TL;DR: If you can’t afford your Utah divorce attorney anymore, tell him/her immediately. You may be able to arrange a payment plan, switch to limited scope services, or proceed on your own. Going pro se means following the same rules as lawyers and taking on the risks yourself—so plan carefully.
Bullet-Point Quick Summary
- Tell your attorney immediately if you cannot keep paying.
- Explore payment plans, limited scope, flat fees, or trade.
- Going pro se means you must follow all court rules.
- Use available Utah court resources.
- Making mistakes in your case due to a lack of legal knowledge and representation can cost far more than you save by going it alone.
Even an uncontested Utah divorce can be expensive, costing thousands of dollars. A contested custody or property case can run tens of thousands (even the hundreds of thousands for the wealthy). Divorce attorneys are expensive. Many people hit a point where they simply cannot keep paying their divorce attorney. This is common. It is not a moral failing.
If you are in this situation, you face three questions:
- How do you tell your attorney you cannot keep paying?
- What does it really mean to go without an attorney in Utah divorce court?
- What practical steps can you take if your current attorney’s fees are beyond your reach?
Example scenario:
Jamie hired an attorney for her contested divorce but ran out of money halfway through discovery. She stopped returning calls from her lawyer because she was embarrassed. Her lawyer withdrew as her counsel, and she did not know what to do in her case next. As a result, she missed an important deadline and lost her chance to introduce key evidence at trial.
Being Honest with Your Attorney About Money
Tell your attorney as soon as you realize you cannot afford to continue at the current rate. Avoiding the subject or simply not paying creates bigger problems—unpaid balances, withdrawals of counsel, and potentially being unprepared in court.
An attorney who knows your situation may:
- Offer a payment plan (not guaranteed, but it’s worth asking your attorney if he/she would agree to a payment plan).
- Reduce the scope of representation (so-called “unbundled services”), which is explicitly allowed under Utah Rules of Professional Conduct Rule 1.2(c).
- Seek to withdraw from the case under Utah R. Civ. P. 74(c) if payment issues cannot be resolved.
Do not expect your attorney to be thrilled about changing the fee arrangement—especially if he/she is already working at full capacity on your case. Instead, find ways to make the change work for both sides, such as identifying specific tasks you can competently handle yourself while the attorney handles the complex or high-stakes work.
Example scenario:
Carlos told his attorney as soon as his overtime hours were cut. They agreed the attorney would stop helping Carlos with the reviews and responses to his wife’s e-mails and text messages she was sending him about child custody, parent-time, child support, household bills, etc., instead coaching Carlos on how to handle these matters himself. This saved Carlos several hundred dollars a month and kept the attorney engaged for the most work. Note: Carlos stumbled in some of his written communications with his wife, but overall, Carlos felt the savings were worth the trade-off.
Alternatives to Full Representation
Limited Scope Representation:
You hire the attorney only for specific tasks—drafting a motion, reviewing a settlement, or coaching you for a hearing—while you do the rest. Utah explicitly permits limited appearances under Utah R. Civ. P. 75.
Flat Fee Arrangements:
For discrete, well-defined tasks (e.g., drafting a motion to enforce parent-time), a flat fee may be possible.
Trade:
In rare cases, if you have skills or goods the attorney values, you might negotiate barter for part of the fee. This is subject to ethics rules and practical constraints, but perfectly legal.
Switching Attorneys:
You might find a lower-cost but still competent lawyer. Be careful: switching mid-case often means extra cost for the new attorney to get up to speed, and you risk losing continuity in your legal strategy. And with rare exception, you get what you pay for.
Example scenario:
Andrea couldn’t keep paying her $350/hour attorney, so she switched to limited scope. She prepared her own discovery responses and had her attorney review them for $500, instead of paying the attorney to draft them for her for $2,000.
UTAH PRACTICE TIP – Negotiating Limited Scope Services
- Be specific: “I can prepare my own financial declaration; I’d like you to review and edit it.”
- Prioritize tasks that require legal skill (motions, trial prep) and take on the routine tasks (collecting documents, drafting initial disclosures).
- Get the scope of work in writing, as required under Utah R. Prof. Conduct 1.2(c).
Representing Yourself in a Utah Divorce Case (Pro Se)
“Pro se” is Latin for “for oneself,” and in legal terms means representing yourself without an attorney.
Available resources include:
- Utah Courts Self-Help Center.
- My Paperwork (formerly OCAP – Online Court Assistance Program) for forms and guided interviews.
- Utah Code Title 81, Chapter 6 (Domestic Relations) for statutory rules.
Reality check:
- If and when you represent yourself, you must follow the same Utah Rules of Civil Procedure and Utah Rules of Evidence as any attorney.
- Judges, clerks, and court staff cannot give you legal advice (Utah Code of Judicial Administration Rule 3-109).
Common pitfalls for pro se litigants:
- Missing deadlines (Utah R. Civ. P. 6 and 7).
- Submitting inadmissible evidence.
- Poorly drafted pleadings that fail to meet court standards.
- Making irrelevant or legally unsupported arguments.
- Failing to object or preserve issues for appeal.
- Generally irritating the court and being mistreated.
Example scenario:
Mike decided to represent himself after his attorney withdrew. He didn’t know he had to file a pretrial disclosure under Utah R. Civ. P. 26(a)(5). The judge excluded most of his exhibits because he had not disclosed them in time.
UTAH PRACTICE TIP – Avoiding Common Pro Se Traps
- Always check the rules for deadlines; most are found in Utah R. Civ. P. 6 and 7.
- Learn the basic rules of evidence before trial—many pro se litigants lose because what could have been admitted into evidence is excluded due to ignorance of the rules.
- File required disclosures and witness/exhibit lists on time; you cannot count on judges regularly giving second chances.
Strategic Considerations If You Go Pro Se Mid-Case
- Review what has been done so far and identify what’s left to complete.
- Prioritize critical deadlines and hearings—especially temporary orders, discovery cutoffs, and trial dates.
- If possible, get legal coaching before major hearings or trial.
- Understand that settlement negotiations will almost certainly harder (and less informed) without counsel; you may need to rely more on documented evidence and statutory entitlements.
Example scenario:
Sarah took over her case after her attorney withdrew. She scheduled a two-hour consultation with another attorney just to review her trial strategy. The advice she received on organizing her exhibits and preparing her testimony was worth far more than the $400 she spent.
The Financial Reality Check
Stopping legal representation can end up costing more in the long run if it leads to a poor settlement or trial outcome. Before you decide, weigh the cost of continuing representation against what is at stake:
- Child custody and parent-time rights
- Division of property—real estate, personal property, retirement benefits, and other kinds of assets
- Apportionment of responsibility for marital debts and obligations
- Support obligations (child support and alimony
Example scenario:
Ben stopped paying his attorney right before mediation. He went alone and agreed to an uneven property split because he didn’t understand how his retirement benefits should be valued and divided. Correcting the mistake later cost him more than if he had kept his attorney through mediation.
If you can no longer afford your divorce attorney, act quickly:
- Communicate immediately and openly with your attorney.
- Explore limited scope or alternative arrangements.
- Consider switching counsel if feasible.
- Prepare carefully if representing yourself.
Doing nothing is the worst option. Whether you have an attorney or go pro se, preparation and informed decision-making are essential.
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