10 Ways to Save money On Your Family Law Case
It’s no secret that family law cases can be expensive and take a big chunk of change out of your pocket, whether it be a divorce, custody, child support or any other family law case. In addition, not all individuals are prepared to pay for such an event, but that doesn’t mean you should have to sacrifice a good representation just because of money, so we’ve compiled a list of 10 ways to help you save money while going through your family law case. By implementing these 10 tips while going through your legal case, you can save hundreds, or even thousands of dollars.
Take advantage of the attorney's Free Consultation
Not all attorneys offer a free consultation and please don’t fall under the impression that because an attorney offers a free consultation that it makes them less experienced than the ones who charge just for an initial consult. It certainly doesn’t make any difference in how experienced the attorney is with handling your family law case. Most attorneys who offer a free consultation really just want to interview the client and see if they are able to help them with their case and achieving their overall objectives to reach a favorable outcome. A free consultation is one of the best decisions you can make when looking for an attorney, and you should take every advantage of the time to ask all of your questions, find out what direction you should go, and how to handle your legal situation. Come prepared with as many questions as possible, written down. Ask your attorney about payment plans and how they can accommodate your situation.
Pick the right Attorney
Pick the right attorney. Nothing can be more costly in a legal case than picking an inexperienced attorney with a bad track record or an attorney who is disorganized and lacks good communication with their clients. In your consultation, be sure to ask your attorney the best method of communication and ask them what you can expect when seeking a reply to a phone call or email. Expectations set up front can also save you money as you know when the attorney should be getting back to you as opposed to you calling or emailing frequently thinking you have been overlooked or forgotten. But if you know your attorney will be responding back in 24 hours or 48 hours, or whatever expectation they gave you in the consultation, you know what is normal and can anticipate a response from the attorney by a certain time
When picking the right attorney, learn their demeanor. You can typically tell if an attorney is professional or laid-back from the get-go in a family law consultation. When you ask the attorney questions, were they prepared? Were they able to answer them? Does your attorney appear to be knowledgeable when it comes to a case like yours? Does your attorney appear to be responsive and understanding to your situation? Does your attorney give you a timeline and/or walk you through the legal process of your case? Any attorney can meet with a potential client, but only a great attorney will make you feel confident and better informed when leaving your consultation.
Gather Your Questions.
This is a big rule of thumb when wanting to save money on your legal case. From the initial consultation through to the end of your legal case, be sure to always gather your questions before meeting, calling, emailing your attorney. Attorneys charge on billable hours, so generally each meeting, each email, each phone call, you can expect a charge to be put on your bill based on the amount of time you spend contacting your attorney. If you have a question in the middle of the night or several questions periodically through the week, don’t email your attorney each time a thought comes through…. if it is not an emergency that needs to be handled right away, then write down your questions and either put them all in one email or keep them with you for when you make your phone call. Just be mindful that for non-emergency questions, it will save you a lot of money in the long run by collecting them and giving them to the attorney at once. Not only does this save you money, but it also helps prevent miscommunication than a long email thread or back and forth phone calls.
Use E-Mail as often as possible
Use email as often as possible as opposed to calling the law firm. Using email allows for you to clearly write your questions or concerns and gives the attorney the opportunity to clearly respond. When writing a list of questions for your attorney, implement bullet points when possible. The makes your question more prominent and clearer for the attorney to read and respond back to.
Be Quick To Respond
If your attorney asks you for a document or anything else, or simply has questions they need you to answer, be sure to respond quickly and effectively. This will help reduce the time spent in trying to contact you to hunt these items down or get answers that are needed.
List your liabilities and Assets
We offer a free divorce preparation handbook that is an excellent guide for this one! Not only should you list all your assets and liabilities, but also social security numbers, birthdates, account numbers, addresses, VIN numbers, etc. In our free divorce preparation e-book, which you can download here, you are able to get a list of items that are typically asked of the client by their attorney. Be sure to download the e-book and get a jump on this to help save you time and money on your family law case.
Create your "Wish List"
In order for your attorney to help you get what you want, they need to know exactly what it is you are looking to get out of this case. Whether it is assets, child support, custody, etc, your attorney needs to know what you want in order to help you reach that favorable outcome as best as possible.
Be Prepared for mediation
Your wants list is a great thing to have on hand for your mediation, in addition to your “bargaining chips”. Bargaining chips are what you are willing to compromise on. Are you willing to give up a little bit of “this” to get “that”. A very general example would be, possible giving the spouse the vacation home in order to keep the primary residence. Resolving the issues in mediation will save you so much more than having to go to court to resolve the conflict, even if you only agree on some of the items.
Consider Counseling
If you and your spouse can make it work, try visiting with a counselor or therapist to help you guys come to an agreement on some of the items you two are disputing over. While it doesn’t always work, counseling has helped many couples be more amicable when it comes to separating and the division of assets, as well as custody.
Always Be Prepared
Always be prepared with your list of questions and/or concerns. Always be prepared with your documents. Being prepared can save you a bundle than having to collect requested items at the last minute.
As mentioned before, we highly recommend you download our free divorce preparation handbook if you are going through a divorce to help you prepare and get organized for this case. We also recommend downloading our free mediation e-book which will help you learn how to better resolve issues in mediation which is very commonly ordered in a family law case. Both guides serve as excellent resources, and we feel you will benefit greatly from taking a look at them.
If you are needing help or guidance with your family law case, contact our law firm today. Our firm offers free consultations and flexible payment plans to help you with your court case. Schedule your free consultation here.
The Law Office of Chad Zubi, PLLC serves Harris County, Montgomery County, Ft. Bend County, Liberty County, Brazoria County and other counties surrounding the Houston area.
Houston Divorce Attorney, Houston Family Law Attorney, Houston Custody Attorney, Houston Child Support Attorney, Kingwood Family Law Attorney, Kingwood Divorce Attorney, Kingwood Custody Attorney, Kingwood Child Support Attorney
