Article DetailsHow to Reduce Legal Fees with a Divorce Lawyer |
| Date Added: May 16, 2009 10:08:48 PM |
| Author: Philip L. Franckel, Esq. |
| Category: Divorce, Custody & Adoption |
| Getting divorced is usually quite stressful. When it comes to the legal bill you get from your divorce lawyer, stress will cause even more stress with higher legal fees. The problem is that most people tend to treat their divorce lawyer like a psychologist. Most conversations with a divorce lawyer exhibit the following costly characteristics: 1) Conversations that are too long 2) Venting to your divorce lawyer 3) Unnecessary conversations about trivial items Solution: 1) During a divorce, one or both parties will frequently call their divorce lawyer when the conversation wasn't necessary. Ask yourself if this conversation is really necessary and do I want to pay $250 per hour or more for this conversation. Keep your conversations short and to the point. Don't talk about the weather or ask your lawyer how his or her family is. Before calling your divorce lawyer, write down your question on a piece of paper so you can ask a short and simple question during your telephone conversation. If you have more than one question for your divorce lawyer, write them all down. 2) Don't vent to your divorce lawyer. It may feel a lot better to get it off your chest, but a psychologist is much less expensive. 3) Don't call your divorce lawyer complaining that your spouse won't tell you what cough medicine he or she gave to your child and then demand that your divorce lawyer find out. A trivial complaint like this can easily cost you one hour of legal time. The best and final step is that when you go to pick up the phone to call your divorce lawyer, don't. Instead of calling, write down what you want to say and fax it to your divorce lawyer. It is best to fax or mail to your lawyer, but if you must you can e-mail it. E-mailing is easier and will result in your sending more e-mails which will result in higher divorce legal fees. If you always fax or mail your questions and complaints, you will substantially cut down on communication with your divorce lawyer and save a fortune in legal fees. Additionally, there will be no misunderstandings because your questions and your divorce lawyer's responses will be in writing. Don't forget to keep a copy of everything you send and everything you receive from your divorce lawyer. |
