What do you do if you are one of the many families who can’t afford to hire a lawyer to take your divorce, custody or parenting time case to trial?

In this article, I'm going to tell you about things that you can do to save money so your legal bills don’t run into thousands or tens of thousands of dollars range besides opting out of getting legal help. Don't let your bills run into the thousands of tens of thousands of dollars range before you take these steps.

But first, let’s talk about what makes family law cases so expensive. Then we’ll talk about things you can do to try to lower your lawyer fees and case costs. 

But First - How Legal Billing Works

Most family lawyers charge based on the time it takes them to handle your case. They have an hourly rate , which was an average of $275 an hour in Oregon in 2023.

Most track our legal time using software and generally record time in tenths of an hour.

And a lot of legal software rounds UP.

That means that a quick email that takes 2 minutes costs $27 (1 tenth of an hour at $275)

If the emails go back and forth for 13 minutes, that rounds up to $82.50 (3 tenths of an hour at $275)

It adds up quick.

Thus, one of the biggest reaons your case can get expensive is TIME. I've found that there are five factors which directly drive up time (and therefore bills) in family law cases. I'll explain each, and give you actionable steps you can take to try to avoid or reduce each factor's impact on your bottom line.

The Five Factors Driving Up Time in Your Case - and how to reduce each

Factor #1: How Long the Case Takes to Finish

It's not just how much time is spent working on your case, even when your case is inactive because you're waiting for court, costs are going up each month that your case is open is another month that your lawyer must:

• monitor your case and update you
• handle incoming emails, calls and meetings from the court, your partner or their lawyer, and you
•  go to court and file or respond to paperwork with the court.

So, the sooner your case is done, the sooner your legal bills end. 

Factor #2: The Level of Conflict in Your Case

If you are in high conflict, it is more than likely that:

• No one is sharing records or information necessary to get your case ready for trial
• Temporary issues that need to be handled end up in court as contested motions
• No one is cooperating about trial scheduling
• No one wants to settle the case ore even any issues in it

Factor #3: The Number of Issues to Be Settled in Your Case

For each issue in your case, the lawyers have to gather evidence and make legal arguments adding to the bill for trial preparation. Add to this preparation time, actual trial time as your lawyer presents your case to the Judge. Then add the time it takes the judge to decide each issue and what may come up in your case while you wait for the judge to decide (see #2 and #3 above).

Factor #4: How Many Times You Go Back to Court Once Your Case is Done

Wait, I am talking about your next round of bills before you’ve even paid this one?!

YES, because how you handle this case will impact whether and how many times you go back to court.

As I mentioned in #2, each court even tcan create stress, fear and resentment making settlement hard if not impossible. It becomes more likely the judge is going to decide the important parts of your case and therefore your life. Chances are that one or both of you won't like the answer. That can lead to one or both of you to ignore or try to change that decision by going back to court on a modification or enforcement.

Obviously, complications make it harder to figure out, and either prove and decide or settle issues. Complexity takes more time (and therefore money) both before and during trial. Complicated cases may also mean your lawyer needs to hire experts to testify at trial. 

Complications include:

Let's Talk About What You Can Do To Lower Legal Bills for Each of These Factors

Factor #1: How Long the Case Takes to Finish

1. Get your records organized as soon as you can – before you start your case or as soon after you learn your spouse/partner or co-parent is going to start a case. That way your lawyer doesn't waste time using discovery to get papers you already have.

2. Get educated about the law so you know what is possible or likely to happen so you can reduce your fears, find solutions, and make smart choices about the battles you pick

3. Respond quickly to your lawyer when they ask for your input or your information

4. Make your case a priority with the time you have by clearing the decks for you to go to appointments with your lawyer, mediation, or court dates.

5. Don’t procrastinate – the only way out is through

Factor #2: The Level of Conflict in Your Case

1. Try and handle your case using collaborative divorce law techniques or at least a collaborative lawyer. It’s hard to problem solve when you are angry hurt or scared so get help from mediators, collaborative or cooperative lawyers. The sooner you find good solutions, the sooner you are done and the less harm is done to your ability to work together.

