Smart Tips To Save Money On Your Divorce
Most divorces today are not only excessively time-consuming, but also financially devastating for both the parties involved. From the rising costs of counseling to the exorbitant per-hour rates of legal professionals, a divorce has become one of the most expensive legal affairs in the country. A typical divorce proceeding can cost you up to several thousand dollars and leave you with a huge gaping hole in your pocket. However, by having a solid plan and using your wisdom, you can spare yourself the additional stress of witnessing an empty bank account. Let us have a look at a few smart tips that can effectively help you curb your ruthless expenditure on your divorce litigation.
Avoid excessive communication with your lawyer
Your attorney will charge you for every hour that you spend with him. Every time you contact your lawyer for a trivial issue or question, you will be losing more money. The idea here is to limit your communication with the lawyer, and ensure that you prepare a list of questions that you wish to ask your lawyer in the next meeting. Instead of calling him up or dropping a mail every time a doubt pops up in your mind, you must wait until you have multiple points of a discussion with him. Also, try and keep all the relevant documents organized and within easy access, to avoid dropping in at your attorney’s office to resolve the issue of missing paperwork.
Try divorce mediation
Mediation is a cost effective and less time consuming way of obtaining a divorce, than a full blown court trial. If you and your spouse still have some level of amiability in your relationship and are ready to resolve the conflict with a mutual agreement, you can seek the legal counsel of a neutral third party known as a mediator to help you achieve a peaceful separation. Such uncontested divorce not only helps you find resolutions that are suitable for both the parties, but also minimizes the extra expenditure that might otherwise go into a lengthy court trial.
Avoid battling over assets that you do not really need
More often than not, in our ego and resentment for our ex spouse, we tend to fight over silly issues that do not even matter much to us. It is natural to fight for a piece of asset or property, just so that it does not go to your spouse who desperately wants to keep it. However, before wasting thousands of dollars over the ownership of assets that you really don’t care about, you must try and figure out whether this mindless expenditure is even worth it or not.
Most importantly, you must contest your divorce with an open and practical bent of mind, since after the storm subsides, you will be faced with the harsh reality of trying to start a new life with the little resources you are left with after an expensive divorce.
To learn more about the divorce process in California and how mediation can help, please visit our page, What is Divorce Mediation.
Gerald A. Maggio is a trained Orange County divorce mediator who has amicably resolved cases many cases out of court, as well as an experienced divorce and family law attorney. Mr. Maggio founded California Divorce Mediators in 2012 with the belief that although “not every marriage can be saved, every family can” and a mission to save families from the financial and emotional distress associated with traditional divorce litigation. California Divorce Mediators is located in Irvine, California, and serves the Orange County area and other counties in California offering divorce mediation, child custody mediation and mediation of other family law matters.
