How to Save Money During Divorce
- Gather/organize/prepare. During the process, there will be requests for information and documents. When you receive these, take the time to gather everything, organize it and prepare it in accordance with your attorney’s directions. If you bring a box of papers or an unorganized mess to your attorney, you incur further costs for him/her to organize and prepare it all.
- Ask your attorney: The beauty of having an attorney is guidance through his/her experience. That not only allows you to do it the right way – but to do it the right way the first time. Ask your attorney questions even if you think that they are “stupid” or trivial.
- Listen to your attorney. After you’ve asked your attorney, listen to what s/he says! Often additional costs are incurred when you don’t listen to what your attorney says. If s/he gives you instructions for gathering documents, listen. If she gives you specific instructions for filling out a financial statement, listen. If he tells you to document wrongdoing by your spouse in a particular way, listen.
- Take a deep breath. Don’t call your attorney every single time that something goes wrong. Know why? Because your attorney charges you for his/her time. Take a deep breath, consider the situation and decide if you really need your attorney to listen this time. Are you only venting? Do you know the answer to the question deep down inside? Is it something that can wait until the next time that you speak to your attorney? Is there actually a legal issue?
