The dissolution of marriage process can be expensive. However, you can reduce your attorney’s fees by following some simple rules:
• Remember that telephone calls to the attorney and staff usually are chargeable time at their respective hourly rates. Usually, the paralegal or legal secretary will be able to answer your question on the status of service, court filing, billing, procedures, or to relay information at a much lower cost than a call to the attorney.
• Keep in mind that KIRK & SIMAS’ services are primarily legal. If you are feeling especially stressed emotionally, consider seeking counseling from a professional specializing in family counseling.
• Participate as effectively as you can in your own case.
• Organize your case documents in your own file and bring them to all conferences and hearings.
• Keep an open mind towards settlement.
• If you have children, it always is best to work with your spouse to come up with a parenting plan. For parties who cannot agree, consider attending mediation to work out your difference with a third party’s help.
• Ask for clarification immediately if you do not understand something.
• Try to reach an agreement with your spouse as to household furniture. Assign values to household effects, furniture, and appliances on your own. Remember, the values for these items should be the price that you would accept as a credit against your community property share, or as a charge against your spouse’s community property share.
In a proceeding for dissolution of marriage, nullity of marriage or legal proceeding the court may award attorney’s fees to either party. In essence the court may order one party to pay to the other party, or the other party’s attorney, whatever amount is reasonably necessary for the proceeding's fees and costs. In deciding whether to make the award, and the award's amount, the court must consider what is "just and reasonably under the relative circumstances of the respective parties." For this the courts look to:
• The parties' respective needs and incomes.
• Any factors affecting the parties' respective abilities to pay.
• The respective parties' financial resources.
