The high cost of Being Cheap

  In West Michigan, many people pride themselves on their frugality. And being careful with one's money is often a good idea. Like all things, however, it can backfire. I have run into a number of people over the years that could have saved a small fortune if they had been willing to pay a professional upfront to help make sure potential problems were highlighted and dealt with before they became big problems.

  Below are some brief examples of the high cost of being cheap. I am not using actual names and will change the facts slightly to protect people's privacy.

  A couple cashes in their life savings to make a large down payment of a fixer upper home that they are buying on land contract. They decide that paying an attorney a few hundred dollars upfront to advise them on the deal is too much cost and bother. Two years later, they get behind in their payments and wind up losing the house. Now, their entire savings and anything they have put into the house are gone forever. They lost over $30,000 all because they believed that the money they paid on the contract was building equity for them. It was not. And they decided to forego the cost of the advice that would helped them understand this risk.

  A guy gets pulled over for a OWI. As he has never had one before, he is charged as a first time offender. Because the only evidence was his breathalyzer result, the entire case against him is based on those. He blew a .11 (the legal limit is .08). Because the officer did not observe him continuously for the required 15 minutes before administering the test, the guy could have had the results barred from being admitted from trial, meaning he likely would have had his case dismissed. Because he didn't want to pay $1200 for a good lawyer, he wound up pleading guilty. A couple of years later, he gets pulled over again. Now, he is a second time offender with a minimum mandatory jail sentence. The fines and other penalties are also increased. And if he gets a third OWI arrest, that charge is an automatic felony, and he is looking at prison time. If he had paid to keep his record clean the first time, he wouldn't be going to jail.

  The cost of serious representation for a serious felony is very expensive. Frankly, it is beyond the means of many criminal defendants. However, some who can come up with the money often just decide to let it ride with a court appointed attorney or a low cost attorney. The risk here is that the difference between the best representation and less than that can be years or decades in prison. There is no attorney that can guarantee a particular result, but if you are paying an attorney for a lot of his time, logically he is going to spend that time learning more about the nuisances of your cases. And those little details can be the difference between winning and losing; or at least a meaningful plea offer or one that doesn't offer much assistance.

  I know this blog may seem self-serving to some, but when life throws you major problems, you need to look at the long term cost. It is a big picture thing. A $5,000 retainer to a good lawyer is only $42 a month (rounded up) if he can save your 10 years in prison. Freedom is worth the price.

Ryan Maesen
www.maesenlawfirm.com