Florida bars a family law fee that depends on whether a dissolution is granted or on how large the alimony, support or property figure turns out to be. This page explains precisely how far that bar reaches, the one situation where a percentage is still allowed, and the amounts the Hillsborough County Clerk and Florida statutes set on a Tampa case.
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Or call (813) 845-8721No fee in a domestic relations matter may be contingent on the securing of a divorce or on the amount of alimony or support, or property settlement in lieu of those.
Charged by the Hillsborough County Clerk of Circuit Court. A counter petition is $295, and any other family law action not separately listed is $300.
The higher rate applies where combined income is above $50,000 and below $100,000, the lower where combined income is under $50,000. No fee is assessed against an indigent party.
After considering the financial resources of both parties, the court may order a reasonable amount for attorney's fees, suit money and costs, including enforcement, modification and appeals.
A fee taken out of the result is not allowed in a criminal case, so nothing here is a percentage. The amounts below are what Florida law itself sets, and what a firm charges to handle the case is separate, written down, and agreed before the work starts. Nothing on this page is a quote.
| The item | What the rule, statute or clerk sets | What that means | Where it says so |
|---|---|---|---|
| A fee riding on the outcome | Prohibited on two hooks | The rule reaches payment contingent on the divorce being secured and payment sized by the alimony, support or property figure. The comment treats a later bonus based on results as the same prohibited arrangement. | R. Regulating Fla. Bar 4-1.5(f)(3)(A) |
| Recovering a post-judgment support balance | Contingent fee allowed | The rule states that the provision does not preclude a contingent fee contract for recovering post-judgment balances due under support, alimony or other financial orders. | R. Regulating Fla. Bar 4-1.5(f)(3) |
| Statutory ceiling on a chapter 61 filing fee | Up to $295 | Lower than the $395 figure for general circuit civil actions, with additional statutory charges layered on top of it by the clerk. | Fla. Stat. 28.241(1)(a)1.b. |
| Opening the case in Hillsborough County | $408 / $295 / $10 | Dissolution of marriage, counter petition, and issuing a summons. Filing and issuing a subpoena is $7 and signing and sealing one is $2. | Hillsborough County Clerk fees and fines |
| Coming back after the judgment | $50 / $188 | Reopening a closed family file, and a writ of garnishment used to reach wages or an account when an ordered payment is not made. | Hillsborough County Clerk fees and fines |
| Parent education course with minor children | Minimum four hours | Every party to a dissolution involving minor children must complete an approved course before final judgment, the petitioner within forty-five days of filing and other parties within forty-five days of service. | Fla. Stat. 61.21 |
The rule for family work is Rule 4-1.5(f)(3)(A) of the Rules Regulating The Florida Bar. A lawyer must not enter into an arrangement for, charge, or collect any fee in a domestic relations matter the payment or amount of which is contingent on the securing of a divorce or on the amount of alimony or support, or property settlement in lieu thereof. The neighboring subparagraph, (f)(3)(B), is the criminal one; it has nothing to do with a dissolution, a paternity action or a time-sharing dispute.
Notice what the words attach to. Two hooks are prohibited: payment that depends on the divorce being secured, and payment sized by the alimony, support or property number. The comment to the rule extends that to arrangements dressed differently: in domestic relations cases, fees including a bonus provision or an additional fee determined later based on results obtained have been treated as impermissible contingency fees, subject to restitution and discipline.
What is not prohibited is a fee that is hourly, or fixed, or paid in stages tied to the work rather than to the result. So Tampa family fees are structured as an hourly rate drawn against a deposit that gets replenished, or as a fixed sum for a defined and narrow scope such as an uncontested dissolution.
The same rule carries a carve-out that matters to a parent who has gone unpaid for years. It leaves room for a percentage arrangement aimed at collecting amounts already owed under an entered support, alimony or other financial order. Collecting an arrearage a court already ordered is a collection problem, not a bargaining problem. Where such a contract is used, Rule 4-1.5(f)(2) applies: a written contract signed by the client and by a lawyer for the firm, with a copy furnished to the client.
Section 28.241(1)(a)1.b. sets the statutory circuit filing fee for a chapter 61 case at up to $295 where there are not more than five defendants, lower than the $395 ceiling for general circuit civil actions, with additional statutory charges layered on top. The Clerk's own published list is what a filer actually pays. A dissolution of marriage is $408. A counter petition is $295. Any other family law action not separately listed is $300. A name change is $414 and a sealing fee is $42. Issuing a summons costs $10, filing and issuing a subpoena for a witness is $7, and signing and sealing one is $2.
Coming back later has its own price. Reopening a closed family file costs $50, and a writ of garnishment against wages or an account is $188. Those two numbers are the reason a judgment that is vague about dates, amounts or transfer mechanics is expensive years after everyone signed it.
Hillsborough family cases are routinely ordered to mediation before a contested hearing. Section 44.108(2) sets the fee the clerk collects for mediation run by a circuit court's program. It is one hundred twenty dollars per person per scheduled session in family mediation where combined income is greater than $50,000 but less than $100,000 a year. The rate is sixty dollars per person per session where combined income is less than $50,000. No fee is assessed against a party found to be indigent. Above that band, or by agreement, parties use a private mediator at an independent rate.
Section 61.16(1) allows the court, after considering the financial resources of both parties, to order a party to pay a reasonable amount for attorney's fees, suit money and the other party's cost of maintaining or defending a chapter 61 proceeding, including enforcement, modification and appeals. Corroborating expert testimony is not required to support an award. It is what keeps a spouse without access to the accounts from being outspent into a bad agreement, and it can be requested at the outset.
Filing and service charges are court costs, not compensation. So are a process server, a court reporter for depositions, certified account and payroll records, and a real estate appraisal. Add a forensic accountant where a small business or unreported income is in dispute, plus a social investigation or parenting evaluation where time-sharing is genuinely contested. Section 61.21 adds a requirement people forget to budget for. Parties to a dissolution with minor children must complete an approved Parent Education and Family Stabilization Course, a minimum of four hours, before final judgment. The petitioner has forty-five days from filing to finish it, and other parties have forty-five days from service.
Ask what the hourly rate is for each person who will touch the file, and what the minimum billing increment is. Ask which stage the quoted scope ends at: mandatory disclosure, mediation, temporary relief, final hearing. Ask what triggers a request to replenish the deposit, and which expenses need approval first.
Keep the papers, dates, financial records, and any proposed parenting plan in one place. A Tampa family-law attorney can review the particular facts and the Thirteenth Judicial Circuit procedure that applies. This website provides general information only and cannot give legal advice or predict a court result.
Call (813) 845-8721No obligation · Written for Tampa · Hillsborough County