Hiring an attorney can be an expensive endeavor but also a very necessary one when you are in a sticky divorce or custody case.  In many cases, you can often reduce your legal costs by following these tips and tricks:

1.     Organization: One of the first things your attorney will ask you to do is to provide financial documents. This typically includes paystubs, credit card statements, bank statements, and more. It saves both time and money if you can organize these documents in a binder or folder in chronological order. If you hand your attorney a pile of unorganized documents and papers, a legal assistant or paralegal billing between $75.00-$150.00 an hour will have to sit and organize these documents. Organizing documents could cost you several hundreds of dollars when you could easily do it yourself for free! Allow us to spend less time organizing and more time analyzing your documents. Also, when you send your attorney financial documents, make sure they are complete documents (i.e. not missing pages). Otherwise, you will likely get a call from a legal assistant or paralegal requesting the missing pages.

2.     Responding to Emails or Phone Calls: Keeping open communication with your attorney will help save on costs. For example, if your attorney asks for a document or information, try and provide it as soon as possible so the attorney does not have to follow up with a call or email. If an attorney or paralegal has to track you down, it becomes much more expensive! If you also take a moment and include all of your questions in one email instead of sending numerous emails in a day, you will save money because it generally takes the attorney less time to respond.

3.     Mediation: Depending on the ability to work with your ex or ex-spouse, mediation is likely a great option that keeps you outside of the Courthouse. Litigation can be very expensive so if you can settle your case outside of Courthouse doors, you will save money in the long-run. Mediation allows a third-party (often an attorney or a former Judge) to help you and your ex-spouse work through issues to come to a reasonable resolution with the guidance of your respective legal counsel. While this is not always appropriate, in some cases it can be cost-beneficial. Talk with your attorney to see if it is a viable solution for your case.

4.     Utilize the Paralegal/Legal Assistant: Working closely with your attorney’s paralegal and/or legal assistant can help reduce your costs. Often the paralegal or legal assistant can point you in the right direction if you have a question. If they cannot help since there is a legal question involved, they will certainly find out from the attorney on your case. Paralegals and legal assistants bill at much lower rates than attorneys so utilizing the paralegal and legal assistant is beneficial from a financial standpoint.

5.     Timeline of Events: You know your family’s situation better than anyone, so help us learn the facts of your case by putting together a timeline of the events in your case. Putting together a chronological timeline of each event in your case will help create a clear and concise starting point for your attorney to begin working. This will allow your attorney to maximize her time with you during meetings and teleconferences. Writing your timeline can also jog your memory to ensure that you are telling your attorney all of the available information.

If you are looking for quality family law services to help you navigate the legal system, our Modern Legal team is here to help.

Written by: Megan S. White