Best Ways to Save Money on Divorce

Austin Divorce Attorney Offers Tips for Cutting Costs

Video Transcript:

Erin Leake:

There are a number of things that I think, generally, most people should be doing.

Rob Rosenthal:

Is it possible to get divorced without spending a bunch of money? Well, we're going to find out today because that's what we're going to ask the lawyer.

Hi again, everybody. I'm Rob Rosenthal with askthelawyers.com, and my guest is Austin attorney Erin Leake with the Vaught Law Firm. Erin, it’s good to see you again. Thank you for helping us out.

Erin Leake:

Yeah, you're welcome.

Rob Rosenthal:

So I'm going to guess you're going to tell me every case is different and you can’t answer this question, but let's start off; how much does it take to get divorced? Is it expensive? We've heard horror stories. What do you say when somebody asks you that?

Erin Leake:

Exactly what you already answered; every case is different. It is really going to depend on a number of factors. What is the size of the community estate to be divided? How many children if there are children involved? What are the personalities of the two people that are getting divorced? A lot of the costs in divorce are driven by conflict between the two parties, so if we can keep that to a minimum, that's going to keep those costs down, and if the conflict is high that's going to increase your cost.

Rob Rosenthal:

So when you say, “the two personalities”, that's a nice way of saying, “If there's a lot of fighting, it's going to cost more.”

Erin Leake:
Correct.

Rob Rosenthal:

So what advice do you have for somebody that may be considering filing for divorce but hasn't yet pulled the trigger? Is there anything they should do ahead of that?

Erin Leake:

Yeah. So I would highly recommend that you do a consultation with an attorney in the area in which you're planning to get divorced; they're the best source of information as to how the judges in that area and how the divorces kind of progress. But there are a number of things that I think, generally, most people should be doing; really, documenting. Document everything.

So, if you think that there's going to be custody issues, I'd suggest pulling out your calendar or putting it on your phone, taking notes, documenting what's been happening. If you don't really know what the community estate might consist of, take an extra look at your mail, see what's coming in, maybe see what might be there.

Rob Rosenthal:

Okay, what about financial documents and that sort of thing?

Erin Leake:

Yeah. You can go ahead and start gathering those. Your attorney at the beginning of the case will ask you to do that. We normally want, I would say six months to a year of financial statements. And so that would be helpful for you to go ahead and start to gather.

Rob Rosenthal:

What if somebody says, “Is there anything I can do to try and save attorneys’ fees through the divorce?” What's some helpful advice you have?

Erin Leake:

Yes. I would say to help do a lot of the things on your own. The more you can do on your own, such as gathering documents, getting them organized before you get them to your attorney and their paralegal, that's going to save you money so we don't have to organize them. I would also think about what your main goals are, and really stay focused on what those goals are the whole time and don't get distracted by petty arguments. That would be my main advice.

Rob Rosenthal:

And when you say your main goals, what sort of things are you talking about?
Erin Leake:

So, say the main goal is going to be, “I really want joint custody of my children. It's very important to me that I have a 50-50 possession schedule.” Then maybe you need to let go of some of the fights with property portion, and just put your energy and efforts to meeting that main goal of yours. Otherwise, if you're going toward many goals at the same time, it can drive up your cost.

Rob Rosenthal:

Right, that's good advice. And I would imagine figuring out ahead of time what things you might be willing to compromise on helps in the process too.

Erin Leake:

Yes, correct.

Rob Rosenthal:

It seems like a really bad idea to me, but what if someone says, “I don't need an attorney to help me do this divorce. I can handle it on my own.” I would assume that's a bad idea, but is that even possible?

Erin Leake:

So, it is possible. You're allowed to file on your own in Texas. Would I recommend it or advise you to do so? No, I wouldn't. Divorce is very complicated. We're dealing with different areas of the law; we're dealing with property, we're dealing with real property, we're dealing with children, tax consequences. There's a number of different things that your attorney is going to be able to guide you through when you're making decisions about your divorce that you wouldn't have the knowledge on your own to do. And I have seen cases where the parties think they can do it on their own, and it's actually more expensive to fix the problems that pro se parties—which are people who do the divorce on their own—create, than it is just to come to an attorney and get it done correctly in the first place.

Rob Rosenthal:

Excellent. Lots of great advice as always, Erin. Thank you for making some time and answering our questions.

Erin Leake:

Yeah, thank you.

Rob Rosenthal:

That's going to do it for this episode of Ask the Lawyer. My guest has been Austin attorney Erin Leake with the Vaught Law Firm. Remember, if you want the very best information or you want to make sure you can choose a lawyer that lawyers choose, head over to askthelawyers.com. Thanks for watching. I'm Rob Rosenthal with AskTheLawyers™.

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