums for these costs as requested by the Attorney. Attorney is not required to advance the needed costs even as a deadline approaches, as it is the Client’s obligation to pay the costs.

ESSENTIAL INFORMATION

It is agreed that a condition of this agreement is the obligation of the Client to provide and keep current the Client’s home address, business address, all phone numbers where the Client may be reached and any applicable fax numbers and e-mail addresses. It is imperative that the Attorney have the ability to contact the Client throughout the course of this representation. The inability of the Attorney to contact the Client may be harmful to the representation. The failure to provide and keep this information current is ground for the Attorney’s withdrawal from the representation.

BILLING, PAYMENT AND TERMS

It is expressly agreed that the Attorney will bill regularly for services and costs incurred, and payment is due upon mailing of said bill. If said payment is not made within 30 days of mailing, the Attorney may charge interest on any overdue balance at the rate of 1% per month, compounded, until paid. It is further agreed that the failure to pay any sum billed within 30 days of mailing imposes an undue hardship on the Attorney and the Attorney may, upon written notice to me, withdraw from representation herein.

AUTHORIZATION TO PROCEED

I authorize the Attorney to fully investigate this matter and, if after reasonable investigation he determines that it is not feasible to go forward, upon notification to me, he may withdraw from representation hereunder. Otherwise, the Attorney is authorized to proceed on my/our behalf in this matter.

SETTLEMENT AUTHORITY

It is understood that the decision to settle any claim hereunder shall be made by the Client, upon advice from the Attorney. The Client shall not settle any claim hereunder without first notifying the Attorney. The Attorney may only settle any claim hereunder when he has authority to do so from the Client.

ATTORNEY’S LIEN

It is expressly agreed that the Attorney shall have a lien upon any recovery in this matter, whether in money or property, whether by settlement, judgment or otherwise, and the Attorney may deduct therefrom all fees, expenses and costs to which he is entitled. It is further agreed that the Attorney may deduct from said funds the amount of all unpaid bills for doctors, hospitals and related items, making disbursements directly to the concerned parties. I also agree to pay any and all reasonable attorney’s fees and costs incurred by the Attorney in collecting sums due under this agreement.

RECORD RETENTION

It is agreed that the Attorney has no obligation to retain records relating to representation hereunder once the representation is concluded, whether by judgment, settlement, withdrawal of claims, discharge or otherwise. The Attorney may, at his discretion, keep said records for a period of time, but is under no obligation to do so. The Client may retrieve any file item, including materials the Client provided, at the conclusion of representation hereunder, subject to a reasonable photocopying cost. Records hereunder include, but are not limited to, pleadings, discovery materials, notes, file memos, photographs, videotapes, deposition transcripts, computer records and correspondence.

BREACH AND COLLECTION

If, for any reason, attorney must bring legal action to collect from the any funds pursuant to this agreement, the CLIENT agrees to pay all costs, expert fees and attorney fees incurred by him in this effort. If WBR uses its own employees or members to prosecute this collection, the CLIENT agrees to pay the standard hourly rate of the attorney(s) involved in this effort for all time expended in collection. This agreement will be construed under Kentucky law.

In witness hereof, we set our hands hereto as our agreement.

Date: ________________________________ CLIENT

_________________________________ _________________________________ Attorney CLIENT

RE: Attorney - Client Engagement AgreementDear Mr.

We are very pleased to have the opportunity to render legal services for you. This letter will serve to record our agreement of the terms and conditions of our representation. We think it important that these terms be expressed and agreed to before the services begin in earnest.

1. You have asked us and we agree to represent you (and your company, __) in connection with _____. If you ask us to represent you from time to time with respect to another individual matter, we will consider that separate request but may decline to take on the new matter because of an actual or potential conflict of interest, our firm's policies, or other reasonable cause. Our representation of you on an individual matter shall end when we have completed our services on that individual matter.

2. We assume mutual obligations under this agreement. We agree to provide those legal services reasonably required to represent you, to take reasonable steps to keep you informed of developments in such matters, and to respond to your reasonable inquiries. You agree to cooperate with us, to timely provide us with information pertaining to such matters, to keep us informed of developments, to abide by this agreement, and to pay our bills in a timely manner.

