Finding a Low-Cost Houston Divorce Lawyer

Featuring Texas Family Law Attorney Duana Boswell-Loechel

Video Transcript:

Duana Boswell-Loechel: 

I believe that everybody has the right to have an attorney that's experienced, that it shouldn't just be a privilege for those that can afford the high fee structures that's typically seen.

Molly Hendrickson: 

How can people who need to get divorced, or who need a child custody, or child support order in the State of Texas afford to get help? We're gonna talk to Houston divorce attorney, Duana Boswell-Loechel about that on today's episode of Ask the Lawyer. Duana has the distinction of being a board-certified family law attorney in the State of Texas. Duana, thanks for joining us today.

Duana Boswell-Loechel: 

Thanks for having me.

Molly Hendrickson: 

So do you think Texas spouses and parents have a real problem affording family law attorneys when they're dealing with divorce, child custody, child support, and even cases where there might be domestic violence and people need orders of protection?

Duana Boswell-Loechel: 

So, yes. It can get quite expensive to go through a divorce, especially when we have child custody issues, as typically where we see attorney fees increasing. Protective orders typically are cheaper for individuals, they're trying to make it affordable so that people that need those orders of protection can get them. And I believe with inflation, that we're starting to see, is gonna be even more difficult for individuals to be able to afford, but some people call the luxury of an attorney to help them through their custody and divorce battles.

Molly Hendrickson: 

Yeah, people are stretched thinner and thinner these days. So what happens when somebody can't afford an attorney? Have you seen people represent themselves? I can imagine you can really mess things up. Can you give us some examples of what you've seen?

Duana Boswell-Loechel: 

Yes, I'm seeing more and more, and typically, I see young mothers trying to represent themselves in court. The judges are trying to be cognizant of the situation, but an individual is held to the same standard and to have the same knowledge as an attorney when they choose to represent themselves, and that can get them into quite a mess, and especially when we have one side represented by an attorney and the other side not, it typically just means they're not able to get evidence and that they need... They may not be able to share their full story with the court, and oftentimes can lose custody of the children.

Molly Hendrickson: 

So, you try to make it affordable for your clients to hire an attorney for child custody cases and divorce cases. Can you talk a little bit about your tier pricing system?

Duana Boswell-Loechel: 

So the tier pricing system really depends on the type of case it is, whether or not... There's a few cases that we'll do a flat fee, so they know exactly what they're gonna spend ahead of time, and then even when we have our hourly rates, we try to keep our rates down, we're cognizant of trying to keep the total overall cost down, and then we have very affordable payment plans.

Molly Hendrickson: 

And what about people who are representing themselves, will you review documents for them? And why is this important?

Duana Boswell-Loechel: 

Yes, we do offer a service of reviewing documents, sometimes we'll even just come in and maybe represent them in a one-hearing situation or a mediation, just so that their interests are protected and to make sure that the paperwork is done correctly. That's usually what I see getting kicked out of court is we have a divorce decree or a petition that hasn't been filled in correctly, or really, most often what I see is they just haven't gotten the other side served, and so they're dismissing their cases because they can't get the other side served.

Molly Hendrickson: 

And you're a board-certified attorney in family law, the hourly rate for those types of lawyers can be really expensive, much higher than a lot of people can afford. Why do you offer this type of pricing?

Duana Boswell-Loechel: 

I believe that everybody has the right to have an attorney that's experienced, that it shouldn't just be a privilege for those that can afford the high fee structures that's typically seen. I've just... I'm here to help. One of the things I'm just like hearing the most is, "All lawyers are in it for the money." Because most lawyers aren't. It really is about helping the individuals. Unfortunately, we do have bills that we have to pay and we have our staff that we have to pay, so it's not a situation where we can do everything for free, but we do try to equalize that balance of making sure that we're taking care of our staff and the business side of things, while being able to provide a high quality service to anybody out there that can meet the cost that we have.

Molly Hendrickson: 

Yeah. Trying to work with clients where they're at and with what they can afford. Thank you for taking the time to talk to us today.

Duana Boswell-Loechel: 

Thank you.

Molly Hendrickson: 

And that's gonna do it for this episode of Ask the Lawyer. My guest has been Duana Boswell-Loechel. If you'd like to ask Duana questions about your situation you can call the number on the screen. Thanks for watching. I'm Molly Hendrickson for Ask the Lawyers.

Disclaimer: This video is for informational purposes only. In some states, this video may be deemed Attorney Advertising. The choice of lawyer is an important decision that should not be based solely on advertisements.