Milford Law Firm

14 WAYS TO KEEPING ATTORNEY’S FEES AND COSTS LOW IN A FAMILY LAW CASE

We can’t stress enough the importance of being cognizant of your attorney’s fees and costs. As we all know, there is no winning in a divorce. Both parties suffer a loss.


  • REVIEW YOUR BILLS PROMPTLY AFTER YOU RECEIVE THEM: Our billing is done monthly on the 1st business day of each month. Look at your bill in your MyCase Portal when you receive it, even if you know you can’t pay it right away. It gives you the best record of what your attorney is doing for you, and on your case. If you have any questions, send an email or call about the bill, and be specific. Attorneys cannot charge you for their time discussing or reviewing billing matters. Therefore, it’s a good idea to make these kinds of emails and communications distinct. If you call to discuss your bill, and then begin to talk about your case, it may be difficult to segregate the two items. Therefore, it’s best to do them separately. Remember, if you are reviewing your bill on a Phone, there are things you will not see.

  • PHONE, EMAIL AND LEAVING MESSAGES: The best way to save money on your legal fees is to reduce your attorney’s service time, and a big part of that is communications time between you and your attorney. Although attorneys must earn money, there are still some tried and true ways to minimize your legal bill. Use email instead of the phone or in-person meetings when possible if you need answers to simple or logistical questions or are sharing documents or printed material. Email can be quicker than phone conversations and in-person meetings to get answers to simple questions and locations of events, etc. Email provides a good record and allows you to keep track of your lawyer’s advice for ongoing reference.

Managing Email Communications. Keep your email communications as short and clear as

possible. Use numbered or bulleted lists to aid in speed of reading. The less time spent reading,

the less the bill will be. If you have questions and do not need immediate answers, consider

making a list of questions and compiling them together into one email instead of sending multiple

emails. That will help cut down on communications time and effectively save on billing. Compile

an email, and take time to gather your thoughts. Don’t send your attorney 4 separate 1 line

emails daily.


  • COMMUNICATE WITH THE PARALEGALS: If your questions are non-legal in nature, our paralegals may be able to answer your questions, and their time will be more cost-effective for you.

  • BE HONEST WITH YOUR ATTORNEY: Having your attorney surprised in court is the last thing you want. When you don’t tell your attorney everything that comes up during the divorce (including details that aren’t favorable to you and your case), you’re going to make your attorney spend extra time uncovering the facts. And covering up those facts won’t make any legal issues go away — it just means you’ll have to pay your attorney for the time to deal with those issues plus the time they spend getting the whole story. Usually, whatever issues you have can be resolved easily on the front end, while trying to hide those issues will only make them more complicated and difficult to deal with.

  • PREPARE IN ADVANCE: Prepare for all meetings and phone calls with your lawyer. Make note of questions you would like to ask. Identify which questions are of a specific legal nature and which may be of a general legal nature.


  • TAKE NOTES IN YOUR MEETINGS AND CALLS: Email provides a good written record of all correspondence, but when you are meeting in person or on the phone, you may want to consider taking notes. You don’t want to have to ask your lawyer the same question twice when you can avoid it. It all adds up.


  • TALK WITH YOUR LAWYER’S PARALEGAL WHEN POSSIBLE: Although a paralegal can not give legal advice, they can provide the answer to many procedural and logistical questions, and their billing rate is much lower. For example, the Paralegal can inform you if your ex-spouse has served their reply to your application or provide clarification on meeting times or court times and can answer general court questions, but can not provide legal advice. Any logistical or procedural related questions should be run by your attorney’s paralegal first in order to save on the higher billable rates.


  • RESPOND TO REQUESTS IN A TIMELY MANNER: You will always be well served by responding to your lawyer’s requests in a timely manner. They have deadlines they must meet and also need to be responsive to opposing counsel’s requests. You do not want to pay your attorney extra to keep following up with you for needed responses.

  • DON’T TREAT YOUR ATTORNEY LIKE A THERAPIST: Your lawyer or paralegal will make time for you whenever you need to talk with them, but don’t forget they have to charge you for their time. You need to keep your attorney informed about any issues you’re dealing with, and they may be able to offer recommendations and advice that can help with those issues. However, your attorney is not a trained therapist; they are there to provide you with legal counsel and advice. Calling your attorney to discuss emotional issues will most definitely drive up your fees considerably. The emotional struggles of divorce require attention too, but when you need help in that regard, your best option is to seek out assistance from a professional who’s trained to deal with those issues. Famous quote: An attorney is half as qualified and costs twice as much.