3. All attorneys working for you on this matter will charge for their time actually spent working for you. This firm does not engage in or permit ‘block billing,’ where one time charge is assigned to a large number of tasks. This firm will do its best to state clearly in its statements what was actually done for you so you can understand them and appreciate the effort expended on a day- to-day basis. Our minimum increment of time on any matter is 0.10 of an hour, or 6 minutes. Please recognize that it is probable that our attorneys may not bill for every task performed for you, and may not even record the time. Experience has taught us, however, that the proper consideration, handling, recording and disposition of even minor events in this representation take at least 6 minutes.

Each attorney working for you has an assigned hourly rate for services performed. Members of this firm charge, typically, $225 to $200 per hour; associates charge less. We will use our best judgment in employing the most efficient form of delivery of legal services for you, consistent with the goals of this representation. Rest assured that this firm has no minimum billing requirements for members or associates, so there is no WBR to perform unnecessary work.

You are most certainly aware that all forms of dispute resolution (litigation, arbitration, mediation, negotiation, etc.) involve uncertainties and risk. It is impossible to tell you in advance how much time and effort resolving any dispute will take. Many things are simply beyond our control and your control. The hourly billing arrangement agreed to between us permits both you and this firm to adjust to these unknowns. If a dispute is resolved quickly, the fee will be proportionately smaller than if the dispute takes extended effort to reach a conclusion.

This is precisely why we require, and you agree to, a ‘retainer.’ This sum is placed in our trust account because it is still your money until used. This firm does not remove fee payments until the services are performed. You are protected in that we must account to you for the use of these funds, refund any unused balance, and because the retainer provides you access to the legal services you need without resorting to your current bank account status and without creating a balance due that you can not afford to pay. The firm is protected by not expending time and advice without adequate compensation. Our promise to you is secured by our agreement, our

professional obligations, and by law. Your obligation to the firm is secured by the retainer requirement.

From time to time, our rate structure in general or the rates of particular lawyers or paralegals may be increased, as do the costs of operating this firm. The rates shall apply to all time spent on your matter, including but not limited to the following: personal and telephone conferences; preparing, analyzing, and reviewing correspondence; factual and legal research; preparing, analyzing, and reviewing documents; conducting negotiations; and conferring with other lawyers in our office.4. Our firm has a policy to confirm credit and/or request a retainer, in advance, before any substantial work is performed. For this matter, you agree to pay us a retainer, in advance, of $___ on execution hereof. The retainer will be applied against the first fees and costs charged in this matter. Upon completion of our services, if the actual fees and costs are less than the amount of your retainer, we will refund the excess promptly.

5. It may be necessary to incur certain costs in representing you. You agree to pay for those items in addition to the fees for legal services. The costs and expenses and in-house services may include but not be limited to the following: fees fixed by law or assessed by courts or other agencies; parking fees; local and out of town travel expenses; telephone charges; messenger and other delivery services; photocopying and other reproduction services; word processing charges; computerized research charges; and similar items. In-house services will be charged in accordance with our general firm policies. External costs and expenses will be charged to you at our cost. We shall not be required to advance payment for external costs and expenses. If we, in our discretion, decide not to advance certain external costs or expenses, you shall pay directly such external costs and expenses promptly after being requested to do so. If we, in our discretion, decide to advance certain external costs or expenses, such external costs and expenses shall be included on our bill to you for legal services. We will not incur on your behalf any major external costs or expenses without your approval. To aid in your matter, it may become necessary to hire experts, consultants, or investigators. We will not hire such persons unless you agree to pay their fees and charges.

6. We will send you periodic statements for fees and costs incurred. You may request a statement at intervals of no less than 30 days, and, if you do so, we will provide a statement to you within 10 days of your request. Each statement will be payable upon receipt. If any statement is not paid within 30 days, we will have the right to withdraw as your lawyers. Also, any unpaid statement will bear interest at 12% per annum.

7. You may discharge us as your lawyers at any time. We may withdraw as your lawyers with your consent or for good cause. Good cause includes but is not limited to the following: your breach of this agreement; your failure to pay our bills on time; your refusal to cooperate with us; your refusal to follow our advice on a material matter; the development of an irreconcilable conflict between you and this firm as to the conduct of the matter; or any fact or circumstance that would render our continuing representation unreasonable or contrary to law or the rules of professional ethics. If you discharge us or we elect to withdraw, you agree forthwith to secure other counsel of your own selection to represent you, and, if we are your attorneys of record in litigation, to cooperate fully in substituting such new counsel as your attorneys of record in the litigation.

