The San Jose law office of Vivian Carlson offers low cost divorce alternatives to those seeking to keep their costs to a minimum:
- Educate yourself about the divorce process. It will help you decide how to control the process and make educated decisions. Superior Court websites are a good source. Each county in California has its own website.
- Decide what is worth fighting over, and what isn’t.
- Hire an affordable lawyer. There is a large range of per hour fees. There are lawyers who will charge a flat fee for certain services. Shop around.
- You can avoid using lawyers. Superior Courts in California have self-help clinics to help with document preparation. The self help clinics will not appear in court for you.
- Use a lawyer in a limited fashion. You may need help on a few steps in the process. This is called limited scope representation. Read the article in this website about limited scope representation.
- If you and your spouse/domestic partner, are willing to cooperate and maintain a goal of working together on your legal matter, consider the use of a mediator. Mediation aims to keep emotional issues on the backburner.