What To Know About Keeping Costs Down In Your Divorce

15 March 2017
 Categories: Law, Blog

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For divorcing couples that just cannot agree on much of anything and that allow their issues to be hashed out in divorce court, it can get expensive. Costs can mount quickly when you consider the cost of paying attorneys for their time, court fees, fees for custody evaluations and financial experts, private investigators, property appraisers and more. Unless you both want to find yourselves completely broke or in debt once your divorce is final, you need to take action now to keep those costs down. Read on to learn more about controlling the financial aspects of your divorce.

Spend some money to save some money: While the idea of hiring yet another expert may seem counter-intuitive, this particular expert could end up helping to save more money in the long run. A mental health expert, be it a family therapist, a licensed clinical social worker or a psychologist, can work wonders for you, your spouse and your children during the divorce process. Revenge and anger can make issues emotional, leading to costly courtroom battles caused by feeling victimized. Therapy will help you sort out those emotions from rational facts, and allow you to focus on ending your marriage in a less contentious, and cheaper, way. In some cases, therapy may allow you and your spouse to meet outside of court, and work out some issues yourselves.

Be upfront with your attorney about finances: You might be surprised to find that most people are reluctant to speak to their attorneys about holding down costs. It can be embarrassing and people hate to be perceived as cheap. Your attorney understands that no one has unlimited funds to spend on a divorce, so it's better to discuss this issue sooner rather than later, once costs have already mounted. The entire way a case is approached can be based on how much money you have available, and you are doing your attorney a favor by being honest about your financial situation early on in the game. Divorces are expensive, and the more motions, expert witnesses, document requests, subpoenas, etc that are used the more expensive it can be. Help both of you by coming to an agreement about finances as soon as possible.

Be your attorney's right hand. People are often shocked to find out that your attorney needs your help. Anything you can do to help the case will also keep your costs down. For example, consider the following tips when providing documentation to your attorney. 

1. When your attorney requests documents, be sure to provide them in an organized and chronological manner. You should sort most documents in order by date and separate various areas by folder, neatly labeled.

2. Provide as much documentation and information you can, instead of hiring an expert. You may be uniquely qualified to get access to certain types of information, with no need to hire a forensic accountant. For example, you might have access to your spouse's previous year's tax returns right on your family computer.

3. Give your attorney as much information as possible if you think your spouse could be hiding assets. Only you might know what and where those assets could be.

To learn more, contact a law firm like Law Offices of Kent Bulloch