8. Nothing in this agreement and nothing in our statements to you will be construed as a guarantee or promise about the outcome of your matter or any phase thereof. We can and will make no such guarantees or promises. Our comments about the outcome of your matter or any phase thereof are expressions of opinion only. You acknowledge that the amount of legal fees and costs which may be incurred on your matter or any phase thereof are not capable of precise prediction, and you acknowledge that we have made no guarantees or promises and have set no limits with regard to the fees and costs to be incurred in this matter.

9. In the event of a dispute between you and us regarding fees, costs, or any other matter related to or arising out of our engagement by you, or your or our performance of the agreement pursuant to which our services are performed, including the quality of the services which we render, the dispute shall be determined, settled, and resolved by confidential arbitration in Kenton or Boone County, KY, or with the Kentucky Bar Association. Notwithstanding the foregoing, you or we may apply to a court of competent jurisdiction for any provisional remedy that may be appropriate (e.g., writ of attachment, temporary restraining order, preliminary injunction, writ of possession, etc.). Any award shall be final, binding and conclusive upon the parties, and a judgment rendered thereon may be entered in any court having jurisdiction thereof. We agree to divide evenly the fee charged by the arbitrator.

10. This agreement will take effect when you sign this agreement and pay any retainer required, but its effect will be retroactive to the date we first performed services. Even if this agreement does not take effect, you will be obligated to pay us the reasonable value of any services we may have performed for you.

11. It is agreed that we have no obligation to retain records relating to representation hereunder once the representation is concluded, whether by judgment, settlement, withdrawal of claims, discharge or otherwise. We may, at our discretion, keep said records for a period of time, but are under no obligation to do so. The Client may retrieve any file item, including materials the Client provided, at the conclusion of representation hereunder, subject to a reasonable photocopying cost. Records hereunder include, but are not limited to, pleadings, discovery materials, notes, file memos, photographs, videotapes, deposition transcripts, computer records and correspondence.

If these terms are acceptable to you, please sign in the space provided below and return this agreement to us in the envelope enclosed for your convenience, together with any retainer required by this agreement. We have enclosed a duplicate coy of this agreement signed by us, which you should sign and retain for your records.

Thank you for your confidence in our firm.

Sincerely,

THOMAS L. ROUSE

ACCEPTANCE

I have read and understood the foregoing terms and agree to them as of the date the attorney first provided services. If more than one party signs below, we each agree to be responsible, jointly and severally, for all obligations under this agreement.

____________________________________

______________________________________________________________________

March 1, 2012Mr. ___590 _____

Corinth, KY 41020

RE: DISSOLUTION OF MARRIAGE ENGAGEMENT LETTER

Dear ___:

This will confirm our recent communication about your situation. You have retained my services to act as your attorney in a domestic relations matter. I thank you for giving me this opportunity and am proud to be able to assist you.

Please keep this letter and all other documentation you receive from me about this matter for ready reference. This letter contains answers to frequently asked questions and offers some guidance.

Your wife started an action for dissolution of marriage in the Boone Circuit (Family) Court using attorney Bob Bathalter. Despite substantial effort, your efforts in resolving th family differences did not satisfy her. You asked me to enter the case on your behalf, respond, and otherwise represent your interests in concluding the dissolution.

FEE ISSUESThe fee for my professional services will be based upon the amount of time I spend working for you and billed at my standard hourly rate of $200.00. I will bill you monthly with a detailed statement broken into 6 minute intervals (1/10th of an hour.) You are responsible for the costs incurred in your case, such as filing fees, service costs, court reporters, expert witness fees, etc.

I have found over the years that I've been involved in this kind of work that, with rare exceptions, dissolutions without issues involving children and/or property and debt disputes cost around $2500 in attorneys fees, for each party. There is no reason to sugar coat this or to hide it from you. That's what it costs even when your attorney is efficient and effective.

You have paid a retainer of $1,000. This retainer will be placed into my trust/escrow account and every month I will remove and pay myself the amount billed for that month. At any time I may ask you to replentish the retainer, and you agree to comply. It is in neither of our interests to create a large unpaid bill for legal services. Any unpaid invoice (if the retainer is exhausted and you have not replentished it yet) will bear interest at 12% per annum (1% per month) after 30 days. In addition, at my option, I may withhold other services and/or withdraw from representation if any statement is unpaid within 30 days. This is to protect both of us – you should not incur a bill you can not or are unwilling to pay, and I will not represent you without compensation.

