(What “cheap” really means in Europe, why U.S. bills explode, and how to keep your own costs sane in 2025)
Spend five minutes comparing divorce bills and you see two different worlds. In much of Europe, a simple mutual-consent split is a routine administrative matter with modest, published fees.
In the United States, the same life event can turn into a year of hourly billing, discovery, evaluations, and five-figure invoices. There is no magic passport that dissolves a marriage for free.
There is a set of procedures, price caps, and defaults that make uncomplicated cases predictable and affordable on one side of the Atlantic, and a set of incentives that make even ordinary cases expensive on the other.
This guide shows what “a €2,000 divorce” actually buys, which countries hit that number, where costs jump on both continents, and the exact steps that shrink your bill no matter where you live.
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What “a €2,000 divorce” really means
When Europeans say divorce costs about two thousand, they are talking about a mutual consent case with no major disputes over custody or property, handled through administrative or streamlined court paths with fixed or capped fees. In many countries you do not even see a judge for an amicable split, and the state filing plus professional help stays close to four figures total. The number is not a promise for every couple. It is a baseline for couples who agree on terms and use the cheapest route the law provides.
Why Europe keeps routine cases cheap
There are three reasons you keep seeing modest numbers. First, many systems offer administrative divorces that avoid full court hearings for amicable cases. That lowers hours and keeps lawyer time minimal. Second, fee schedules and capped prepayment penalties exist for the legal actors who must be involved, which holds bills in a narrow band. Third, there is a wider web of legal aid, mediation culture, and standardized child-support formulas that resolve the common fights quickly. Put simply, Europe bakes in fixed fees, shorter procedures, and less discovery, so you buy less professional time.
Country snapshots you can actually price
Portugal. A mutual-consent divorce is an administrative application at the civil registry. The official process fee is €280, rising to €625 if property division is lodged there too. Couples often add a lawyer or mediator, but the state bill itself is transparent and low. Result: total costs for straightforward cases frequently land near that €1,000–€2,000 zone.
Denmark. Divorce is handled by the Agency of Family Law. The application fee is DKK 875 in 2025, with DKK 2,150 if a negotiation meeting is needed. Lawyers are optional in amicable cases. Result: state fees measured in hundreds, not thousands.
France. Since 2017, most mutual consent divorces are done without a judge. Each spouse must have a lawyer, the agreement is filed with a notary, and the notary filing fee is about €50. Typical lawyer fees for simple cases sit around €1,000 per spouse, putting many amicable French divorces near that €2,000 headline before any tax on asset division.
More snapshots and the ranges to expect
Spain. For couples without minor children, a notarial divorce is possible by mutual agreement. Notary arancel is commonly €100–€230, and basic lawyer packages for simple files are often €225–€500 per spouse, though market rates vary by city and complexity. Result: a clean file can stay close to €1,000 total.
Netherlands. Court griffierecht for a divorce petition is about €331 in 2025. Many couples use mediation, with full processes commonly €1,500–€3,500 depending on sessions needed. Result: plenty of amicable Dutch divorces clear in the €2,000–€4,000 lane.
Sweden. If both agree, the court application fee is typically SEK 900, and no lawyers are required in straightforward cases. Fees can rise in disputes, but a simple joint petition is intentionally low-friction and low-cost.
Germany. You must involve at least one lawyer to file, and both court and lawyer fees follow statutory schedules tied to the value in dispute. For amicable cases with modest incomes and assets, total costs often sit in the low thousands. Result: not as cheap as an administrative notary path, but predictable and often under typical U.S. totals for similar simplicity.
When European divorces are not cheap
Two triggers push European numbers well above €2,000. First, property division taxes and formalities. In France, for example, a droit de partage tax applies when you divide community property, and a notarial deed is required if real estate is involved, adding regulated fees. Second, contested custody or support. Once you leave mutual consent, lawyer hours climb, expert reports appear, and you are suddenly paying for proceedings that look much closer to American litigation. The cheap routes are for couples who agree. The moment you fight, you buy time, and time is the expensive thing.
