Controlling the Costs of your Atlanta Contested Divorce
In an Atlanta contested divorce, the attorney’s fees and costs can be enormous, but there are several things that a client can do to help their Atlanta Divorce Lawyer reduce the costs. Most Atlanta Divorce Lawyers strive to understand a client’s situation in an efficient manner, because they typically prefer to get home early to their families rather than staying late at the office. The next few paragraphs will lay out tips to follow that will help reduce the costs of your Atlanta contested divorce and help your Atlanta divorce lawyer be better prepared.
1. If documents need to be copied, volunteer to copy them yourself, or have them scanned in and e-mailed to your Atlanta divorce lawyer. Many lawyers are going paperless these days.
2. Don’t call or e-mail your Atlanta divorce lawyer unless it is absolutely necessary. If you do feel the need to call or e-mail, save your questions up so that you ask him a number of questions all at the same time. It is a more efficient use of your Atlanta divorce lawyer’s time. You have his or her attention focused on your case for an extended period of time.
3. Don’t call or e-mail your Atlanta divorce lawyer about things that you could easily discuss with your therapist or divorce coach. Typically, your Atlanta divorce lawyer is far more expensive than a therapist or divorce coach.
4. If your case is even slightly contested, sit down with your Atlanta divorce lawyer to discuss the options to take in your case. During the initial phases of the divorce process, the parties usually perform what is called “discovery.” During this phase, you have many options, some of which are more expensive than others. In your meeting with your Atlanta divorce lawyer, you can discuss the pros and cons of each discovery option and develop a game plan that will fit into your budget.
5. Decide what witnesses are really relevant to your case so that your Atlanta divorce lawyer does not prepare for and subpoena unnecessary witnesses.
6. Ask your Atlanta divorce lawyer if he has any forms that would allow you to assemble as much information about your case ahead of time without requiring him or her to constantly ask for different items of information.
7. Do your own record and corporate searches and e-mail your Atlanta divorce lawyer what you find.
8. There are new services on the internet that provide you with a fax number that will convert any fax to an adobe acrobat document and e-mail you the fax. The monthly cost runs from $5 to $10 per month depending on the service. This may be an inexpensive option for you to receive copies of documents/correspondence on your file from your Atlanta divorce lawyer. That way you will be kept informed of any pleading or correspondence without being charged for the copy.
