Once you have decided that your marriage is not salvageable, the next step is to get the deed done. As much as it is a tragic event in one’s life, divorce costs money — a lot of it if you do not proceed wisely. How do you keep your legal fees to a minimum in a divorce?

Hire a good lawyer. If your purse strings are tight, it’s tempting to go with a cheaper but less experienced attorney, but you could get much less in your divorce settlement. Take your time to research on which legal firm would be the best fit for your needs.

Learn the basics of divorce. Before you talk to a lawyer, get into the Internet and find out what are the basic concepts that make up divorce — alimony, child support, equitable distribution, timelines for pleadings, mediation are common terms you should know about. Head on over to reputable websites like Divorce 360 and Divorce Net. You can cut your billing time significantly if your lawyer doesn’t have to explain these simple legal terms to you — plus, you’ll keep up with your spouse or even be a step ahead legal-wise.

Do your own paperwork. Your lawyer needs information about your marital assets, debts, and reasons for divorce. Make an inventory of all your household items (plus pictures and their value), bank accounts, credit cards, vehicle title certificates, monthly expenditure, salary statements, investments, and outstanding debt. Also, include a timeline of your marriage and list all the reasons why you are getting a divorce. Help your lawyer do the groundwork and utilize him for more complex issues than mundane paperwork.

Be your own legal assistant. It is not unheard of for clients to also act as “runners” for their lawyer to shave off dollars from the final bill. Divorce involves a lot of documents that need to be delivered to the courthouse or your ex’s attorney, which is traditionally taken care of by legal assistants or couriers but this would be passed onto your bill.

Choose the associate, not the partner. An associate in a firm could be just as good as a partner and you could cut your legal fees by as much as 50 per cent. This seems to be contradictory to our first point, but you should use your discretion and word-of-mouth could be a pretty reliable source of recommendations.

Mediate, rather than litigate. This method of divorce is also called collaborative divorce where a neutral third party, a divorce mediator, tries to help the divorcing couple to come to a mutually agreeable settlement. What does a mediator do? She gathers the proposals from each side, and comes up with a settlement that is amicably accepted by both parties.

Arbitration costs less, too. It is very similar to mediation but the decision made by the arbitrator is legally binding. It’s a procedure that private and confidential where the divorce proceedings are not privy to the public. The services of an arbitrator are paid by both sides and you could choose to have a lawyer present if it makes you feel more secure.

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