2. Understand a court is not the place to deal with your emotions – it’s a legal process about math (property and support) or your children. It’s not a place to help you feel better – that is better done with trusted advisors, time and therapists.

3. Always remember that your children family and friends are directly and negatively impacted by the conflict between you and your partner. If you’ve ever watched 2 people you care about angry with each other you know what I'm talking about. The family bystanders are almost always hurt by what you say and do in your case.

4. Understand that if you try to withhold records or information, it can hurt your case AND lead it to be reopened later.

5. Know that what you say to your partner will be shown to your judge  in the form of a trial exhibit. If it's kind and positive, your lawyer will show the judge; if its nasty and unflattering, your partner's lawyer will show the judge. Think about what you'd rather have land in front of the person deciding your future. Rmember, the judge doesn't know you – what first impression do you want to make?

Factor #3: The Number of Issues to Be Settled in Your Case

1. Settle issues that are no big deal to cut down the time it takes to resolve your case. This will also avoid an uncertain result AND can reverse any tide of tension by creating positive momentum.

2. Settle issues that are too important to leave to chance, like your kids (if you have them), or a possible BIG tax mess.

3. Use temporary orders. They not only settle things down by giving you certainty in theshort term, you can use them as experimental outcomes to see how a certain agreement would work. You can build in wording that says you aren’t sure if this can be permanent or aren’t agreeing to it permanently but are just trying it out during your case.

4. Figure out what you are willing to trade that your spouse/partner or coparent cares more about for something than you do so you can trade them that you care more about.

5. Clearly define your goals instead of just taking a position about a particular issue in your case. Clear goals allow you to choose the right legal positions that will bring you to a better outcome. 

Factor #4: How Many Times You Go Back to Court Once Your Case is Done

1. If you have settled as much as you can, have kept your cool and have been the person you want your kids family and friends to see, it's likely that you and your spouse/partner or coparent can move on more quickly and are less likely to go back to court

2. Be specific about your solutions and try to anticipate problems in your final documents. Clear and specific terms will lower the chance you have to go back to court to figure out what you intended or handle the unexpected.

3. Be organized so you don’t overlook something important. Organizing your concerns lets you work through judgments before they're signed to avoid the risks of going back to court later to fix something you left out.

4. Educate yourself now about your legal options if your life circumstances change in the future. That way you can build terms into your judgment to deal with life's change so you don't have to go back to court. Modifications and enforcement cases should be used to try to change something that legally can't be changed. That wastes time, money, and any decent parts of your relationship with your former spouse/partner or coparent.

Knowing what would likely happen in court lets you be more flexible when things do change, so you don't oppose a change that the court would make if your partner goes bck to court. 

5. Follow the orders the judge gives or, if they are wrong, take permitted steps to correct them. The last place you want to be is in a contempt case.

Factor #5: How Complicated Your Circumstances Are

1. Get help from the professionals in your life to figure out your finances and help you work with your lawyer. If you have an accountant, financial advisor, tax preparer, debt expert, etc., they may provide enough guidance to avoid the need to hire court experts. They can also help you make good decisions that could avoid court. 

2. Review your records so you can explain things as clearly as possible to your lawyer and isolate what is actually a complication. Put together a timeline and a fact sheet to help you and your lawyer go through the facts of your case.

3. KIDS: Talk to your children’s doctors, teachers and providers. These child professionals already know your family and your children. They can give more objective input about what your children need to help you figure out agreeable compromises.

4. KIDS: Talk to each other – probably no one else on the planet knows your kids as well or cares more about them. If you can only work together on one issue, pick this one.

5. Know that addiction, mental health or domestic violence problems are a lot harder to handle on your own. Outside help is critical -whether that is a 12-step group, a therapist or a protective order, it’s important that you start looking for help as soon as you can. I know this is stating the obvious and you’ve likely tried before but keep trying as you don’t know when it’s going to take (it took Thomas Edison 999 failure before he invented a functional lightbulb).

And bonus tip for every factor, know that taking care of yourself will make you better able to face your case. Channel your inner champion by doing what champions do- make sleeping, eating, connecting with friends and moving your body priorities. You need to bring your A-game to your case.