If you are undergoing a divorce, it is likely that having an attorney isn't an option but a necessity. But having an attorney is not enough. You will need to have the right type of attorney based on your situation as well.

Do Not Use The Same Attorney

Hiring an attorney is highly recommended if you are filing for divorce. It is even more highly recommended if your spouse has hired an attorney as well. It is very difficult for an amateur to go up against a professional well-versed in every aspect of divorce law. There's a good chance that your spouse will try to encourage you to not hire an attorney with the argument that doing so will simply cost money. However, you will lose a lot more if you do not adequately defend yourself.

You also should not use the same lawyer as your partner. While this is allowed legally, a divorce is an adversarial process and a lawyer will not be able to adequately represent both of your interests.

Lawyer Up Adequately

You will need to determine the extent to where you need to lawyer up based on how adversarial your divorce is. Having a clean divorce is always the cheapest. Therefore, you will want to hire a lawyer who understands that you intend to be reasonable and you will need to make sure that your partner's lawyer is on the same page.

Make The Divorce Cleaner

The more matters you resolve yourself, the less expensive your legal fees will be. Once you determine what you care about and what your spouse cares about, both parties can be given the appropriate assets. To save as much money as possible, ignore emotional or sentimental reasons for owning a piece of property and focus on the economic value alone. You can always purchase new belongings that can be associated with new, important memories.

Tell Your Attorney Everything

Do not withhold any information from your attorney. They are required to keep your best interests at heart and you should therefore not be afraid to disclose information that may cast you in a negative light. Your attorney needs to be informed of what could be used against you in court so he or she can prepare an adequate response.

An example of a secret you shouldn't keep from your attorney is whether you have any money hidden. If the courts find that you are lying about one asset, they are more likely to assume that you are lying about all of your assets. Instead, avoid the reputation of a liar by being upfront.  

For more information about working through a divorce, contact a company such as Madison Law Firm PLLC.