How to Pick the Right Divorce Lawyer
Full Answer
Mar 13, 2020 · Key points to look for when searching for a good divorce lawyer-1. Understand your lawyer’s role. The goal of using a lawyer to help in your divorce process is to move the dissolution of your marriage forward in a fair and equitable manner. The main points of discussion when meeting with a lawyer should focus on money, other assets such as real …
Feb 26, 2022 · As with many other services, finding a good divorce lawyer can start with referrals from friends or family. In addition, other professionals, such as accountants or …
When you're getting a divorce, you'll need an attorney who is experienced in family law matters. A old college friend who now practices medical malpractice law isn't likely to be the best choice to handle your divorce. Different areas of the law have different rules and requirements. Attorneys in each practice area have different skill sets.
The short answer is "no." The professional rules of conduct governing lawyers prohibit attorneys from representing both spouses in a divorce. This would create a conflict of interest for the attorney, since your interests, rights, and needs in a divorce are adverse to your spouse's.
You should interview any prospective attorney just as you would someone who was applying to work for you. You need to like your attorney. It's also important that you have confidence in your lawyer's abilities and respond well to communication style.
If you're unsure where to begin your search, you can start by reviewing Nolo's Lawyer Directory. Nolo's online directory allows you to look for attorneys by practice area and provides a detailed profile with each attorney's experience, philosophy, and expertise.
Going through a divorce is a painful event, but you don’t have to go through it alone. Compassion, hard-working, experienced are some of the qualities of a divorce lawyer that can help you get what you want out of your marriage’s dissolution so that you can focus on beginning the rest of your life.
Hiring a divorce attorney is often one of the first steps any person seeking a divorce will perform, and it is easily the most important, as their guiding hand can help make every subsequent step that much easier. Once you have planned to acquire an attorney’s services, your first big decision is which attorney to choose and why.
Deciding to divorce your spouse could be one of the most stressful and painful moments in a person’s life. The strong emotions that often accompany it can make going through the often complex divorce process feel like an insurmountable weight has been placed on your chest.
If you feel disconnected or frustrated about the state of your marriage but want to avoid separation and/or divorce, the marriage.com course meant for married couples is an excellent resource to help you overcome the most challenging aspects of being married.
Now that you and your partner have made the difficult decision to get divorced, you have to set about the task of finding a lawyer. Unfortunately, it’s not something that you can resolve with just a simple Google search. Before settling on a divorce lawyer to oversee your proceedings, you have to make sure you haven’t left a single stone unturned.
Just like any other major decision in your life, you want to make sure that you go into the divorce process with your eyes wide open and as well-informed as possible.
Before you settle on a lawyer, ask yourself what it is that you’re hoping to get from them. Are you looking for a lawyer who’s emotionally supportive? An impersonal but focused attorney? Are you looking for a team or a one-on-one personal experience?
If you know of friends or family members who’ve been through a divorce, definitely reach out to them and ask for advice and suggestions on who they went with and how it worked out for them.
Part of the research process for a good divorce lawyer should include multiple meetings with various attorneys. This will allow you to see how each lawyer will approach your divorce and what they will do to build the best possible case.
When meeting with an attorney, don’t waste time asking questions about their experience, as that is information you should have gathered already from your research.
Lawyers are busy, obviously, but that doesn’t mean that a call or email from you shouldn’t be returned as quickly as possible. Even a simple email back acknowledging that they’ve received your message and will get back to you soon can go a long way.
An experienced divorce attorney will be able to tell you how likely it is you'll get what you're seeking in the divorce. An attorney can also help you devise a strategy for your case and give a rough timeline of how long it will take.
