Representation by a quality, skilled attorney costs money. As with your family doctor or neighborhood grocer, your attorney also has to pay monthly professional costs such as insurance, office rent and utilities, wages of staff, bar association fees, and so forth to keep the front door open and the lights on for clients. In a divorce, child support, or custody matter, total costs of litigating a case can range from a couple thousand dollars to the tens of thousands, depending upon an array of variables.
Sterling Law Office family law attorneys pursue client legal goals with the most efficient, minimal cost because we recognize that our clients also have budget limits and financial goals, especially in the current difficult economic times. On the client’s part, there are a number of things that can be done to control and reduce legal fees, and other potential costs of a family law case.
For starters, clients can cut down significantly on background research time on their case by fully completing all information that is requested at the initial consult, usually in the form of an intake questionnaire. Every kernel of information, such as account numbers, pension plans, family member birthdays and Social Security numbers, etc., which the client supplies saves time-and-money consuming phone calls and correspondence by the law office. When you prepare for the first consultation with a family law attorney, compose a file to bring along that includes copies of all family financial, educational, property, demographic and other information which is relevant to your case. Leaving copies of such documents with your attorney will give a serious boost to the “paper chase” for your matter, as well as saving time, paper and postage costs of the law office having to make the copies and return the originals to you.
A letter or e-mail offers an economical means of communicating information and questions to your attorney. Receiving information or questions in writing gives the attorney a chance to digest the information, research any questions, and devise advice before communicating with the client. A written document also can help the client organize thoughts and can be kept in the client file for future reference. This is a much more efficient use of the attorney’s and the client’s time than long, explanatory phone calls. Treat your attorney as your legal advisor, not as a therapist or a friend, and if it is a matter of venting emotion, dealing with psychological problems or getting moral support, turn to family, friends or professional counselors.
Because clients are billed for time the attorney spends on the matter, whenever the client can do his or her own negotiating it saves money. In a divorce or custody matter, for example, if the parties can discuss and come to agreement between themselves on any issues, each item worked out by the parties saves attorney time spent preparing for and dealing with the opposing attorney, the Friend of the Court, and other family court departments. Any item which would make up part of a divorce agreement (such as who keeps specific personal property, who pays insurance costs, division of parenting time and holidays, who pays credit card bills, etc.), will quickly build cost savings if worked out by the partners themselves. Thus, use of the professional negotiating skills of the attorney can be saved for issues on which agreement cannot be reached.
Trying to hold on to the family home, while tempting for many people, may not be a good financial choice in a divorce. Spousal support can help cover mortgage payments, but clients need to look at the total cost of maintaining the property, repairs and upkeep, taxes, and mortgage payments to determine if it really is feasible for one person to afford. Whoever keeps the house will also have to buy out the other spouse’s financial interest in the property.
If spouses make a clean and complete separation of their finances when they part, it protects each from having their credit hurt by payment defaults of the other. For example, if the couple continue to hold credit cards in common, one partner can drive up the debt and seriously hurt the other’s credit score. If one spouse promises in the divorce agreement to pay off certain creditors or a mortgage, then defaults on that promise, the creditor or bank can sue both partners if their names are both still on that asset.
It is very important to understand the different tax treatment of alimony versus child support. Alimony generally is taxed as income to the person receiving it, while child support generally is not taxable. Each type of payment has different rules for how long it will continue, as well, and the circumstances which can increase or decrease payments. The experienced family law attorney, like those at Sterling Law Office, will make certain you thoroughly understand the rules governing these two types of payment.
Finally, to save yourself and your heirs substantial costs in probate, taxes and the distress of conflict over inheritance, every client who completes a divorce must review and revise their estate plan, or create one if they haven’t yet done so. Wills, trusts and beneficiaries can all be impacted by a divorce. To ensure that assets are protected for the intended heirs, and that a client’s final wishes are carried out regarding health care, financial control, and other matters, an up-to-date estate plan is necessary.
By implementing the above cost-savings and planning, Sterling Law Office family law clients can remain on stable, solvent financial ground through the course of a marital dissolution. We help our clients disprove the infamous bumper sticker of a Chicago divorce attorney, which reads “Love is grand, divorce is $40 grand!”
Posted by Mary Wreford; Approved by Lea Ann Sterling, Esq., April 18, 2008
The information presented in this article is for general information only and should not be construed to be legal advice.