Dallas Divorce Law Blog : Dallas Texas Divorce Lawyer & Attorney : O'Neil Attorneys Law Firm : TX Child Support & Custody Issues

Posted by Michelle May O’Neil on July 11, 2011

Accept that you may not have the control you would like to have over the legal costs. If your spouse is unwilling to negotiate a settlement and wants to drag matters over a period of time or through to trial, the legal costs will escalate. Sometimes one or both spouses start out not fully comprehending the stress and high costs that are involved in fighting it out in the litigation process. Months later they may come to the realization that it is better to work out a settlement to end the “emotional and financial bleed” and get on with their lives. Sometimes one or both spouses are so angry that they will do everything possible to drag matters out just to have their “day in court.” Then they realize only too late that putting their lives in the hands of the court is anything but empowering. The court may make decisions that neither of them desires.

Taking the things that you cannot control into account, you can do some things to make your time with your lawyer more cost effective and control your legal costs to some extent.

• Gather, photocopy, and organize all of your personal and family financial documents and records. This includes your personal income tax returns and any and every document you can find that relates to your family finances, such as cancelled checks, records of investments, loan agreements, bank account statements, insurance policies, real estate documents, RRSPs, and the like. If you have a marriage agreement, a domestic contract, or any other agreement, your lawyer will also require these documents.
• Calculate all of your current overheads. If you haven’t been keeping records of your expenses before, start writing down everything that you spend money on-groceries, gas, utilities, child care, your children’s haircuts, your children’s extra-curricular activities, your children’s medications. Keep a record of everything that you spend to support yourself and your children on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis.
• If you have friends who have been through this process and can give you practical advice, listen and consider their input. Although each situation is unique, learning from the experiences of others can help you focus on the specific matters that you will need to discuss with your lawyer.
• Plan your telephone and face to face meetings with your lawyer. Write down your questions before you talk or meet. When your lawyer gives you advice, take notes so that you have the information you need to make the best decisions for you and your children.
• If your lawyer calls you but your children are in the room, or for some other reason you do not feel you can concentrate on the matters at hand, ask for a time that would be convenient for you to return the call. Call back when you are feeling calm and prepared and assured of privacy.
• Do not use your lawyer’s billable time to talk about your emotional situation.
• Do not have your lawyer do all the legwork if there are matters you can handle.

Make the calls, pick up the documents, and do whatever you can to gather any information or documents that your lawyer requires. But of course you also need to consider the trade-off of the cost of your time versus the cost of your lawyer or his or her assistants doing this work.

• Ask your lawyer directly if there is anything that you can personally do to keep the costs down.

In matters of property division, you may have to provide records to determine any worth that is separate from the family property or you may have had prior to the marriage. If you had a marriage contract, these matters may be dealt with there. If not, you will need to provide the appropriate documentation. If you owned property or had investments such as an RRSP prior to your marriage, do you have valuations as at the date of the marriage? If you do not have the records to substantiate property or investments you believe should not be considered in the division of the matrimonial property, can your financial advisor, present or former employer or banker provide information that would substantiate your claim? There are professionals who do forensic valuations of property but these services will add costs to the bottom line of your separation or divorce.

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Make no mistake about it, divorces can be quite expensive.  Notwithstanding, there are several ways that you can help reduce the amount of attorney and paralegal fees you incur in your case.  As a Dallas divorce attorney our office has found that the following are quite helpful in controlling costs:

1. Communicate with your attorney via email.  A typical day for me involves reviewing hundreds of emails and returning several phone calls.  Putting your thoughts down in writing helps you to single out what your concerns are when you talk to me.  With that in mind, when you email me, try and be as concise as possible.  In doing so I won't have to dig through your email to determine what the question or concern is.  
2. Keep accurate financial records.  In all likelihood you will be required to file an inventory and appraisal of the community and separate estates.  By keeping up with your financial records, or at a minimum knowing where to readily obtain them, you can greatly reduce costs.  If you don't keep accurate records, or know where to get them, either I or my staff will have to obtain them for you and then sift through them.  
3. Understand that while I genuinely care about you and your case, I have to charge you for my time.  With that in mind, try to limit our communications to the subject at hand.  We are genuinely empathetic to all our clients and are very passionate about what we do, but if your emotions are running high, you can save a good deal of money by talking to a counselor, friend, clergy member or family member.
4. When our office sends you something for your review and approval, please do so as soon as possible.  If I or my staff have to contact you to remind you about a task, you will incur fees.

If you keep these tips in mind, you can greatly reduce the amount of attorneys fees in a divorce case.  These tips are simply guidelines and not hard and fast rules.  When seeking out an attorney, it is completely appropriate for you to ask how you can help control costs.  If the prospective attorney does not have an answer, I suggest you keep looking. 

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Recently I posted an entry about the lamb, the bulldog and the fox,  In keeping with that post it is fitting to share an entry which describes the perils of being overly aggressive.  In Fox Rothchild's New Jersey Family Law Blog the author described how fighting for the sake of fighting distracts the court from the two most important things: (1) our client; and (2) our client's rights and needs.  Clients hire divorce attorneys for two main reasons: (1) the attorney knows the law; and (2) the attorney will be objective.  If the attorney is more interested in fighting for the sake of fighting, then objectivity is frequently lost.  When objectivity is lost the client is the one who suffers. 

Although our Dallas divorce firm zealously advocates on behalf of our clients, we also understand how to combine the right amount of aggressiveness with tact in order to acheive the absolute best result for our clients. 

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