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facts are that 75% of all US and 50% of all Canadian marriages
end in divorce. Divorce is rated number two onthe scale of the
most life altering stressors. During this difficult time you have
to deal with everything thrown at you, all at once. It is a difficult,
confusing and intimidating time to say the least. Initiated or
not, both spouses are put in the situation of requiring a lawyer,
usually for the first time.
At $100 to $300, sometimes more per hour, you
fight to get 50% of your assets, only to give a large portion
of it to your lawyer. It could amount to 10% or more of your half
of the assets. That means you are really dividing 80% of the total
marriage assets, instead of 100%.Why are you sharing 20% of yourmarriage
assets with your lawyer? This money is yours and you children's!Understandably,
both sides areunprepared, having multiple issues to deal with
at once, so they hand over control of their lives to their lawyer.
They feel their lawyer willonly think of and work for them. You
must realize your lawyer has hundreds if not thousands of clients.
You are only a file number to them. If you saw
your lawyer at the storethere's a good chance he or she will not
recognize you. Your lawyer took your case,not because they care
about you, but because they care about the income you will provide.
The lawyer would have taken your spouse's case had he or she gone
to them first.Why then would you let your lawyer make these life
altering decisions for you? Knowing this, why would you hand over
control of your divorce, your life, your future to your lawyer?
Under this situation, when the divorce is over, both sides feel
takenadvantage of by their spouse and their lawyer. They have
spent $100's to$1000's of dollars unnecessarily.This scenario
can be avoided by preparing for your divorce in the same manner
as you would buy a TV.When you decide to buy a TV, would you go
to the store and tell the salesman to pick a TV, any TV for you,
the leave the store knowing you'll get whatever TV the salesman
wants you to have?NO WAY! You wouldn't give a salesman that much
control over your money! He or she would certainly take advantage
of you.
You would have spent $100's of dollars unnecessarily.Instead,
you would research and compare, brands, size,features, color,
sound. You would take brochures homeand think which would benefit
you best. You decide what you can afford and which model and store
would give you the best value for your hard earned dollar. You
can do the same to prepare for your divorce.Research the costs,
benefits, and how it affects your life. How much does your lawyer
charge? What retainer fees would he/she require? Are you comfortable
with that? If not, find another.
Your lawyer is YOUR employee.What does he/she
charge for things like faxes, phone calls etc All miscellaneous
necessities involved in your case can either be reduced or eliminated.
You just need to ask how!Your lawyer will not voluntarily tell
you how to save money on your legal fees. That would be against
his/her best interests! Unless you are earning more than the $100
to $300 per hour your lawyer is charging you, you should do the
legwork. Gather all the information required regarding your marriage
and financial situation. What was your's, pre marriage? Is there
an inheritance or business involved? Look over all of your financial
papers, noting account numbers and balances.
Do a full financial disclosure so both you and
your lawyer will know where you stand at the first meeting. Your
lawyer will take care of informing you of the actual laws of your
state/province. You should have knowledge of and take care of
everything else.You need to discover the personal and financial
consequences pertaining to your situation so you can minimize
them. By preparing you will be able to make informed decisions
that will put you in control of your divorce. You will be in a
position to negotiate with your spouse and your lawyer with self-confidence.
Amongst the multiple benefits of preparing for your own divorce
are retaining more assets as well as reducing your legal fees.After
all, there's more at stake than choosing the wrong TV."Divorce
Strategy for Men and Women" is an insider's view on legal,
financial, tax and personal issues.Written with compassion and
understanding.http://www.divorcewell.com.
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