How does the private judge get paid?
Private judges charge by the hour for their time. Generally, the private judge is paid from the community estate, with each party paying one-half of the cost “subject to allocation.” That means that the judge might decide later to allocate more of the cost to one side or the other. Common reasons for reallocation would be if the judge concludes that one side has unreasonably increased the cost of the litigation, or if one side has significantly more assets or income than the other, such that it would be unfair not to do so. Sometimes, when one side appears to have significantly greater assets than the other, that party will advance the judge’s fees, again “subject to allocation” if the judge ascertains that it would be fair to do so. The private judge will ask for a deposit to be placed in a trust account, to be drawn against as the case proceeds and time is expended on your case. If the case goes on for a while, you may be asked to replenish the original deposit. That it why it is esp
