How to Keep Divorce Costs Manageable

 Posted on March 09, 2018 in Divorce

A divorce is never easy. If your marriage is ending, you are likely to feel angry and hurt, as well as betrayed by the very person with whom you once wanted to spend the rest of your life. Emotions such as these may make you want to dig in your heels and fight against your partner over every little issue. Unfortunately, doing so will probably cost much more than you are prepared to spend on your divorce. There are, however, some things you can do to keep the cost of your divorce to manageable levels.

Where Costs Add Up

Some of the expenses related to your divorce are simply unavoidable, such as court fees. You may also experience additional costs in setting up a new place to live apart from your spouse. The bulk of your expenses, however, will come in the form of attorneys’ fees and fees charged by other professionals involved in your case. The more complex and contentious your case is, the more you will need to pay.

Cooperation With Your Spouse

The biggest ways that you can keep your costs down during a divorce are to communicate, cooperate, and negotiate with your soon-to-be ex-spouse from the beginning. Any issue that you can reach a workable agreement on is one less that you will need to address with the help your lawyer or the court. Cooperation between you and your spouse can reduce the amount of time your attorney will need to spend on your case, which in turn will save you money.

Cooperation With Your Attorney

You can also control some of your costs by managing the time you spend with your lawyer efficiently. This means being on time for meetings and appointments, being open and honest about your situation, and getting all of your necessary documentation together quickly. When you call your lawyer, stick to the topic at hand. There are also tasks that your attorney may be willing to do, but you could easily do them for a fraction of the costs.

For example, if you give your lawyer a stack of paystubs, account statements, and receipts for household expenses, he or she could take the time to sort through them, organize them, and add up all of the figures, but you may be billed for his or her time. If you organized them first, then added up your income and expenses yourself, your lawyer will only need to verify that everything is in order—a much faster process.

We Can Help

Of course, you can only control your side of your divorce, and it is possible for your spouse’s actions to affect how much you will need to pay. If, however, you are being reasonable and your spouse is not, you may be able to recoup some of your costs in your divorce judgment.

To learn more about controlling expenses during a divorce, contact an experienced DuPage County divorce lawyer at Pesce Law Group, P.C. today. We will meet with you and help you develop strategies that can save you money while fully protecting your rights. Call 630-352-2240 for a free consultation.

Source:

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/cheryl-and-joe-dillon/how-much-does-divorce-cos_b_6143024.html