3 Ways to Save Money on a Divorce

Unless you have a completely uncontested divorce, you run the risk of having an expensive divorce.  Now, expensive varies depending upon the size of the marital estate, child custody issues, and resources.  For some, a $2,500 divorce may be too expensive if there were no kids or assets in the marriage but their spouse just wouldn’t agree to sign the papers.  For others  $10,000, $20,000, or $50,000 will be considered expensive.  No matter how you define an “expensive divorce,” you should always be looking for ways to save money.  After all, why give the money to the divorce lawyers when you or your children could use it on other things.  Here are 3 ways to save money on your divorce:

1.  Choose The Woodlands Divorce Lawyer that offers solutions to amicably resolve the divorce more than just how they will fight and win the case.

In any type of litigation, you want an attorney that knows how to fight for you and hopefully win your case.  You should certainly make sure you are hiring a strong experienced litigation divorce lawyer that knows how to fight hard when its necessary, but if all the do is talking about fighting and punishing your spouse, you are probably talking to a Montgomery County Divorce Lawyer that will increase the cost of your divorce case.  Lots of times those same “aggressive” sounding divorce lawyers are also the ones that make the divorce more stressful and contentious costing tens of thousands more than is necessary and then if you get behind on your legal bills to them, they will drop you as a client immediately and then you are left with few resources to hire a new divorce lawyer.  Point is, you need a divorce lawyer that is prepared to fight hard, but you should be wary of Divorce Lawyers that don’t seek to offer  creative ways to resolve the case.

2.  Gather all the Important Evidence Before Filing for Divorce, if possible.

The best time to obtain evidence is several weeks or months before filing divorce. Many clients are in a hurry to file, and that is understandable and sometimes absolutely necessary, but sometimes the rush ends up costing them more depending upon their spouse’s personality.  If you are married to a vindictive, secretive, violent or extremely hostile person, you would be wise to assume they will not cooperate in the divorce process. When it comes to proving certain elements of your case you will need things like 1) Bank Statements, 2) Credit Card Statements, 3) Documentation on all Other Assets, 4) Retirement Account Statements, 5) Tax Returns, 4) Relevant Text Messages, Emails, Social Media Posts, Pictures, Voice Recordings, and etc.  Sometimes you will need several years worth of these documents.  These are normally readily accessible before the divorce is filed, but afterwards things tend to disappear, accidents happen, phones break, computers “crash,” documents are lost, destroyed or claimed to have never existed, and the excuses go on and on.  Trying to force the other spouse to provide these documents can be expensive and, despite what many divorce lawyers will tell you, most legal methods available to get them are mildly effective in family law disputes.  Backup hard drives and phones, gather the financials in your possession and other relevant documents immediately and take them to a safe location.  Don’t just leave them where your spouse can find them.  You also need to meet with an experienced Montgomery County Divorce Lawyer in The Woodlands that can tell you how to get these things without breaking the law as some methods widely used are very illegal and could get you into serious trouble.

3.  Keep Communicating With Your Spouse

This is the most effective strategy.  Communication is key in a marriage even during the dissolution part.  This will allow you and your spouse to continually explore was to settle the case or discuss what’s really important to each of you.  It removes the need for the lawyers to just discuss everything.  In many cases, the Divorce Lawyer will tell the Client, “don’t talk with your spouse about the case, talk to me and I’ll talk to their lawyer.”  This is a great way to tack on thousands of dollars to your divorce bill.  Any little thing you want to discuss goes through your attorney and then each attorney will bill you and your spouse for their time.  As long as you are not talking to your spouse about legal strategies and only exploring ways to settle the case, you have every reason to talk with your spouse.  Never completely trust or talk to your spouse about things you wouldn’t want a judge to hear and you’ll be fine.  Besides, perhaps the talking will do little good with finding a resolution but sometimes your spouse may tell you things that they don’t want a judge to hear and that could also be helpful in getting you a better result.

Schedule an Initial Consultation

If you are ready to pursue a Texas Divorce, please contact Nick Davis Law to schedule a free case evaluation with a Divorce Lawyer in The Woodlands and Bryan | College Station to learn how we can help you.