You can easily save $10,000-$30,000+ with these secrets.
When you hear the term, marriages are made in heaven, you must remember the opposite of that divorces is also made in heaven, a similar thing was stated by Oscar Wilde. However, when you are going through a rough patch of life you need relief from it. This may not be through a divorce all the time, but when it’s necessary, you must take the step.
To get this thing done you need to contact a divorce lawyer and they will be able to suggest the circumstances and the steps you can take. But not always your divorce lawyer gives you the best information and helps you all the way. To get proper information and emerge into the water fully prepared, you can check these below points.
Summary
You can save thousands of dollars with your divorce if you follow these steps.
| 1 Negotiate fees | Be smart and don’t be too pushy. |
| 2. Price shop | Consider 3 different options. |
| 3. Ultra cheap attorneys may not be worth it. | Focus on online reviews satisfaction rating & price. |
| 4. Cut back expenses. | |
| 5. Be cautious of low retainers. | You will get expensive invoices in the mail. |
| 6. Be organized with paperwork. | This will save you thousands! |
| 7. Your lawyer doesn’t want you digging into his invoices | Do it anyways. |
| 8. Overly aggressive attorneys may cost you more even if they get you what you are seeking | Only hire one as a last resort. |
| 9. You won’t likley get your full child support due from the court. | Most people don’t. This is not your attorney’s fault. |
| 10. Keep phone calls short | Don’t be chatty on the phone. |
| 11. Be your own secretary | -Organize paperwork. -File where permitted. -Be proactive in the process. |
| 12, Accept responsibility | The more you fight your spouse – the more it will cost. |
| 13. Your expectations are too high | Don’t call them all the time. |
| 14. You may not be a priority to your lawyer | You will not get your attorney’s full attention. |
| 15. You can change lawyers at anytime during the process | Only do this if necessary. It can be very costly. |
| 16. You can do a lot of the work yourself | Set up a plan with your attorney |
| 17. Check your ego | This is not a game to win |
| 18. Your attorney is not your councilor | Vent on your friends |
| 19. Drinking will not solve your problems | Don’t talk to your lawyer drunk. |
| 20. Non contested divorces that use mediation cost much less | Biggest TIP!!! |
| 21. Mediation is a great choice but it is not for everyone | Not ideal for contested divorces. |
| 22. Divorce should not be used for payback | It will lead to a longer, costlier process |
| 23. You shouldn’t cheat on your wife/spouse if you are still married. They will probably find out | Don’t cheat, even if they are. |
| 24. You will have to dress up for court | This can’t be understated. |
| 25. Dishonest attorneys may encourage fights with your spouse…which will get them more money | Online reviews are so important |
| 26. Divorce should be a last resort. | It will probably cost you 50% of your assets |
| 27. Consider counseling. | Unless your spouse is abusive. |
Research overview: This article was created from over a dozen hours of online research including advice from attorneys and professional mediators. It is an important life hack that will save you a lot of money.
Lets dive in!
Financial
1.You can negotiate your lawyer’s fees
You can negotiate the fees of the divorce lawyer. They can ask a standard rate but you need to ask them to lower their visiting, printing rates, and other fees too.
Beware: You don’t want to start out the relationship with bargining with your attorney. The more of a pain in the ass you are (complaining about cost, your spouse, etc) worse of a client you will be to them.
You can save money by doing a lot of the leg work yourself. More on this below…
2.You should price shop
You have to check where you can get the best price for the divorce. Settle for the one that seems suitable.
A good way to do this is look at online comparason sites that rate laywers.
3. With really cheap attorneys…you are less likely to get an aggressive advocate
If you go for cheap attorneys they may not put in the effort it takes to satisfy your as a client. Don’t be so quick to sign with a cheap lawyer.
You may not like what you get.
You may get a better price and outcome if you go with an averaged priced attorney with a great reputation for fairness and results.
4.You will have to cut back on expenses.
Taking help from a divorce lawyer might be really expensive. You may have to cut down your lifestyle for 6 months to ta year as a result of the divorce.
Be prepared for an emotional roller coaster where you should not make any large financial decisions for at least a year.
5. Low retainers will often cost you in the long run
A retainer works on the tasks undertaken by the lawyer. It is the down payment. Some attorneys offer a low retainer at first…
Then they will bill you with much higher invoices afterwards. Make sure you clearly understand the terms and costs. Make sure you read the contract.
Read the fine print!
6. Not being organized will cost you more money
You need to be organized with all the papers and evidence so that you can be prepared for the divorce case and your lawyer will have to have his/her secretary do the administrative work.
Gather all your financial documents, and other details, keep them organized.
If possible, scan everything so you can send it to them electronically to save money on them scanning.
7. Chances are your lawyer doesn’t want you to dig into the invoices
The lawyer will not allow you to check the invoices they bill you and the charges will go up as long as the case drags on.
