You should not need a lawyer to find out what a lawyer costs.
Bozeman, Great Falls, and all of Montana
Family Law, Wills, and Business Law
We handle the whole range, from a single document you need drafted to full representation in a contested case. Wherever the work can be priced up front, the price is on this site.
Flat-fee drafting and document help
Clarity and next steps in a 50-minute strategy session
For complex or highly contested matters
Where do I start
What is going on?
Pick the one that is closest. You will get a plain answer about how it actually works, and what it costs, before anybody asks you for a phone number.
In Montana this is called a dissolution of marriage, not a divorce, and the paperwork uses that word throughout. Two things decide most of what happens next: whether anything has been filed yet, and whether the two of you broadly agree. If you agree, it is mostly a drafting job. If you do not, it is a case.
Has anything been filed yet?
You are the Petitioner. The first document is a petition, and it gets filed with the Clerk of District Court in your county. There is a filing fee payable to the Clerk; ask us for the current figure, because it changes.
What that usually means here
You have a limited window to respond, and it starts from the day you were served rather than the day you read them. That deadline is the single most important thing in your file right now. Tell us the date on the papers and we will tell you where you stand.
What that usually means here
Then this is largely a drafting exercise, and it is the cheapest version of this there is. The risk is not conflict, it is a document that does not do what you both thought it did. That is what a review is for.
What that usually means here
Mediation goes better when you arrive knowing three things: what you already agree on, what you actually want, and the point past which you will not go. Most people work that out in the room, which is the worst place to do it.
What that usually means here
Montana calls it a parenting plan, not custody, and the plan is the document that actually governs day to day life: who has the children when, how holidays work, how decisions get made. A vague plan is the thing people come back about two years later.
What that usually means here
Two different problems get confused here. Asking the court to change something is a motion. Asking the court to make somebody do what it already ordered is enforcement. They are different documents and different work, and picking the wrong one costs you the hearing.
What that usually means here
A will only covers what passes through your estate. Anything with a named beneficiary, and anything owned jointly, goes its own way regardless of what the will says. That gap is the single commonest reason a plan does not do what somebody assumed it would.
What that usually means here
Not every estate needs a probate. Where the estate is small enough and no personal representative has been appointed, an affidavit can often be used to collect personal property from banks and employers instead. Whether that fits is the first question, and it is quick to answer.
What that usually means here
Most of the business problems that land here are the same one: the company exists on paper but the agreement between the people in it does not, or has not been updated since the day it was signed. Everything is cheap to fix before there is a disagreement and expensive afterwards.
What that usually means here
Most people who call are not sure either, and working out what you actually need is the first piece of work, not something you should have done before ringing. The strategy session exists for exactly this. You leave it knowing what the options are and what each one costs, whether or not you hire us afterwards.
What that usually means here
Already know what you need? See all twenty-seven packages and prices →
Tell us what is going on and we will reply with what it would cost and what happens first. No charge for the reply.
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Everything we do
Twenty-seven packages, every price listed
Grouped by what is happening to you rather than by what lawyers call it. Every price is on this page. Work that cannot be priced up front is quoted before it starts.
My marriage is ending
6 packagesWhether you are the one filing, the one who was served, or you both already agree.
It is about the kids
2 packagesParenting arrangements, and making a stepparent a legal parent.
Something is due at court
4 packagesA deadline, an order nobody is following, or a filing you want checked first.
Before we tie the knot
2 packagesSorting out who owns what while everybody is still friendly.
Looking after my family
6 packagesWills, powers of attorney, and what to do when somebody has died.
My business, and things in writing
7 packagesSetting it up, cleaning it up, and papering the deals.
Plenty of matters do not fit a package, and full representation in a contested case never does. Tell us what is going on and you will have a price before any work starts.
Why we publish prices
The number comes first
Most Montana firms quote by the hour after a consultation, which means you learn the price of your divorce once you are already inside it. Every clock that runs is a reason not to call with a question.
We publish the number instead. Each package lists what is included, what is not, and what it costs. Contested cases cannot be packaged honestly, so those we quote for your situation, and you get that number before the work starts, not after.
Read the common questionsMontana
Anywhere in Montana
There is no part of this state we will not take a case in. Tell us the county and we will tell you how it works, not whether we can.
Most of our filings land in Gallatin County, the 18th Judicial District, and Cascade County, the 8th, simply because that is where most of our clients live. If meeting in person is easier for you than meeting on a screen, say so and we will sort out where.
- Bozeman
- Belgrade
- Manhattan
- Three Forks
- Great Falls
- Virginia City
- And every other county
Contact Us
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Element Law Group is a flat fee law firm in Manhattan, Montana, serving Bozeman, Belgrade, Three Forks, and clients across the state in family law, estate planning, and small business matters. Every package on this site lists its price before you call.