What can I do to help my attorney and reduce my legal bills?

Attorney's fees can be very expensive, but there are things that you can do to help keep your overall divorce more affordable. Some common sense and not so common sense things can have a dramatic impact on the amount of billable hours it takes to get your case resolved. Depending on where you live attorney's fees can range from $100 — $1,500 an hour, but the average rate is somewhere in the neighborhood of $250 — $350 an hour. That being said, the biggest contributor to an expensive divorce is extra spent by your professionals doing what you could have done yourself.  The best part is that a well prepared client is usually a lot easier to deal with and makes for a much more favorable outcome.

Here are some tips to help minimize the cost of your divorce:

• Come Prepared - Usually you have a pretty good idea about your attorney will need, so do yourself a favor and try to get as much of this together as you can before your meeting. If your not sure, bring it if you feel like it will have relevance on the case. Often this will include information about assets and debts, any kind restraining orders or orders for protection and any information about the kids that may be relevant. It may also be helpful if you can document what lead you up to the appointment. Additionally, any information you can provide in terms of how you imagine it playing out can help your attorney to better understand you and your soon to be ex.
• By The Hour - Remember that your attorney is paid by the hour. So use the time you spend with him or her wisely. Have your information organized and ready to go, you don't want to be paying $300 an hour to have someone watch you sift through a stack of documents. Additionally, in the digital age, resist the temptation to email your attorney for every question that comes to mind. Try to create a master list of questions you can send them. Even if they look at your email for just a few minutes, you will get billed a fraction of an hour. Being quick, doesn't make it free in most cases. It is usually more economical to spend 1 ten minute period asking questions rather than four 2 minute conversations.
• Hiring - A lot of people find attorneys through a referral from a family member, friend or business associate. Referrals are great, but remember you must find the right professional for you. Do your homework, interview a few people before you hire anyone. Make sure they are a good fit with your personality, what worked for your friend might not be right for you. Also, make sure you have a clear understanding as to what constitutes billable time and how they handle fractions of an hour.
• Making Copies - Ask your attorney how many copies of the various documents you will need. The average firm charges between 25 and 50 cents per copy and 2 sided documents will count as 2 pages. By going to your local copy center, you can pay between 8 and 12 cents a copy. Consider all of the bank statements and other records that will need to be provided, this can turn into thousands of copies very quickly if it needs to be sent to 3 or 4 different parties. Also, if the originals of the copy were stapled, staple the copies. You don't want to have to pay your attorney to staple documents for you.
• Do Your Homework - You want to do some research, there are a lot of great resources available online that can give you some background on how cases are handled in your area. In addition, have your questions ready to go ahead of time. You don't want to be paying your attorney to give you a crash course in family law. It can be helpful to run through some different scenarios as to how things will go in your mind ahead of time. Take notes on your reflections and provide this information to your attorney, it may help provide some insight. It will also help you to understand the suggestions of your attorney which will lead to you finding better representation.
• Be Involved, but not over involved - You need to stay on top of your case. Make sure that you are full filling all of your obligations and assignments. Having to meet again because you were not prepared will only cost more. Stay in regular communication with your attorney, but don't over do it, because in the end you will pay for it, literally.
• If you need mental help, get it - Do not look to your attorney to help you with anything other than legal matters. No matter how compassionate they are, they are not the person to help you sleep better at night. There are lots of qualified mental health professionals like therapists, psychologists, psychiatrists and others that are better equipped to help you deal with the emotional issues raised by the separation.
• Learn to compromise - When children are involved there are no winners in divorce. All you can do is hope to minimize its impact on your children. Keep that in mind as you try to negotiate your settlement. Trying to find a solution that works for everyone will inevitably create the best possible solution for your children. The quicker you can resolve disputes and settle your differences, the quicker you will be able to get your children moving forward after the divorce. The will also lead to a much cheaper separation. Time spent fighting over things in court is money that could be better spent on your children's college educations.