8. Aggressive attorneys may cost you more even if they get you what you are seeking
If you are looking for a more litigious attorney, they might may pursue more expensive legal strategies…to get you what you are seeking out of the divorce.
This may all cost you more.
9. You won’t get the full child support you are owed from your spouse
No matter what the attorney says to you, you will probably not receive full child support. Even if you are owed a lot, but you will not get the right amount due to the process, the division of assets and the judge.
10. You are probably billed for every minute you call them
Divorce lawyers may charge for every phone call.
Make sure to read your contract so you understand if you are billed for every minute and what the other charges are that can easily add up to extra thousands at the end of the process.
11. You can save a lot of money by copying the documentation, records yourself…They won’t tell you this though
You can always save more money when you copy, print out the records and documents all by yourself.
Be proactive. Let you attorney know ahead of time you would like to do as much as possible – during your initial consultation.
Be careful: Make sure you are doing everything correctly.
Ending the marriage
12. It may be your fault
Fault-based divorce is when the spouse has committed a crime and the acts can be, desertion, felony conviction, and adultery. If you are the partner who has committed any of these crimes then it can harm the custody, you have to pay a reimbursement or division of properties. So, you have to prepare for this beforehand and arrange all the defenses you have in this scenario.
Customer Service
13. You won’t get the level of attention that you would expect from your attorney for $40k
You need a good lawyer who has better support staff in their office you will be able to get the case in your favor. Otherwise going for an individual lawyer for $30k only will not give you must attention.
14. They don’t want to talk with you all the time
This is another thing lawyers tend to do. They will direct the calls of yours through their receptionists and will not take your call informing you that they are busy.
15. You can change up your lawyer during the process
You can change your lawyer during the divorce process.
Try to avoid this by establishing effective communication with your attorney during the consultation meeting – so your and their expectations are clearly understood.
16. You can perform at least half of the divorce yourself but you have to be proactive and easy to work with
Clearly communicate your desire to assist in your case with your attorney during the consultation meeting.
Establish a plan so they know what tasks you can complete yourself
- Gathering, organizing and copying financial and other records
- Electronically scanning documents
- Filing court documents yourself
17. Your ego is costing you more
If you are the type who will not budge for a negotiation ever, then it can cost you more for a simple divorce.
Your lawyer will have to battle your spouse’s lawyer over every detail if you won’t budge on the equitable division of your joint assets.
18. Divorce will be really hard but they are not your councilor
If you are seeking a divorce, it’s certainly hard on you.
They are not your doctor or councilor. You should use them for the divorce, not as a friend. It will cost you more.
19. Drinking will not help your divorce
Appearing in the court in a disheveled state is not proper, and your lawyer will not tell you to dress properly behave accordingly, but if you are not rightly presented in the court your lawyer will tell you to stop whatever you were doing like drinking and ask you to cooperate.
Non contested divorce
20. Non contested divorces that use mediation cost much less
This is one of the secrets your divorce lawyer may not be inclined to tell you.
The benefits enourmous:
- Less stress with your spouse. You end the marriage amicably which is better for both of you and the kids if you have them.
- Possibly quicker. Depending on the mediation adjudicator, you may have a much quicker divorce than if you went through the courts and fought it out with a judge.
- It is confidential.
- It is usually much cheaper than traditional contested divorces. It costs around $7000-$10,000.
However, for this, the two of you have to agree to a broad agreement.
21. Mediation is a great choice but not necessarily for your attorney
Mediation with your spouse can help you a lot, and it will be satisfactory for both parties but the lawyer may not tell you about this.
Research all the options before you hire an attorney. You may not need one if you go through mediation.
Contested divorce
22. Divorce should not be used for payback
Divorces are difficult and for that when both parties hire a tough lawyer and fight tooth and nail, even though they have been with each other for over a decade, this doesn’t end well. It will be better to settle the things with each other without taking the advantages of the partner.
23. You shouldn’t cheat on your wife/spouse if you are still married. They will probably find out
You must never cheat on your wife while you are still married because she might find out about this and make a strong divorce case against you.
24. You will have to dress up for court
You need to dress up properly to present at the court. Your appearance will be judged as well as your character. Put your best face forward.
25. Dishonest attorneys may encourage fights with your spouse…which will get them more money
If the attorney you hired is dishonest, they will fight with your wife or husband to get more money from your spouse.
These are some examples of the secrets your divorce lawyer won’t tell you, and you need to be aware of the same when you are looking for hiring a divorce lawyer.
Fix it before the divorce
26. Divorce should be a last resort.
You should try to work out your marriage for your kids..if the marriage is a safe one.
27. Consider counseling.
Talk to a pastor or councilor. Someone who is objective and will be fair to both of you.
Final thoughts.
Marriage is hard. Really hard – some of the time but it is worth it.
If you have tried to fix your marriage but it is not working then you should try to end your marriage amicably. You will save $20.000-$30.000, easily with mediation.