  • CHOOSE YOUR BATTLES: Remember that everything you fight for in a divorce will cost you money. For example, you can challenge your spouse over who gets a $500 dining room set, and maybe you’ll win — but the time your lawyer spends fighting for it could cost you $1,000. Don’t fall into this trap and burn money in a battle over low-value, replaceable assets like furniture, appliances, and electronic devices.

  • DO WHAT THE JUDGE TELLS YOU: If your spouse has to go to court to get you to follow a court order regarding child support or visitation, the court will not only enforce its original order but may also make you pay your spouse’s legal fees. So even if you disagree with the court’s decision on some aspect of your divorce, never disobey a court order. You’ll end up having to follow the order anyway, and the extra legal fees will make it even more painful.

  • STAY OPEN TO COMPROMISE: Divorce often involves hurt feelings, and those hurt feelings can fuel bad decisions. For example, you should not fight your spouse about every detail of the divorce. If your goal is to inflict as much emotional and financial pain as possible, then you might achieve that goal by fighting tooth and nail, but you’re going to spend a lot of time and money in the process.

  • ORGANIZE YOUR DOCUMENTS/DOCUMENT REQUESTS: #1 Scan to PDF and provide all documents requested to your portal. Otherwise, your attorney/staff is billing you to copy or scan, as your attorney’s office is PAPERLESS. Provide your documents in an organized manner, by date and subject.


  • DON’T CREATE ISSUES/DISCOURAGE FIGHTS: Is it worth fighting over a $500 couch and spend over $1,000 each to argue who keeps it? It makes no sense. It is probably less expensive and more productive to buy a brand-new couch than pay your attorney to fight over the old one. Sure, the personal item may have some sentimental value to you, or you may be emotional and sad because of the divorce—but spending thousands over it is simply not financially prudent. Discourage fights over every issue and don’t create new issues simply not worth the cost.

HOW CAN I CONTINUE TO PAY MY ATTORNEY IN A HEAVY LITIGATED CASE?

  • HOME EQUITY LINE OF CREDIT: A home equity line of credit (HELOC) allows you to borrow against the equity in your home, usually at a variable interest rate over a set period of time. With home prices high right now, many are finding equity in this asset class.


  • 401(K) LOAN: These loans typically have lower interest rates than a personal loan and don’t get reported to the credit bureaus, however, you will need spousal approval to take out a 401(k) loan. Your spouse may agree to allow the loan as long as it reduces your net portion of the asset split and will not reduce the total marital portion of the asset to be divided. For example: 401(k) value at $100,000 with a $20,000 401(k) loan payable by the employee wife. Each party gets $50,000 in the settlement, but the wife’s portion is really $30,000 ($50,000 marital interest in 401(k) - $20,000 loan balance).


  • PERSONAL LOAN: Approval will depend on your credit score, existing outstanding debt obligations (debt to income ratio) and ability to repay. Additionally, interest rates will generally be higher than a 401(k) loan, but usually lower than a credit card, for most people. SEE LIST BELOW FOR OPTIONS REGARDING FINANCING.

  • SECURITY-BASED LINE OF CREDIT: A line of credit allows you to take a loan and borrow against the value of your investment portfolio, usually with a variable interest rate. This is usually used for short-term financing, as a bridge between two transitions – maybe even filing and settling a divorce. It is a method that prevents having to sell securities and incurring capital gains taxes in order to raise cash.

  • WHOLE LIFE INSURANCE LOAN: You can take a tax-free loan and borrow from the available cash value of a whole life policy. These typically have lower interest rates than a personal loan, do not get reported to the credit bureaus, and you can make smaller interest-only loan payments. A downside would be that the death benefit left to your beneficiaries, would be reduced by any outstanding loan balance still due.

  • CREDIT CARDS: Strategically trying your best to spread the costs of fees across multiple cards and not exceeding the credit utilization limit of 30% on any one card whenever possible, is a good idea. Think divorce may in your future? Now may be the time, while you’re still marred, to consider opening a new card or two, and/or have your limits raised. Both options will be difficult for those with a low credit score, so start on improving that credit score now!


  • DIVORCE FUNDING COMPANIES: Believe it or not there are companies that specialize in divorce/familylaw case funding. Unlike a bank or finance company, funding companies assess funding eligibility based on the expected settlement from a client’s divorce proceeds, not current assets, income, or credit score. SEE BELOW


Share by: