You’ve tried marriage counseling, a trial separation and everything else you could think of. Can your marriage be saved?
You both know it can’t. Can hundreds, perhaps thousands of dollars be saved on the cost of obtaining a divorce? Absolutely, say lawyers and other professionals who work with divorcing couples.
“The biggest cost saver is staying out of court whenever possible,” said James Feldman, who heads the domestic relations practice at Jenner & Block in Chicago. “And the best way to stay out of court is to create an environment conducive to settlement.”
Easier said than done, especially when there are hurt feelings, dashed expectations and important matters at stake such as children, your home and your future financial security.
Experts acknowledge that divorce is a difficult experience fraught with many obstacles to rational problem-solving. But there are alternatives to drawing the battle lines, bringing on the divorce lawyers and sitting by helplessly as legal bills mount.
For starters, Feldman advises, don’t complicate your case and antagonize your spouse by unilaterally altering the status quo during the divorce process. This is not the time to have elective surgery, buy that boat you’ve had your eye on, raid bank accounts or incur new debts.
When lawyers have to become involved in fighting over avoidable issues, time and money is diverted from resolving the ultimate issues in the case.
“I tell clients to keep doing what they have been doing,” said Chicago divorce lawyer David P. Pasulka.
If a man who has been his family’s sole provider during the marriage stops paying the bills, thousands of dollars in legal fees can be incurred only to have the judge return things to the way they were while the case is pending.
Since most divorce cases are eventually settled out of court, the biggest costs are often incurred during the “discovery” process, said Pasulka.
This is the phase of the case when the facts are gathered. A client can keep legal costs down by becoming involved in this detective work–obtaining financial records, preparing an inventory of assets and assembling household budget information.
By cooperating with your spouse’s informal requests for information, you can also reduce the need for costly formal discovery, such as taking depositions and issuing subpoenas.
Money saved on the discovery costs of your case is money to be divided between you and your spouse. “You can either give it to the lawyers or you can keep it for yourselves and your children,” said Pasulka.
Don’t allow television courtroom drama to influence your expectations of your lawyer. Your lawyer is ethically obligated to represent you zealously, but just because a lawyer urges a cooperative approach to an issue does not mean he or she is not doing a good job. “Clients should want a lawyer who can work effectively with the other lawyer,” said Feldman.
Feldman illustrated how cooperation can yield big savings. To fairly divide marital assets such as real estate and personal property, it is necessary to place a dollar value on them. If the spouses and their lawyers can agree on a neutral appraiser, the cost of valuing the assets can be minimal. Without cooperation, each spouse must pay an appraiser to prepare a report and testify in court. Both spouses also incur legal fees litigating the issue. This approach can cost thousands of dollars and result in the same values a cooperative approach would have produced.
Be organized for meetings and phone calls with your lawyer. Write down your questions in advance. Know how you will be billed for your lawyers time. If your lawyer bills in 15-minute increments, don’t make three separate five-minute calls.
Don’t insist that your lawyer handle tasks that a less experienced associate or paralegal could perform competently and at a lower billing rate.
Some people cannot afford a lawyer or try to cut legal costs by representing themselves, noted Judge Timothy C. Evans, who presides over the domestic relations division of the Circuit Court of Cook County.
Non-lawyers lack familiarity with court rules and procedures and may find it difficult to be objective about their cases. Consider paying a lawyer just to review your settlement agreement before it is submitted to the court. It can be expensive and difficult to undo a settlement after it is finalized.
Illinois has a do-it-yourself uncontested divorce procedure for short marriages with no children and very little marital property. More information is available from the Circuit Court clerk.
Sometimes a mediator can help resolve the case. When child custody or visitation are in dispute, most judges will require the parents to attempt mediation. But mediation can be effective on any issue.
Whether a mediator is a lawyer, a psychologist or another professional, be sure to choose a mediator with training and experience in mediating divorce cases.
If a case is settled through mediation, each spouse should still have the settlement reviewed by a lawyer, said Jerald Kessler, a Highland Park divorce lawyer, mediator and president of the Mediation Council of Illinois. But Kessler said that even after lawyers’ and mediators’ fees are paid, the overall cost of the case is usually much lower than with conventional litigation.
“When people seek my services as an attorney, I always refer them to a mediator if the spouse and the spouse’s lawyer are willing to try mediation,” said Kessler. “My fees are greatly reduced, but I have a happier client.”
Using a financial planner can also produce short- and long-term savings. Ellen Rogin, a Northfield certified financial planner who specializes in divorce cases, said a financial planner can help you find assets, prepare budgets and project out the financial implications of various settlement options.
“We know what to look for” and can often perform these tasks more thoroughly and at a lower hourly rate than a lawyer could, said Rogin.
Settlement can be difficult and legal costs can skyrocket when spouses use the adversarial system to play out their feelings of anger and hurt over the divorce, said Dr. Lisa Grossman, a Chicago clinical psychologist who also has a law degree. A qualified mental health professional can help divorcing spouses overcome these emotional barriers so they can settle the case and get on with their lives.
