Family lawyers are experts in knowing what to say to make their case seem more reasonable than yours. Lawyers who focus on areas outside family law hire a family lawyer when they’re getting a divorce; they recognize that they’ll be out of their depth when faced with a lawyer who practices family law exclusively.
So although not everyone needs a divorce lawyer, obtaining a good one is often in your best interests – especially if your divorce is complicated, contested, involves children, you have significant assets, or if your soon-to-be ex-spouse has hired a divorce lawyer.
Here's why. If you’re at the beginning of your divorce process, you may be considering representing yourself instead of hiring a lawyer, thinking you’ll save time and money by doing so.
Going through a divorce can feel like being buried alive under a mountain of paperwork to be filled out and filed with the court. Knowing which forms you’ll need for your unique situation can be challenging, and collecting all the information to complete them can be both difficult and tedious.
I have a surprise for you. Contrary to what you might have heard, there are no winners in a legal battle. Legal battles are costly, both in financial and human terms. Legal fees quickly add up, and the money you need to get your life back on track or send your kids to college can easily go to paying the divorce lawyers.
To achieve the best outcome in a divorce proceeding, you must understand your rights.
Schedule a consultation with a divorce lawyer to better understand your individual case, what to expect, and how to get the ball rolling.
One of the main reasons to hire a divorce lawyer is the amount of paperwork involved. The divorce process can be extremely complicated in any situation, and the paperwork may be confusing. These documents must be filed correctly and accurately because the judge will use them to make decisions in court.
While some divorce proceedings go well, others do not. This could be because of trauma, stress, abuse, and general disagreements. Overall, if you’re emotionally overwhelmed with the divorce process, including separation of possessions, child custody, and more, you’ll want to hire an attorney.
Many people want their divorce to be settled quickly so they can move on with their lives. If you want a speedy divorce, hiring a divorce lawyer may be a great idea.
Sometimes in divorces, there are hard decisions that have to be made, and you may not know what all of your options are. Having a divorce lawyer in your corner can help you identify options that work best for you. They’re there to answer all your questions and walk you through the decisions for which you see no answer.
When you’re wondering how to get a divorce, you’re probably not thinking of the future. You might be so caught up in what’s happening right now and don’t consider how things will look in a year or two.
Divorce is a complicated process, and even more so when you choose to do all the work on your own. Hiring a divorce attorney makes the most sense when you have little time and critical decisions to make.
You need to know that the purpose in hiring a divorce lawyer is to have your assets distributed and to resolve any issues there are about custody. When airing any number of issues with your lawyer will result in an increasingly frustrating, expensive and litigious process that will cost you money and emotional turmoil.
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 last resort is a litigated trial. Typically, these are the cases when neither side will compromise.
Or you could consider a collaborative divorce. A collaborative divorce is focused on negotiation with the goal of preserving a co-parenting relationship. Remember that it can be hard for many people to remain detached and see things objectively while going through the divorce process.
This reduces the amount of time you need to spend in awkward communication with the spouse. Mediation is the fastest, cheapest way to get divorced. 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.
As the old joke says, if those getting divorced could work things out for themselves, they wouldn’t need a divorce. Mostly, people do not want to hire an attorney for a divorce and statistically family law actions have a high pro se filing rate. However few legal actions are as contentious as divorce lawsuits, with both parties frequently wanting ...
Apart from parking those issues outside your attorney’s door, you can still use a good divorce lawyer as a mediator to prevent matters getting completely out of hand. Keep in mind that in avoiding litigation you can also use a good divorce attorney to mediate, rather than litigate your case.