Each level tells you what it costs, when to stop, and when to keep going. Read them in order once.
After that you'll know where you belong.
1
Ask JusticeXpress, in your own words
$0
Start here, because it takes thirty seconds and costs nothing. Ask JusticeXpress is our conversational
assistant. Type the question the way you'd say it out loud — "my landlord kept my deposit and won't
answer my texts," "my mother died without a will," "I got a 3-day notice." It answers from the Florida
legal information published on this website and links you straight to the Legal Topic it drew the
answer from, so you can read further if you want to.
Stop here if
You got your answer and nothing needs to be signed, served, or filed. This happens more often
than people expect — a great many questions are simply questions.
What it can't do
It cannot give legal advice, tell you what you should do, or predict what a judge will decide.
It explains Florida law and Florida procedure. That's a real limit, not fine print.
2
Read the Legal Topic it sends you to
$0
An answer tells you the rule. The Legal Topic tells you the whole picture — your options, the
deadlines, which document does what, and what happens next in your county. Twenty minutes here is
the single biggest cost saver on this page, because most people arrive convinced they have one
problem and discover they have a different, smaller one.
Stop here if
You now know where you stand and what your deadline is, and no paperwork is required of you.
Keep going if
You can see that something has to be prepared, signed, notarized, served, or filed. That's
level 3, and it's where most matters are actually resolved.
This is where most matters end
3
Prepare the document — correctly, once
$6.95 – $149 · one flat fee
Here is the part nobody tells you: most everyday legal problems are, in the end, a document problem.
A will. An LLC filing. An uncontested divorce petition. A demand letter. A small claims statement.
A name change. A QDRO. Get the right document, filled in correctly, signed and notarized the way
Florida requires, and filed in the right place — and the matter is over. Not "over for now." Over.
That's why this level is the destination, not a stepping stone. Over 160 Florida-specific automated
forms, each one built from plain-language questions with help text at every step, delivered instantly
to your JusticeXpress Vault. Individual documents start at $6.95; most run $14.95 to $149. If you'd
rather type into the form yourself, fillable PDFs start at $4.95.
You're finished when
Every field is complete, the signatures and notarization are done, and the document is filed
or delivered. Nothing above this level is required of you.
Our promise on price
We will never sell you a document you can get free and automated from the Florida courts or
FloridaLawHelp.org — we'll tell you and send you there. We never mark up court filing fees.
4
Have a trained human check it before you file
About $75 added to your document
This level exists because of one thing: rejected filings. A blank required field, an inconsistent
name, a wrong case number — small errors that cost weeks and sometimes restart a case. A trained
Legal Document Preparer reviews your finished paperwork for completeness and internal consistency,
and confirms where and how it gets filed in your county. Estate bundle: $124 on its own, $199
reviewed. QDRO: $149 on its own, $224 reviewed.
Worth the $75 when
A deadline is close, the document is complex (a QDRO, a parenting plan), or you'd lose a day
of work fixing a rejection at the clerk's window.
Skip it when
The document is short and routine and you've read the instructions carefully. A preparer
reviews the paperwork, not your legal situation — that's the line the law draws.
5
Buy only the lawyer time you actually need
$150 – $1,500 · fixed fee per task
Some matters need a lawyer. That does not mean they need an open-ended hourly retainer. Under
Florida's limited-scope rules an attorney can be hired for one defined task — review your settlement
agreement, draft one pleading, coach you before a hearing, appear at a single hearing — for a fee
agreed in advance. Our directory lists Florida attorneys who publish those fixed fees up front. A
flat-fee uncontested divorce handled start to finish typically begins around $995.
What to ask for
Name the task. Get the fee in writing before any work starts. Confirm in writing what the
lawyer is not doing, so there's no drift into hourly billing.
What sets the price
Each firm sets its own fees; we don't set them and we don't take a cut of them. Expect the
low end for a document review or letter, the high end for a court appearance.
6
Full hourly representation
$250 – $500 / hour, plus a $3,000 – $10,000 retainer
The average Florida lawyer bills around $353 an hour; family lawyers average about $375, and rates
in Miami and Tampa run higher. A contested divorce commonly consumes 15 to 60 attorney hours and
lands between $15,000 and $50,000. For some matters that is money well spent and the only sensible
choice. For a great many others, it is the most expensive way to obtain a document you could have
prepared at level 3 for less than $150.
Worth it when
The stakes exceed the fee: contested custody, a substantial estate, real property title, a
business dissolution, or anything where the other side has counsel.
Before you sign a retainer
Ask whether the same result is available as a flat fee. Ask what the retainer covers and what
happens when it runs out. Ask for an estimate of total hours, in writing.