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For example, maybe you hire a mediator to save money but realize you and your soon-to-be ex are just too far apart and you wind up needing to spend even more money on attorneys who are litigators.
Or maybe you hire the wrong attorney — just because the person was recommended by a friend.
Decker had several female clients who hired attorneys for retainers upwards of $10,000. The women didn’t understand the process and their attorneys didn’t communicate with them. They hadn’t been given any documents.
“They went through that entire retainer and didn’t have anything to show for it!” Decker said. “So many times I’ve seen people having to divorce their divorce attorney!”
It’s not bad enough you have to go through one painful split — you might have to go through a second one, with the person who was supposed to help lead you out of this mess!
Decker said she’s seen a lot of horror stories that could’ve been prevented with a little work and communications up front.
In one case, the wife got the house but the agreement was that the husband had to pay the mortgage for 18 months. After that, the wife would refinance and pay it on her own. Guess what no one figured out? The wife didn’t have any income so she didn’t qualify to refinance. She wasn’t able to make her mortgage payments and suddenly the husband’s credit was affected.
Had they consulted a financial adviser or mortgage broker, they would’ve realized before they made that deal that she wouldn’t be able to refinance, Decker explained.