Divorce: Five Ways to Save Money

Divorces can be expensive. Some get to be very expensive. There are things that happen in a divorce that you can’t control, and others that you can.

 

Listed below are five things that you should be able to control that should save you some money as you go through a divorce. All of these are based upon one simple idea — time is money. When paying an attorney by the hour, the more attorney time you can save, the more money you will save yourself.

 

1. Respond to your attorney.

 

Your attorney is going to ask you for a great many things. Sometimes it’s as simple as “are you available for a hearing two weeks from Thursday,” and sometimes it’s for more complicated things, such as “I need copies of all of your bank statements for the last few years.” Whichever it is, ignoring the request will lead to your attorney possibly having to have several more conversations or send several more emails. He or she may have to let the opposing counsel and the court know about the status of whatever it is that he or she is seeking. He or she may have to file a motion or seek an agreed extension of some deadline. All of that takes time, and will ultimately cost you money. Responding quickly and completely will help your attorney help you and save you money in the long run.

 

2. Don’t fight over silly things.

 

Some things are worth fighting over — like are your children going to live near enough to you that you can have a meaningful relationship — and some aren’t — like who is going to get the new TV and who is going to take the old one. Fighting can mean that your attorney has to write emails or make calls repeatedly with both opposing counsel and the court, as well as you. Very quickly, the cost of fighting over something that is not worth fighting over can get to be very high.  The smart thing to do, when possible, is make a business decision. Determine in advance how much various things are worth, then do the math on whether it’s worth fighting over them.

 

3. Organize your evidence.

 

This one involves a rule of reason. If you bring in all of your bank statements, mixed with all of your receipts, mixed with all of your emails, all in one big box, someone is going to have to spend an enormous amount of time sorting those documents out. If you do it, you save attorney or legal assistant time. If not, you will end up paying your lawyer or his staff. But, the rule of reason part is this: Don’t be so “organized” that you have all of your documents in individual sheet protectors inside of three ring binders. In all probability, your attorney will need to number and copy your documents. The time that it takes to get the documents ready for the copy machine can get expensive, if you’ve overdone it with the “organizing.”

 

4. Don’t violate court orders.

 

If you are under Standing Orders, a Temporary Restraining Order, Temporary Orders, or a Protective Order, read the document or documents carefully. Know what you can do and what you can’t. If you violate the orders, you can cause your attorney to have to have multiple conversations with opposing counsel and the court, even if you never end up in a contempt hearing or enforcement hearing.

 

5. Recognize the realities of the system you are in.

 

Courts each have their own ways of doing things. Some courts only allow 20 minutes per side for Temporary Orders hearings. Some allow all day. Some allow multiple days. Most courts don’t like repetitive evidence — in fact it’s objectionable. One way that some people cost themselves an enormous amount of money is by not realizing that there are limits to the presentation of evidence. Your attorney will probably want to know if you have witnesses that can support your side of the case. When asked, give as many names as the attorney needs, and prioritize your witnesses, from most important to least. But, what you don’t want to do is give the lawyer 25 names, when he only wants 3-4, and then insist that he “use” all of them. Often there is no way to use as much evidence as the client would like. Let your attorney advise you on the realities of the situation, then adjust to that. Don’t expect reality to adjust to your desires, or you will cost yourself unnecessary legal fees.

 

There you have it. Do these five simple things and you will almost certainly save yourself some money.