Talk to a Lawyer — For Free
If you are unsure where to start with your divorce/family law issue, or if you simply need a little guidance and information to get started on your own, we are here to help! Feel free to call Morrison LLP at 587-758-1099 and speak with one of our lawyers for free for up to 30 minutes.
To get the most of out of your free consultation with one of our lawyers, make sure that you are calm, have a firm grasp of the relevant dates, and that you have reviewed any documents with which you were served in advance of the consultation.
How Can I Reduce My Legal Fees?
Hiring a lawyer for your divorce can be expensive—but it doesn’t have to be. Here are three tips to help you reduce your legal fees:
1. Be reasonable! Many people begin their divorce proceedings with an adversarial mentality: they want to “win” by taking the children, the house, the friends etc. If you proceed with this mentality you will not win. You will lose. Your spouse will lose. Your children will lose. No one wins in a high-conflict divorce. Going to court is expensive. If you are not able to give-and-take in negotiations with your spouse then you could end up paying thousands of dollars for a Judge—who does not know you or your family—to make the decision for you.
2. Do not “over communicate”. Many people think that they need to tell their lawyer everything. To this effect they send multiple emails every day and leave long, detailed telephone messages. While it is important to keep your lawyer updated, doing so costs money. It is often better to bundle the thoughts contained in short emails into one longer email. Also, to the extent that you can work out the details directly with your spouse, you should. Not only will doing so lower your bill, but it will give you practice adjusting to your new family life. Remember, you still need to raise your children together even after your divorce is finalized!
3. Be organized. A great deal of time, and therefore money, is often spent gathering documents and evidence. You are the one in control of your documents. If you organize them and provide them to your lawyer in a timely fashion, then you will save time corresponding back and forth and explaining why the pages are out of order.
Fundamentally, if you want to keep your costs down then you need to treat your divorce like a job: look at the situation objectively rather than emotionally, communicate concisely, and keep organized.
