Divorce and family law can get expensive, and there are countless things that can happen that are out of your control and even your lawyer’s control, such as what the other side chooses to do, double down on, file and take positions on.
However here are five things you CAN control to reduce your legal bills:
- Try to limit anxiety follow ups. If your lawyer is in regular communication (this does not apply if your lawyer is missing in action) and updates you when things happen, sending regular requests for updates every few days is going to drive up your bills. There are times in litigation where nothing is happening because you’re awaiting something like a response from the court, the other side or waiting for a court date. Your lawyer wants these answers too! For us, responses received are often sent within minutes but always within one business day so there’s no need to ask if we have heard something – if we had, we’d have told you!
- Do your part. There are some things that only you can do to prepare litigation, or at least only you can do without adding tons of expense. If your lawyer needs bank statements go get them – the cost of them having to go subpoena your own documents that you can download can be astronomical,.
- Be thoughtful with emails. Include all your questions in one email wherever possible and try to focus on the key issues.
- Don’t disappear. Some people think that if their bills are going up they should just stop communicating. To the contrary this just creates more expense and likely bad outcomes.
- Be upfront with your attorney in a respectful way about your need to conserve resources and ask what specifically you can do to reduce costs. A good lawyer is trying not to overburden you to begin with but may have some key things you can do in your specific situation that will reduce your costs without hampering your progress.
The relationship between lawyer and client is complex. It’s a financial contract but it’s also emotional. Lawyers deserve to be paid for the work they do, but a good lawyer also wants to limit the costs to the essential while still having their work respected and the contract between you honored.