Don't just hire the first attorney you meet as they will be the one to represent you in the eyes of the law. Schedule a consultation with at least 3 lawyers (many offer free consultations) to learn more. Look for the following when you talk to them: 1 Local. You need an attorney who's familiar with the courts and family law judges in your county to strategize appropriately. 2 Communicates well. One of the biggest complaints about lawyers is their unresponsiveness to calls or emails. Make sure your attorney will be an attentive one. 3 Realistic. You should have a good idea of what your divorce will cost you, and the settlement you'll likely receive, before you leave the attorney's office. 4 Experienced. You’ll want a seasoned attorney who primarily practices family law. 5 Professional referrals and customer testimonials. If you’ve worked with other lawyers in the past, ask them to recommend a divorce attorney. Likewise, talk to the attorney’s past clients about their experience. You can easily find reviews of lawyers online, or ask the lawyer for a list of clients you can contact.
What a Divorce lawyer can do for you. Hiring an experienced divorce attorney is the best way you get peace of mind when dealing with child custody, alimony, and asset division. Having a divorce lawyer advise you helps ensure that nothing is left out of your divorce agreement, which means that costly mistakes won't come back to bite you later.
Sometimes it can be difficult to get your spouse to turn over financial information. An attorney can compel your spouse to provide information on their investments, retirement accounts, and pensions.
A contested divorce occurs when couples can't agree out of court on one or more of these issues. That means you'll have to go to court to resolve them. And a court battle is a high-stakes process that can be difficult to take on without a lawyer's help.
Hiring a divorce attorney can cost anywhere from $250 to $350 per hour which may add up to a lot of money. However, attorneys may also handle divorces for a flat fee. The fee for an uncontested divorce might range from a $600 flat fee to a $5,000 retainer, depending on circumstances.
One of the biggest complaints about lawyers is their unresponsiveness to calls or emails. Make sure your attorney will be an attentive one. Realistic. You should have a good idea of what your divorce will cost you, and the settlement you'll likely receive, before you leave the attorney's office. Experienced.
Before you rush out to hire a divorce attorney, consider other alternatives to traditional litigation. If you aren't completely entangled with children and finances, you could hire a mediator to help you negotiate the terms of your divorce.
Your divorce attorney's job is to represent you to the best of his or her ability in this process. While you might want them to listen to your anger, frustration, pain and sadness, that is not their job. They are not trained to be your therapist or coach, and they don't want to be.
First, you need to realize that divorce is a legal process with the sole purpose of dissolving your assets and resolving custody issues. Your divorce attorney's job is to represent you to the best of his or her ability in this process.
A collaborative divorce is focused on negotiation with the goal of preserving a co-parenting relationship. Your last resort is a litigated trial. Typically, these are the cases when neither side will compromise. So you need to determine what type of divorce attorney you need based on your unique circumstances.
Mediation is the fastest, cheapest way to get divorced, and you might not need to hire an attorney at all! If your negotiation is more complicated, you'll have to hire a divorce lawyer to negotiate a settlement with your spouse's attorney. Or you could consider a collaborative divorce.
Unfortunately, many attorneys will tell you what you want to hear just to close the deal. While this is your life, it's a business for them. There are no guarantees in this process, so if an attorney is making promises, don't believe it.
Laura Miolla is a Separation and Divorce Coach who helps people find clarity, empowerment and confidence in the difficult divorce process. Use coaching to make better decisions in your divorce, achieve better outcomes, and lower the cost.
Jeff Cutler is a native Miamian, attending local public schools before graduating with honors from the University of Florida School of Business Admin... Read More#N#istration (BSBA, Finance) and receiving his Juris Doctor degree from the University of Florida School of Law in 1982. He was a Captain and four-year letterman for the University of Florida Wrestling Team. Mr. Cutler returned to Miami in 1982 to live and practice law following law school. Mr. Cutler’s areas of legal specialization include civil, corporate, and commercial law and litigation, including business and construction law, transactions and finance, personal injury, wrongful death, p ... View Profile
The Law Office of Erin Morse is an exclusive Family Law and Divorce Law Firm. Founded by Attorney Erin Morse in Orlando, she and her competent staff ... Read More