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Tips on How to Pay for Divorce in Texas


Going through divorce can take a toll on a person not only emotionally but also financially. The parties to such divorce face the problem of how they should pay for their divorce.

This article will provide a few methods that you can be done to help solve that problem.

If a person is in a marriage where the other spouse is the one who earns the dominant share of the money and also controls how this money is spent, the use of such money as retainer will be difficult.

The services of an attorney cannot be on a “lawyer now, pay later” because in Texas family law cases,  lawyers representing clients on a contingency fee is not permitted.

Retainer fees must be paid up front to family law attorneys and the amount of such retainers vary from each lawyers. 

Most people do not even have saved up money for emergencies, let alone for a lawyer so if a person has a few thousand dollars saved up that can be used to pay for the divorce, then he or she is lucky. However, if it is otherwise, the following tips below might help in paying for the divorce.

Savings Account

Savings account is probably the most tried and true source of payment for a divorce lawyer.

Savings account is normally for emergency funds, but if a person is anticipating a divorce in the future, then the savings account can be really helpful in paying for a lawyer.

A lawyer’s retainer fee can be seen as an anticipated expense that one should save up for.

If a person does not have a savings account or if he or she is avoiding the risk of leaving any money in any account that the ex-spouse can possibly have access to, then setting aside money the old-fashioned way can suffice.

While the possibility of the other spouse asking for reimbursement is there once the divorce is initiated, most likely he or she is also doing something similar or will do it once the divorce is ongoing.

Crowdfunding

Crowd funding is when people solicit online “donations” for a cause that these people are supporting.

A lot of websites are created for the purpose of the people getting to set up their crowd funding efforts. A growing number of people are using the forums in these websites to ask for financial assistance in paying for their divorces.

The good thing about this method is that it increases the amount of people who are potential donors. Rather than limiting the payment for the divorce to only yourself or your friends and family, anybody with internet access can contribute to the divorce fund.

Credit Card

Similar to applying for loan to pay for a divorce, putting your lawyer’s retainer and subsequent fees on a credit card is another way that can be used.

Financing a divorce is a popular method of payment in this day and age. A down payment can initially be credited on the card and then the following payments can be made monthly through the card.

When the divorce is final, the lawyer’s fees can be seen as any other debt that are under the client’s name. An advice would be to pay the smallest debt you have and work on paying the bigger debts once there is some financial improvements through paying the smallest debt first. Take it one step at a time.

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Mr. Hutton is a Divorce and Custody Lawyer based out of Round Rock, TX. His background is with child psychology at Arizona State University where he received a B.S. in 2006, and he continued this by working with the Children’s Right’s Clinic at the University of Texas School of Law where he received his J.D. in 2009. Throughout his practice, he has been a strong proponent of utilizing modern technology to improve his practice and the representation of his clients. He currently is the technology chair of CAFA of Travis County and is committed to improving and modernizing the practice of law in Texas. If you have any questions you can contact him at timothy.hutton@austintexaslegal.com

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