Why American divorces spiral into five figures
The U.S. system is built around hourly billing, broad discovery, and adversarial incentives. National surveys put the median total cost with a lawyer around $7,000, with averages commonly $11,000 and up, and many litigated cases hitting $15,000–$20,000 or more. Attorney rates of $270 per hour are typical, with big-city rates far higher. Add depositions, custody evaluations, and expert witnesses and you will see bills that keep climbing until someone settles. Result: a simple case can be affordable, but the common case is not simple and the meter runs.
Even “cheap” U.S. divorces have friction. File-yourself cases may avoid attorney fees, but once there is any dispute, most people hire counsel and costs return to the four- and five-figure pattern. Mediation helps, but is extra unless courts provide it, and private mediators can add $3,000–$10,000 to the process, even though that is still less than litigation.
The structural differences that move the bill
Three design choices explain most of the gap. Europe relies on administrative paths for amicable cases, while the U.S. routes almost everything through full court calendars. Many European systems have published fee schedules for court and lawyer work or at least regulated bands that restrain bills in ordinary cases, while U.S. bills are dominated by open-ended hourly time. Finally, European child support and maintenance often use standardized calculators enforced by the state, while U.S. guidelines are state-by-state and can still spawn fights that generate more billable hours. The first model prices a process. The second model prices time.
How to keep costs low wherever you live
If you want the European outcome, copy the European sequence. Start with mutual consent and mediation before you file. Agree on a complete parenting plan and a property split in writing before anyone drafts adversarial pleadings. In the U.S., hire a mediator first, then use unbundled legal services to review the agreement for each spouse instead of paying for full-scope litigation. In Europe, pick the administrative or notary route when available and verify which forms and which fees apply before you retain anyone. Two global rules save the most money: settle the basics early and do not turn discovery into a hobby.
To make this stick, set one meeting to agree on children’s schedules, one meeting to list assets and debts, and one meeting to choose which country’s path you will follow. Every open question you close before filing removes a block of hours from your future bill.
A side-by-side number you can feel
Take a couple with no minor children, one bank account, one modest car, and no real estate.
In Portugal, they file mutual consent at the registry for €280, spend €700–€1,200 on legal help to draft the agreement, and they are done near €1,000–€1,500 unless they add extras. In France, each spouse pays a lawyer roughly €1,000, the notary €50 files the act, and they close near €2,000–€2,100 before any property tax if they owned a home. In Denmark, the state fee is DKK 875 with more if a negotiation session is scheduled, plus any optional professional help.
In the United States, the same couple might DIY for a few hundred in court fees if truly uncontested. The moment they hire counsel, the median total sits around $7,000, and averages push $11,000+, because even cooperative splits take dozens of hours across two attorneys to draft, revise, and file. That is not failure. That is the price of the model.
For Americans abroad or married to Europeans
If you live in Europe or one spouse does, start by checking jurisdiction and venue rules so you do not file in the wrong place. Then pick the simplest available route where you qualify as residents. If you can use Portugal’s registry process, or France’s mutual consent act with lawyers and notary filing, take it. If you are in Germany, plan for at least one lawyer and a statutory fee bill tied to income and assets. In the Netherlands or Sweden, court fees are low, and mediation first is common. Keep international child issues out of court by agreeing early on schooling, residence, and travel. That removes the fights that most often detonate costs.
What this means for you
The headline is not that Europe is cheap and the United States is doomed. The headline is that process design sets the price. If you can keep your divorce inside a mutual-consent framework, use fixed-fee paths, and standardize the big decisions, you will pay thousands, not tens of thousands, wherever you live. Let the case slide into hourly fights, and you will fund a year of other people’s calendars.
Choose the structure that matches your life. If you are still speaking, mediate first. If you are in Europe, take the administrative road. If you are in the U.S., unbundle services and keep the court’s role procedural, not adversarial. The cheapest divorce is not a place. It is a sequence you control.
About the Author: Ruben, co-founder of Gamintraveler.com since 2014, is a seasoned traveler from Spain who has explored over 100 countries since 2009. Known for his extensive travel adventures across South America, Europe, the US, Australia, New Zealand, Asia, and Africa, Ruben combines his passion for adventurous yet sustainable living with his love for cycling, highlighted by his remarkable 5-month bicycle journey from Spain to Norway. He currently resides in Spain, where he continues sharing his travel experiences with his partner, Rachel, and their son, Han.