When Divorce Happens
“In the Spring a young man’s fancy lightly turns to thoughts of love.” So said the poet, but March is the month when most divorces happen!
Maybe that’s because the holiday season—Thanksgiving, Christmas, the New Year—puts a lot of stress on families, triggering conflicts that end in divorce a few months later. In fact, more relationships break up during the holidays than any other time of the year.
When thinking of divorce there are so many questions to answer, so many emotions to untangle, so many unknowns in the future. Money worries are not the least of them.
Money To Burn?
Divorce in Arkansas can cost a fortune, but it doesn’t have to. Most of us don’t have money to burn on lawyers and court fees and private investigators. We don’t have time to waste on all that, either. Does it make sense to pay a lawyer $250 an hour to fight over Aunt Effie’s rocking chair when it might not be worth that much to begin with?
If you have the money and that chair is really important to you, go for it. But most of us are much better off in the long run letting go of our anger, getting it done and moving on with our lives. Fighting over divorce keeps us locked in the past rather than looking forward to the future.
Lawyer Fees Don’t Have To Be An Obstacle
In fact, you don’t have to pay a lawyer at all. You can get the forms online and do it yourself, if you and your spouse are in perfect agreement on everything. It’s doable, but maybe not advisable if there are assets like a home, savings accounts, retirement accounts, or minor children involved. Then a lawyer can help to avoid future arguments over these things.
Reasonableness
Don’t mistake reasonableness for weakness. We strongly recommend mediation & negotiation.
If this is your first experience with legal disputes, you might have an unrealistic idea of how these things go. A trial is very expensive. Most judges will do everything in their power to force the divorcing couple and all their lawyers to work out a solution and then bring it back to court so the judge can just sign off on it.
In the end, almost all divorces are negotiated anyway. Our advice is—don’t spend money on lawyers just to fight your spouse’s lawyers. Be smart. Save money and time. Be practical and reasonable and move on.
If reasonableness doesn’t work there’s always time to fight. Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that.
A Better Way To Walk Away
Our focus at Lion Legal Services is providing affordable, predictable, effective legal services.
We are pioneers in how we provide legal services in Arkansas. We work as a team and offer a defined package of services at a flat fee, starting at $800, with no hidden costs. We even have payment plans that help spread out the cost and ease the financial pain.
Our team includes 8 experienced trial lawyers who are lion lawyers in the courtroom when necessary, but we know that reasonableness is the key to better serving the parties and children of the divorce.
For answers to more questions about divorce, check out our series called Thinking of Divorce in Arkansas, starting here.
Lion Legal Services Can Help
If you are looking for effective legal representation in Arkansas that won’t break the bank, look for us at LionLegalServices.com. We will help you figure out your options and what the likely realistic result is in your circumstances. We’d love to Roar to your Rescue!
Call For A Free Case Evaluation
Case evaluations are completely free. Call Leigh Law today at (501) 227-ROAR (that’s 227-7627) or Email Us to set up a free consultation.