Accepting my services from this point forward means you have accepted this fee agreement.

Most folks who find themselves involved in a domestic relations matter ask an important question: “HOW MUCH WILL THIS COST?” I will give you some of my thoughts on the issue, compiled from over 33 years of domestic relations practice. The fees and costs in a domestic case depend on these factors:1. The complexity of the issues in the case;2. The needs of the client in terms of phone calls, e-mails, consultations and

explanations;3. The attitude of the ‘other Party’ and his/her attorney.

COMPLEXITY OF THE CASESome Dissolutions are relatively simple, some are very complex. Simple cases may involve meeting with the client, preparing and filing the necessary pleadings with the Court Clerk, preparation of a separation agreement, getting the agreement signed, notarized and filed, completing the ‘uncontested’ dissolution either by a hearing in Court or use of a new rule permitting it to be competed by filing certain documentation, and preparation of the Decree of Dissolution for distribution. From experience, these types of cases take about 4 hours of attorney time, assuming all goes smoothly. This is commonly referred to as an ‘uncontested divorce.’

Other Dissolutions involve the same tasks noted above, combined with analysis of complex facts, issues involving classification of marital and non-marital property and the appropriate division of this property, complex retirement fund (pensions, profit sharing, IRA, 401k, etc.) distributions, preparation of Qualified Domestic Relations Orders (QDRO’s) required under federal law (ERISA) to effect these distributions, identification and classification of marital and non-marital debt and

allocation of this debt between the Parties, analysis of legal precedent regarding issues in dispute, and so forth.

If agreement can not be reached on all issues, the Court will hold a trial and decide these unresolved issues itself. This process is commonly referred to as a ‘contested divorce.’ In my opinion every effort should be made to resolve the issues between the parties by agreement as opposed to trial. In the past few years and advanced settlement technique referred to as mediation has become popular, useful and effective in resolving Family Court cases. If the parties seem to be stuck on a couple of issues, or on all issues, mediation should be attempted. The mediator is a trained professional, usually a retired judge or an experienced Family Court practitioner, who understands the issues, is creative in developing solutions, and is patient.

If ‘maintenance’ (also called spousal support and/or alimony) is an issue in the case, additional analysis is required, including detailed factual study along with analysis of the application of state law to those facts to determine 1) if Maintenance is justified, and, if so, 2) how much should be paid and 3) for how many months or years should it be paid.

Experience has shown that the most time consuming and emotionally exhausting issue in domestic cases is a dispute over parenting times and duties, i.e. a ‘custody fight.’ Full litigation of parenting issues will extend a dissolution over months and drive the costs up dramatically. This will be the subject of further communication if relevant to your case.

Complex domestic litigation involving property, debt, maintenance and parenting issues can easily cost in excess of $20,000 in fees and expenses. Few have the funds necessary to support this litigation but more and more people find themselves in this situation. That is why it is important, in domestic litigation, to

a. Focus on what is truly important to you and your children;b. Pick your battles wisely; andc. Make the time you spend with your attorney productive.

NEEDS OF THE CLIENTAbraham Lincoln was quoted as saying “A lawyers stock–in–trade is time and advice.” The hourly rate you will be charged includes time spent reading, listening to and responding to phone calls, voice mails, e-mails and written correspondence. The minimum billing unit is 1/10 of an hour. At my current billing rate, that 1/10 amounts to $20.00. Therefore, if you call, write, or e-mail, you will likely be billed for the time spent in reading, listening and responding. To keep the charges manageable, MAKE YOUR COMMUNICATIONS WITH ME CONCISE, TO THE POINT, and RELEVANT. Similarly, try to make all office visits for consultation focused and on task – be assured that I will. My practice is to try to return all calls and respond to all e-mails within 24 hours.

By stating the above, I do not mean to tell you not to call, write or e-mail. In fact, good communication between us is essential for effective representation. What I am

trying to convey is that your pocketbook will be best served by well focused communication. From experience, the use of e-mail is the quickest, most effective means to date of transferring information. It is well known that e-mail may not be the most secure means of communication (hand delivering information could also have its risks) but is relatively safe for usual and ordinary communication.

