Mediate Michigan

When it becomes clear that your marriage is over, and no amount of pretense or counseling can fix what is broken, you’ll need to line up an attorney to represent you in the divorce process. At this extremely vulnerable time, you’ll be placing your life and your future in your attorney’s hands, and you’ll add one more worry to your ample list of stresses — the high cost of divorce!

Attorneys usually charge an hourly rate calculated in 15-minute increments — even if the service takes only a minute or two of his time. That “quick little call” you make to your lawyer could cost you from $50 up. If you succumb to the temptation to call every day, your monthly charge just for phone calls can run well over $1,000. If the process drags on for a year, you’ll pay $12,000 and up just for those brief daily calls!

Here are ten simple steps for saving big bucks over the course of separation and divorce; some of the tips are general and can be applied to other legal situations as well.

Saving money on legal fees starts before you have your first attorney interview. Round up all the personal referrals you can from friends, family, colleagues, and neighbors who were happy with their own divorce lawyers. Ask if the client’s calls were returned in a timely manner, or if sustained nagging was required to get a call-back. The bill should run far less for a focused, efficient attorney than it would for a disorganized one. Did that attorney stall or delay the process? Did she favor lengthy debates between opposing attorneys? Was her billing accurate, detailed, and free from “fluff?” These factors can have a major effect on the final cost.

via DivorceMag: Top Ten Tips.