Divorce Lawyer: Getting The Best Deal

If your marriage is headed for disintegration, it can be a very difficult and trying time, both emotionally and financially. Unless there are few assets to be divided or both parties are extremely understanding and generous, a divorce lawyer is probably going to be needed on both sides of the fence. Of course, hiring an attorney can be a major expense all in itself. Which is, of course, the last thing you need when you’re already concerned with keeping as much of your money as possible. There are no easy answers to this conundrum, but there are some ways of keeping costs manageable.

One thing that can help you keep your divorce lawyer fees from skyrocketing out of control is to make up a written fee agreement with your attorney. The firm is going to have basic rates, typically charging by the hour. If you’re not keeping strict track of what charges apply when, you could easily run up a tremendous bill by the end of the month. If you have a written agreement ahead of time, you can ensure that you not only know what it is that you’re paying for, you’re aware of the exact costs and you can keep a running tab of what you’re being charged. It may seem like a headache to be so thorough, but it is an excellent way to make sure you don’t wind up in over your head with fees.

You may wish to find a divorce lawyer who doesn’t have his face all over every billboard in town. As is the case with effective advertising, the attorneys who are ubiquitous in your town are also likely to be the busiest. Because of this, they may have much higher rates that other firms, even if their accomplishments are no better. This is why its so important to find alternative ways to hire an attorney. Getting a recommendation from friends or family or someone else you know is sometimes a better way to go about making a hire than by listening to advertisements.

On the other hand, don’t make the mistake of looking for bargain basement prices when hiring a divorce attorney. Everyone wants to save some money, but don’t do it at the expense of your case. If you look hard enough, you can probably find a wide eyed attorney straight out of school to handle your case for a fraction of what it might cost elsewhere. The question you have to ask, however, is whether or not the lowered fees are even worth what you’ll be receiving. Remember—there’s a difference between cheap services and a good value.