Arkansas Divorces

Yes, Arkansas Divorces is owned and operated by a licensed attorney, Brandon Crawford. Brandon handles every case and works directly with every client.

We are located at 415 Ouachita (pronounced “Washitaw”) Avenue in Hot Springs, but we accept cases anywhere in the state. The fee is the same regardless of where the case is.

You can schedule a free 30-minute consultation by following this link or calling us at 855-485-4745.

Sure, but the initial consultation is always done over the phone.

We do not accept payment plans, but we do accept credit cards.

The pricing structure is very simple. The base price for every divorce is $500. If you don't know where your spouse is, there is an additional $50 charge for publication in the newspaper. If you have children, the cost goes up to $750. If you have real property, the cost goes up to $1000. If you have real property with a combined assessed value of more than $100,000, please contact us for an exact price.

Yes, but you and your spouse must take care of splitting the cost among yourselves. We can only accept payment from the represented spouse.

We start by collecting all the information we need to begin drafting your divorce documents. We then contact you to review your options with certain aspects of your divorce. Once we have all the information we need, we finish drafting the remaining documents and then send them to you for your review. We make any necessary revisions, then prepare everything for your final review and signature. After that, we submit the documents to the court and attend any hearings required by the court.

The answer depends on a number of things, but the most time-consuming part of the process is generally waiting for the parties to sign and return all of the documents.

In order to obtain a divorce, one spouse must have been a resident of Arkansas for at least 60 days before the case is filed and for 90 days before a divorce may be granted. After the case is filed, there is a mandatory 30-day waiting period before the divorce can be finalized.

The divorce can be filed in the county where either spouse resides or in any county where the parties have some significant connection to the county.

Yes, you can get a divorce even if you don’t know where your spouse is.

We suggest that you follow up with that attorney to make sure they actually completed the work. Or, you can hire us and we will take care of that for you.

Yes, but we only handle uncontested divorces (see “What does uncontested mean?” below). The price is the same even if your divorce is already filed.

No. It is both unethical and impractical for a single lawyer to represent both spouses in a divorce.

In simple terms, a divorce is just a lawsuit between spouses. One lawyer cannot represent both sides in the same lawsuit because each side has differing (and often conflicting) interests and vulnerabilities.

Although one lawyer cannot represent both spouses, one lawyer can draft and finalize all of the documentation to match the agreement made between the spouses, and submit the information to the court. It is perfectly acceptable for a single attorney to handle the divorce, so long as both spouses are aware of and understand the limitations of representation.

Uncontested means that both spouses want to get divorced, both spouses agree on how to divide property and debts, and both spouses agree on how to share custody of the children.

Unfortunately, ethical rules prevent us from advising the unrepresented party about the terms of the divorce. However, if there is some minor disagreement, we will explore every possible option with the represented spouse and attempt to find a resolution acceptable to both spouses.

The divorce process is governed by statutes and rules in the Arkansas Code, the Arkansas Rules of Civil Procedure, the Arkansas Rules of Evidence, and other sources. While many of these statutes are not terribly complicated, they are quite technical and the requirements for the timing, quantity, and quality of evidence that must be presented to the court are rigid. We know divorce law, and we keep up with the changes made by the legislature to the procedures and laws that govern property division, spousal support, and child custody.

Many courts require the parties to appear before they will grant any divorce. Having an attorney present to advocate for you in court will reduce the stress of the situation and increase the likelihood of a successful outcome. Even if no court appearance is necessary, if you file incorrect or inadequate paperwork, fail to satisfy the statutory requirements for divorce, or fail to present the required evidence to the court, your case will be dismissed and you will have wasted the filing fee.

So long as both spouses agree, property can be divided equally or unequally. If the parties cannot agree to a division of marital property, courts divide marital property equally unless the court finds equal distribution to be inequitable. Non-marital property owned prior to the marriage is returned to the party who owned it prior to the marriage.

Courts look to guidance from the Supreme Court and the family support charts in determining a reasonable amount of child support. Although there is a presumption that the amount contained in the family support chart is the correct amount of child support to be awarded, deviation is appropriate if application of the support chart would be unjust. The parties can agree to a variance from the support chart so long as there are legitimate reasons for the variance and both spouses agree.