You hear a knock and hurry toward the door. A nicely-dressed man says your name and you nod your head. Before you have a chance to ask what the man wants, he shoves an envelope toward you and announces that you are being served. Stunned, you hold the envelope in your hand while watching the process server's retreating back. As your shaking fingers open the envelope, questions race through your mind. Has your soon-to-be ex-spouse decided not to settle the divorce and go to trial? Has your spouse's over-zealous attorneys made a mistake and served you with papers containing additional demands despite their client's wishes to settle?

Holding the legal document in your trembling hands, you scan through it. That's when you realize that you have been served with papers asking a Judge for a money judgement against you and/or a lien on your home. But the real shocker is that the demand is not from your spiteful spouse or their bull-dog lawyers. Your own attorney, to whom you have given both your money and confidence, has made a motion not only to be relieved as your counsel because of unpaid fees, but to also have a judgement filed against you!

DID YOU KNOW THIS COULD HAPPEN?

FEW PEOPLE DO.

This is the very scenario this book will help you avoid. The time to understand how to cut legal expenses isn't after you hired an attorney. The time is from the first moment you know a divorce is imminent. That is when you need to:

*protect your rights as a parent;

*protect and document your assets;

*find potential attorneys;

*understand the retainer agreement used in matrimonial matters;

*suggest modifications to the retainer agreement; and

*choose an attorney who is right for you and right for your budget.

The time to cut down on fees, know what to look for in monthly billing statements, how to negotiate fees, and protect your rights in the matrimonial process is right now, not after you have handed over your hard-earned money to an attorney for a retainer.