Divorce On The Cheap In Minnesota
Save Money During Divorce | Your relationship with your spouse has hit the point of no return, and you know you can’t work it out. A divorce is looming. But the last thing you want to spend your hard-earned money on is a divorce! How can you keep costs down to reduce the negative impact of an already painful time in your life?
First, keep in mind that there are good ways to save money during a divorce and bad ways to save money during a divorce. That is, not all cost-saving is beneficial to you, even if it seems like it at the time. When you’re weighing up the pros and cons of an expenditure, don’t forget to consider costs down the line. For example, if you choose a lawyer that you have heard some not-so-positive reviews of simply because he is the cheapest, you may end up in further litigation months later because an issue wasn’t properly resolved during your divorce. It is usually more cost-effective to do it right once, rather than have to do it twice.
The best way of saving money is to keep open as much of a communication line with your soon-to-be ex as possible. Use that communication line first to determine what your positions are on the major issues: division of property and custody of children (if there are any). For example, does your spouse want to sell the house that you both currently live in, or does one of you want to keep the house in return for a smaller share of other assets or money? What sort of custody and visitation schedule does your spouse have in mind? After you find out the answers to these types of questions, try to work out a basic plan for dealing with these issues that you both can agree on. This is far less expensive than showing up at a lawyer’s office and asking the lawyer to start negotiations from scratch. If you can present your lawyer with an approximate plan of what you both want, you can save your lawyer a huge amount of time (and hence save yourself a huge amount of cash!).
What if you and your ex are already at each other’s throats and can’t agree on anything? You can still save money by hammering out some resolutions to particular issues through arbitration or mediation, which are two types of dispute resolution that are cheaper than going to court. Check out our blog post on alternatives to going to trial: for more information on these alternatives to traditional courtroom litigation.
Once you’ve hired a lawyer, another thing you can do to cut costs is to be as much of a help as you can to the lawyer. Don’t make your lawyer call you three times and send you five emails before you finally respond to his question. You’re bound to be busy with a divorce going on, but make staying in touch with your lawyer a priority!
Information obtained in mankatofamilylaw.com may contain knowledgeable content about Minnesota Family Law that may be considered beneficial to some; however, in no way should this website or its contents be considered legal advice. Mr. Kohlmeyer is a Minnesota licensed Attorney and cannot provide legal services or guidance to those outside of Minnesota. If you wish to retain Mr. Kohlmeyer as your Attorney in your Family Law matter, contact 507-205-9736.
International divorces can be difficult. If you are going through a divorce and living in a different country to your partner there are many complexities. Being in different countries will make all issues around the divorce that little more complex.