Family Law Attorney: Nailing Down The Finances

Hiring a family law attorney is probably going to be expensive. Whether you're preparing for a divorce, a child custody battle, or something else entirely, you can expect that a good percentage of your upcoming paychecks is going to go to your new lawyer. This is just the way of the world. Of course, skimping and hiring someone cheap could be an even more costly mistake. If you're going to get a lawyer, you should find the best one you can afford. Remember, the decisions and outcome of the case could have a substantial impact on your life for many years to come. Still, an economic decision of any kind is not to be taken lightly. Here are some things you can do to make sure you understand how much a lawyer is going to cost you.

First of all, you need to get a handle on the fees. This means asking not only how much the fee is for the family law attorney per hour, but also how much they charge for the time of their support staff. A good lawyer will not try to get tricky about this kind of thing, but it never hurts to make sure. Nothing's worse than thinking you're going to be billed for a certain amount of time, only to be billed for a wholly different amount. Also understand that if some lawyers spend even five minutes working on your case, that's probably going to be rounded up to an hour. You can also find firms that won't nickel and dime you to death in this way.

You can find a family law attorney who works for a flat rate fee, but it is questionable whether or not you want to go this route. On the one hand, it's a lot easier to understand exactly how much you'll be paying. You won't have to worry about being billed another hundred dollars every time you pick up the phone. On the other hand, you'll be paying that set amount even if you don't hear from your lawyer for the next month. It's a tricky situation, and that's why the question of cost should not be the primary part of your equation when making a decision about which firm to go with. Certainly, anyone who doesn't have a money tree growing in the backyard will have to take costs into consideration. It simply shouldn't be the only thing you use to base your decision on.

Make sure your contract with the family law attorney is clear and thorough. Clear being the optimal word. You don't want to have to hire another lawyer just to decipher what is meant by your first lawyer's contract. On that contract should be the fee schedule in easy to read terms, any additional costs that may be incurred by bringing in experts or other lawyers to help on the case, and any grounds that one or both parties might be able to terminate the contract.