Getting a divorce is never easy. But when you have to deal with high legal bills along with everything else it can be scarier than it has to be. We have come up with several ways you can keep your legal costs under control.
. Is a lawyer really necessary? Often the answer is “yes”. Where else can you go to find out what your legal rights and responsibilities are? But after you get the answers to your questions if may be possible for you to take care of the remainder of your divorce by yourself – possibly with just a little help.
The vast majority of divorce cases are uncontested – the spouses have agreed on the terms of divorce. The relationship is over and needs legal closure. You cannot expect the court office to prepare your paperwork for you but there are some affordable alternatives to law firms.
The first is a do-it-yourself divorce kit. This is really a workbook with a lot of fill-in-the-blank type forms. They usually cost between $20 and $40 and you can find them at most bookstores and stationary stores. Expect to spend many hours figuring out how to fill in the forms but you will save a lot of money in the end.
A second way to go is to hire an online service that will take your information, prepare your forms, and email them to you along with specific instructions allowing you to file them at the court office yourself. For a couple of hundred bucks this is far easier than the do it yourself kit and still saves loads of money compared to hiring a lawyer to do it all for you.
2. Consider mediation. In the mediation process you are still in the driver’s seat, no judge gets involved and lawyers are optional. Instead a mediator, a professional trained in assisting spouses to negotiate with each other, will help you settle any issues you have been unable to agree upon. Even touchy issues are usually successfully resolved when both spouses are prepared to give mediation their best effort.
Compared to a divorce trial which you can expect to cost each spouse tens of thousands of dollars, mediation will only cost a few thousand each, possibly even less.
3. If you need legal advice see how much of it you can get for free by taking advantage of the common 30 minute free consultation. Be sure to ask if the lawyer offers these freebies before you make an appointment. They are common enough that if you call around you should be able to find someone who will talk to you for a while for free.
4. Although almost all lawyers charge based on an hourly rate, they will bill you for every single minute they spend working on your file. That means writing, dictating, preparing documents, and even just speaking to you briefly on the phone. Every minute is costing you money so don’t make frequent calls for updates. Instead establish some regular reporting system up front such as arranging to receive a copy of all letters and documents or a monthly report letter.
5. Some, but not most, lawyers will agree to bill you a flat fee for your divorce. It won’t be cheap but at least it will give you the peace of mind of knowing what the damage is right from the start. If you need to arrange financing it helps to know how much you will need to borrow or set aside. You and your lawyer can then focus exclusively on results.