5 Ways to Keep Your Divorce Costs Down
A divorce involves many important decisions such as child custody, child support and division of property. It’s a fact that working through these decisions with your attorney can be a very expensive process, and it can be difficult to estimate the expense until you are already deeply involved. While there are some divorce costs you can’t control, there are many that you can. Here are five ways you can keep your divorce costs down.
1. Keep the arguments to a minimum. You may feel like you want to “win” or make your spouse “pay” due to your spouse’s fault in the breakdown of the marriage, but this behavior will cost you. Stay focused on the outcomes you want for yourself and keep the arguments off the table.
2. Stay clear on your goals. It will be difficult for your attorney to produce the results you want if you don’t know what your goals are in the first place. Set some goals and objectives with respect to the outcome of the divorce beforehand, and it will keep you and your attorney focused.
3. Keep your emotions in check. This is a very difficult and emotional time in your life, and your attorney should be sensitive to this. However, your case will not be easily resolved or settled if you let emotions control your decisions.
4. Find someone to talk to about your feelings (besides your attorney). As stated above, emotions are high during a divorce. Try not to vent about your spouse or discuss each and every problem you had in your marriage with your attorney. Divorce lawyers do care about your feelings, however, they are more concerned about the facts in the case and assisting you in resolving the divorce. A good friend or therapist is more suited to help you emotionally heal and move on with your life, and they generally have a cheaper hourly rate than your attorney.
5. Consider a settlement agreement as opposed to going to court. If you are refusing a settlement agreement in hopes that a Judge will award you what you want, keep reading. Let’s be very clear. No one wins in a divorce. This is especially true in a divorce trial as when the Judge makes a decision it is rarely a win-win decision, and to make matters worse, both spouses generally end up feeling like they lost. Your attorney can usually advise you of the general decisions Judges make in divorce trials, and what results you are likely to expect if your case goes to trial. The courts in Johnson County, Kansas have even produced guidelines that discuss the decisions that Judges will make when deciding a divorce case. For a copy of these guidelines click here.
Keeping these five things in mind will help you keep the costs of your divorce down and make the process smoother. To learn more about the Kansas Divorce process, read The 3-Part Guide to Understanding the Kansas Divorce Process at www.kansasdivorcesource.com/the-book.
About the Author
Shea Stevens specializes in uncontested divorces, but also assists clients in the Greater Kansas City area seeking divorce, modification, child support, alimony, asset and debt division, paternity and prenuptial and postnuptial agreements. Shea is licensed in Kansas and Missouri and is also a court approved Guardian ad Litem for Missouri. Stevens received a Bachelor of Science in Psychology from Kansas State University, and a juris doctor from the University of Tulsa. Shea practiced in corporate law for several years prior to opening her law firm in the spring of 2008.
Contact:
Shea Stevens
The Law Office of Shea Stevens
913-239-9688
http://www.kansasdivorcesource.com/the-book
sheastevenslaw@aol.com
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