OPPONENT’S ATTITUDEThe loss of control is one of the most frustrating aspects for clients in a domestic case. Clients may have lost contol of many areas of their lives – their household, their children, their finances – and this loss is difficult to deal with. Added to the losses noted above is the fact that you will have no control over how your spouse or former spouse reacts to the situation, the time it takes for response, the actual response to your positions and the obstacles imposed by his/her positions. If your ‘opponent’ wants to resolve issues quickly and you two are on the ‘same page,’ the case can move along smoothly. If not, you can expect the opposite.

If your ‘opponent’ retains an attorney, a whole new dimension is added to the mix. Not all attorneys practice in the same manner. Some are confrontational, some are conciliatory. Some like to make a Judge decide the issues – others work hard to reach agreements outside of Court. Some attorneys have good communication skills and can influence their client’s choices, focus and direction (‘client control’) and others have no control at all. Some return phone calls and emails timely, and some do not. Who your ‘opponent’ chooses will play a large part in determining the length of time and effort required to complete your case and neither you nor I have any control over that.

Court appearances, even for routine matters, are expensive. A judge may assign a date and time to give us 15 min. to argue for some relief. When you add to those 15 min. the time it takes to travel to and from the courthouse, the time we may have to wait for the judge to see us, discussions with your opponent and/or the attorney, it can take two hours of time, or $400 of attorneys fee. A half day trial in which the judges being asked to resolve differences can cost nearly $1200 in attorneys fee. Trials require lots of preparation, lots of forms, and lots of uncertainty. This is another reason why it is better for you to try to solve all the problems outside of the courtroom rather than inside of the courtroom.

Therefore, I cannot emphasize this enough: you can control how you behave in this situation but have no control over how your spouse behaves. In a vast majority of the cases I've handled over three decades, more time and money is wasted arguing over the small things because the parties are still mad at each other and want to get a pound of flesh. Having been forewarned, act accordingly!

FEE AWARDThe ‘American Rule’ is that every party to litigation pays his/her/its own attorney’s fees absent a statute or contract on point. Kentucky has such a statute. KRS 403.220 states that the Court may order one party to pay all or a part of the other’s attorney fees after considering the financial resources of both parties. The Court is given

great discretion in making an attorney’s fee award and is not required to make an award. The Court can award fees as a sanction for obstructive tactics, discovery abuse and a waste of the court’s time. Experience has shown that Court fee awards are rare and incomplete. You should not count on a court ordering your opponent to pay your fees except under unusual circumstances.

COSTSThere are certain court costs and expenses of litigation that occur in domestic relations cases. Filing fees and service of process costs are required to start every case (except in forma paurerus cases – those in which the filing party is poverty stricken.) There can be fees to court reporters and videographers for depositions, GAL (guardian ad litem) fees for court appointed attorneys to represent the children, custody analysis costs for experts retained to study the custody issue in detail and counseling fees if the children are directed to counseling. If children are involved, there are fees for mandatory parenting classes (such as ‘Families in Transition’) In cases with complex financial issues (such as the valuation of a small business) there may be fees for a CPA to analyze the situation. Some of these may be recoverable from your opponent at the conclusion of the case, and some are solely your expense.

I trust that you now have a more complete understanding of how the fees and expenses of your case will be generated and how you can control your costs. If you have any questions about this, feel free to call.

FORMSThe Kentucky Supreme Court has recently set forth some new rules of practice for family courts in the Commonwealth. Many of the rules require filing certain basic forms with the court to make sure that the court has adequate information to make appropriate decisions if necessary. While experienced family practitioners uniformly made sure that courts had this information, increasing numbers of people are trying to have their marriage dissolved without the use of attorneys (pro se). By and large, pro se litigants messed things up and rarely got it right. At least now, the judges will not try to complete anything without the appropriate forms being filed to avoid the situation.

You are required, therefore, to provide a great deal of information on these forms that may or may not be relevant to your case, but you have to supply the information nonetheless. When I send these forms to you, fill them out in detail and return to me as quickly as possible so that I can put them in the proper form for filing. The longer it takes to complete this paperwork, the more time it will take to complete your dissolution.

Sincerely,

THOMAS L. ROUSE