There are many monetary concerns attached to divorce. Some people focus entirely on costs associated with potential child support or alimony payments. However, this ignores the reality that the process of divorce itself has the possibility of being very expensive.
The good news is that there are some actions you can take to reduce the cost of your divorce. The first is to do as much of the legwork for your divorce independently as possible, and the second is to communicate effectively with your lawyer, according to Debt.com.
What should I be doing myself?
To be entirely clear, nobody expects you to be writing your own legal briefs or doing any of the legal heavy lifting. However, as divorce is at its heart a financial lawsuit, a lot of menial research goes into the process. You must fully document your assets and their worth.
If your lawyer needs bank statements, for example, it will save you a great deal of money to compile and submit those statements directly to your lawyer. Having the lawyer do this for you will be expensive.
How can I communicate effectively?
Remember that lawyers operate on a billable hour system most of the time. That is, the more of their time you need, the more it costs you. Divorce is an emotional process, and this often leads to clients sharing personal stories about their situation with the lawyer, which can get expensive very quickly.
If you are in need of emotional support for your divorce, it is financially wiser and overall more effective to invest in the services of a counselor. Conversations with your lawyer should concern the case and nothing more.