If you’ve been through a divorce in Boston before, or know someone who has, you know how long and expensive the process can be. While divorce may not exactly be a picnic, innovative attorneys, lawmakers and even clients have found ways to save money and facilitate the process for everyone involved.

If cost is any factor at all in your divorce, the first cost saving technique you can try — and this may be easier said than done — is to minimize the number of topics you and your divorcing spouse actually need to resolve. For many people, the time and effort you spend arguing over how to divide marital property can cost more in court and legal fees than that property is actually worth. Pick your battles. Consider the cost now, not the emotion.

If you and your divorcing spouse want to avoid court and can find a way to cooperate, you may want to look into divorce mediation as an option. In mediation, the parties have more control over the final outcome and can often make decisions that might not be available to a judge in divorce court.

Judges do have to review these agreements before they can become part of divorce decrees, so it’s a good idea to have an attorney represent you throughout the mediation process, or at the very least have an attorney review the agreement intermittently to make sure that it is fair and reasonable.

Another thing to be sure of is that you’ve hired the right attorney. When it comes to family law representation, an hourly rate isn’t everything. An experienced attorney can save you both time and money simply by having the knowledge to complete tasks more efficiently. The right attorney will also be willing to work with you to save money wherever possible during the divorce, such as by delegating certain tasks to you or to non-attorney personnel.

Source: Fox News Business, “How to make your divorce cheaper,” Andrea Murad, May 16, 2013