The economy has negatively impacted most of us in one way or the another. Homes lost to foreclosure, jobs lost temporarily or permanently due to lay-offs, tightening of budgets and less discretionary income. It is a tough time for families.

Many married couples, partners and parents are postponing the decision to proceed with a divorce or post-decree actions for reasons unrelated but certainly impacted by current economic conditions. Some couples are seeking a divorce because of the economic stress and the detrimental impact on their relationship.

Regardless of your reasons for hesitating or postponing your decision move forward with a divorce or a post-decree action, a number of cost-effective legal options do exist. The following information is provided to help with some of those sleepless nights where you may feel caught in limbo or “trapped” in a situation that you do not believe will improve over time.

The information below can never take the place of competent counsel. The information is intended to provide a reference for cost-effective options that you can consider for your situation. The information below is not legal advice and should not be relied upon to make decisions in your case.

For a free 30 minute phone consultation, please contact my office via the contact page. Your inquiry is confidential.

1. Mediation: For many married couples, partners and parents, mediation is viable option for saving money. Mediation provides a forum for resolving conflicts in a safe, confidential and respectful environment. Trained mediators recognize that some disagreement or unresolved conflict exists over topics or the parties would be able to resolve the source of conflict themselves.

Experienced mediators are trained to recognize reasons for impasse and help the parties work through the sources of conflict toward the goal of resolving these conflicts by agreement. Mediation is not successful in every case, but if the parties are mutually motivated to seek out of court solutions, an experienced mediator can provide the environment and the tools that frequently lead to agreements, saving the parties significant money and time that would otherwise be expended through traditional litigation.

Many Minnesota divorce decrees and court orders require mediation or some form of alternative dispute resolution before either party may proceed in court. When starting a divorce or another action, mediation may still be a cost-effective and preferable option. Mediated agreements, once drafted and signed in the appropriate formats filed with the court can eliminate or limit an appearance in court, further saving money and time.

2. Early Neutral Evaluations: As more fully explained on my website, counties in Minnesota are adopting the option of Early Neutral Evaluations (ENE’s) both Social (parenting issues) and Financial (division of property, spousal maintenance and other financial issues) in divorce, paternity and post-decree cases. The success of the ENE process is widespread and provides parties with a cost-effective option for resolving disputes.

Currently, only Hennepin County provides the ENE program at no cost for newly initiated cases through the court services department. Post-decree matters in Hennepin County, however, are not provided free of cost.

For cases where an ENE is mutually requested, private ENE evaluators may be hired based upon a sliding scale. The hourly amount paid to ENE evaluators may be based upon the combined gross monthly income of the parties and the established hourly rate that applies. The expertise of the ENE evaluator (or teams in Social ENE’s) is a key to efficient resolution of disputes and in some cases, can save several thousands of dollars that would otherwise be spent litigating at a trial.

3. Attorneys Hired to Draft Legal Documents: An attorney in a family law matter cannot ethically represent both parties in a case even when the parties reach an agreement on all issues and topics. This is because an attorney cannot ethically advise both parties about the risks and benefits of an agreement.

Although only one party has an attorney/client relationship with the attorney, the attorney can and often does draft the legal paperwork incorporating the parties’ agreement that both parties can review and sign. The other party has the right to consult with independent counsel before signing any legal paperwork if he/she chooses. Once the legal paperwork is competed and reviewed, the other party may opt to sign the paperwork without hiring an attorney and sign a Waiver of Counsel form that would be filed with the court.

This arrangement is quite common in family law and is a cost-effective option for many clients. It is important, however, to note that hiring an attorney to draft the legal paperwork does not automatically relieve the attorney from his/her ethical obligation to advise the client about the agreement reached. That does not mean that the agreement will or should unravel. Most attorneys will at least require an acknowledgment in the legal paperwork that the client has been advised about the agreement and has elected to go forward with the agreement as drafted by the parties.

The cost for drafting legal documents and related costs varies among attorneys (the filing fee is separate), however, it is still a way to save money and provide properly prepared documents for signature and filing with the court.

4. Cooperative Divorce: The Cooperative Law approach is more fully explained on my website. Basically, it is an approach designed to save clients time and money by focusing on ground rules for informal exchange of documents and attempts to settle cases out of court through settlement conferences and cooperation between the attorneys and parties. The primary difference between Cooperative Law and Collaborative Law is that if despite best efforts, an out of court settlement does not result and the case will proceed to court, the clients do not have to discharge the attorneys representing them.

5. Attorneys Motivated to Reach Settlements But Who Will Also Litigate: Most attorneys I have worked with over the 19 years I have practiced family law seek reasonable options for settling cases outside of court to save their clients time and money. This is my philosophy.

Most of my cases are settled without the need for a trial. This results in part from my experience negotiating cases, seeking creative solutions and knowing when cases need court involvement to some extent to move forward toward a resolution.

Most clients I have represented do not want to prepare for or go to trial or a formal hearing, but that may be necessary for a variety of reasons including: difficulty or non-cooperation with an opposing party or opposing attorney, need for documentation that cannot be obtained informally, inability to move the case forward without judicial input, strategic considerations or circumstances where domestic abuse has occurred and private options are not viable.

I have found that a key to client satisfaction is assessing cases candidly and discussing the potential risks, benefits and strategy of moving the case forward in a particular way. My experience in family law has taught me that flexibility and the need to re-strategize, when necessary, is the best way to serve my clients.

My approach to cases is to first to look for resolution methods out of court but also provide the skills, experience and confidence to litigate in court if this serves my clients interests.

Minneapolis divorce lawyer Geri Napuck delievers personalized representation to the Twin Cities. She practices exclusively in the area of family law and has extensive experience representing clients in divorces, child custody issues, parenting issues, property division, spousal maintenance, post-divorce matters, paternity and most recently has added pet mediations to her list of mediation services.

Contact Geri Napuck today to schedule a free 30 minute phone consultation. She is ready to listen and often meets with potential clients or clients outside of her office.