Going through a divorce is rarely
a pleasant experience, so it makes sense that unnecessarily driving up
the cost of a
divorce attorney only adds more stress. The clients I’ve had whose divorces were the
least expensive almost always abided by the following guidelines:
1. Don’t Make Your Attorney Do Work that You Can Do Yourself
In many cases, the parties
exchange financial documents and create inventories listing their assets and
debts. Sometimes this is through a
formal process called “discovery,” and other times it’s done on a more limited
scale by agreement between the attorneys.
In either event, when clients fail to provide all of the requested
documents, or leave them with their attorney without first carefully organizing
them, they force the attorney and/or the attorney’s staff to spend time
fielding complaints from the opposing lawyer about incomplete disclosure, or to
painstakingly sift through a jumble of credit card statements and balance
sheets to put them in a presentable format.
Since the financial information is going to have to be exchanged and
understood one way or another, the client has the choice of taking the time to
do as much of the non-legal work on their own as possible, or paying their
attorney by the hour to do it for them.
2. Walk Away From the Small Disputes
Not surprisingly, parties in the
middle of a divorce don’t always get along.
As unfortunate as it may be, it’s not unusual for one or both of the parties
to look for small ways to make the other squirm. Judges universally dislike playing referee to
petty disputes between adults and will usually blame both parties for their
failure to cooperate. Parties bent on
fighting will often use household items and expenses to wage their emotional
war. Examples include failing to pay a
utility bill on time (and “forgetting” to mention it to their spouse), or
intentionally removing property from the home upon separation that they know
the other party will miss. Obviously, if
the electricity gets shut off, something needs to be done, but short of an
emergency like that, it’s normally a bad idea to pay an attorney several
hundred dollars per hour to fight over a $50 late fee, or a stack of DVDs that
can be replaced on Craigslist for less than it costs to have an attorney try to
get them back. This means the client may
have to swallow their pride and take the high road, but the alternative only
results in higher fees and more bitterness.
3. Listen to your Attorney, Even If it’s Not What You Want
to Hear
A client hires their attorney for
their legal expertise and familiarity with the court system. Sometimes the law is at odds with what a
client wants to do, and each Judge brings his or her own opinions and unique
triggers for irritation to the table, which means an effective strategy in one
court may not work in another. In
addition to knowing the law, the attorney will usually be familiar with the
judge or judges who will preside over their client’s case. That means a good attorney will steer a
client away from goals or courses of conduct that are either unattainable or
could put their client at a legal disadvantage, even when it’s not the
direction the client wants to go. If the
client is really paying attention, they’ll probably notice that the things they
don’t want to hear will actually save money, and, by implication, means their
attorney will cost less in the long run. If you have an attorney who tries to
keep you from giving them your hard-earned money, it’s probably worth listening
to what they have to say.
Labels: austin divorce attorney, cost of a divorce attorney, how to save money on divorce, minimize divorce costs