7 Questions to Ask a Divorce Lawyer When You First Meet – 2021 Guide 1. “What Do You Need to Know About Me And The Situation?” img source: pexels.co A lot of individuals struggle to tell... 2. “Is There a Way to Make The Process Less Costly?” You probably already know that the entire process of ...
This is an important question for two reasons. First, it will test the divorce attorney's knowledge and experience of the divorce process and divorce law. Second, it will educate you on what specifically the attorney can and will do with you to help mitigate the costs. Do not settle for a generic answer.
 · What questions is the lawyer asking you about your situation? This question is your chance to 1) make sure they’ve been hearing you and 2) get insights that could help keep your divorce process moving along without surprises. 5. Talk about payment. This question is especially important if you’re concerned about your financial situation.
Your divorce lawyer will need to be brought up to speed on your employment status and on your spouse’s employment status. Specifically, you can expect that your lawyer will ask the following: Where do you currently work? What is your job title? Where does your spouse work, and what is his or her job title? How much money do you make?
The first thing you should do once you have made the decision to end your marriage is to get legal advice. You don’t want to do anything that will jeopardize your own rights or potentially cause emotional harm to your children. You need to find the right attorney because getting divorced is a complicated, emotional process.
What red flags did your story raise for them? What questions is the lawyer asking you about your situation? This question is your chance to 1) make sure they’ve been hearing you and 2) get insights that could help keep your divorce process moving along without surprises.
You get to choose who helps you through it. That’s why I highly recommend interviewing at least 2-3 attorneys before selecting one. Don’t let anyone pressure you into working with them, either. This process is going to get harder before it gets easier, so it’s important that the lawyer by your side – the lawyer who is going to be learning a lot about the inner workings of your marriage, your finances, and more – is someone that you trust, respect, and actually like.
If you want to get your money’s worth from a consultation, make sure you bring all of the documents associated with your prenup. The same goes if you and your spouse have started working out a separation agreement (or other agreement related to your pending split) in writing.
You can cut down significantly on fees by forming a relationship with team members who bill at a lower hourly rate.
Before you pull into the attorney’s parking lot, repeat this mantra: No two divorces are alike! No two divorces are alike! Having an open mind about the hard things— possible custody schedules, whether or not you need to sell the house, whether or not your family can continue to go on two weeks of vacation each summer— will help your prospective attorney come up with a strategy that meets your long term goals and makes sense for your unique circumstances.
For Christy, receiving this information allows her to give the most bang for a potential client’s buck in terms of an initial consultation. She can give a prospective client a pretty good idea of what will happen to each of those assets and liabilities in a divorce and help a potential client understand what their financial picture will look like post divorce.
Having this goal in mind helped keep things moving, and as a result, her divorce took 364 days between her initial filing and final judgment.
Some attorneys will talk to their clients on a weekly basis or more. Other attorneys will only talk to their clients when their clients contact them. Yet other attorneys religiously follow the one phone call a month to do an overview strategy session no matter how many times the client has talked to the attorney in the past 30 days. There isn’t a right answer, but it’s good to know in advance what the scope of communication will be.
What is a collaborative divorce and am I eligible for one? A collaborative divorce model is one that focuses on a win-win settlement agreement. You can consider it the opposite of going to court. Does the attorney you’re meeting with think that this is a reasonable possibility in your case? Why or why not?
The greatest tragedy in divorce cases is when a custody battle spirals out of control for months or even years. The attorneys have a lot of say in controlling or mitigating some of the emotional responses in these cases and keeping things under control.
Divorce is not easy , and the vast majority of the people that we consult with are not emotionally ready to pull the trigger. Often a driving force is that there are assets, other financial obligations, or even relationships with children that need to be protected, and the jurisdiction of the court needs to be invoked.
Similar to the question above, it can be helpful to have an attorney who has collaborative training under their belt, even if your case is not a collaborative one. Collaborative training is built on principled negotiation or the concept of not digging a line in the sand or taking a position that can’t be moved.
Even if your case does not step foot in a courtroom, it’s good to have an understanding of how the law works to get a basic idea of what is a good deal in your case. Of course, a good deal also accounts for subjective things like your particular needs or your spouse’s particular needs.
This requires a lot of trust, so the best thing you can do is check the attorney out thoroughly at the beginning of the process, so you understand how you guys will work together.
An experienced divorce lawyer should show you how much you can discuss with your spouse and examples of off-limit discussions.
Good divorce lawyers are excellent communicators. They must be available to answer your questions at any time while reaching you for information if need be.
However, if you’re unable to hire a good lawyer, you’ll struggle to make a case, and the divorce may end up unfavorably.
If an attorney has a high caseload, it may put you in the backlog, leading to negligence and jeopardizing the divorce process.
A peaceful divorce with no financial disagreements will be less expensive than a divorce with many conflicts over finances and custody.
Like most things relating to divorce, it is almost impossible to determine how much you will be shelling out for the divorce process.
However, not all divorces can be processed collaboratively. The success of a collaborative divorce process depends on the cooperation of your spouse.
Ask about the general process and steps, the documentation needed, temporary orders/agreements that may be needed, and an approximate timeline.
One of the biggest complaints lawyers get is that their clients feel that they often don’t know what is happening with their case. That is why it is important that you find an attorney you will feel comfortable communicating with. Here are some of the most important questions to ask your attorney when you meet for the first time: 1.
Maybe another attorney has more experience with a particular legal issue and will draft the motion or response? Or maybe, the paralegal/legal assistant can draft the document at a lower hourly rate, saving the client money.
In some firms, only one attorney works on the client’s case whereas other offices take a more collaborative approach.
Lawyers are ethically required to be transparent about how much their hourly rate is and their fee structure. Your fee agreement should explain everything you need to know about billing but most importantly you should discuss ways you can save on fees.
Your attorney may end up seeing you when you’re not at your best, which is alright if you have a good attorney-client relationship. Experienced family law attorneys understand how difficult divorce is and will help you see past your immediate problems so you can envision yourself moving on and starting over again.
Settlement is typically better than taking things to trial, unless one spouse is being unreasonable. If you are divorcing a narcissist, there may not be anything you can do to make your former partner see reason, but there are persuasive reasons to work together during a divorce. 6.
Now, you might need to hire a lawyer immediately if your spouse has already filed for a divorce, however, if you are the one thinking about filing it, you could wait for several days, weeks, or months before making a decision. If you want to hire a specific attorney, they’ll ...
Hence, during your first consultation, you should discuss some methods that will help you properly manage the financial aspect of your case. Keep in mind, the expenses, in the end, won’t only depend on you or your legal representative, it will also depend on your spouse too.
You probably already know that the entire process of getting a divorce is expensive, which is why most people worry about their finances. The expenses you’ll have will depend on a wide range of things including how complex your case is, whether there is custody of the kids involved, as well as how well you can work with your spouse during the divorce.
Getting a divorce is always extremely stressful for everyone involved, and the situation gets even more serious and daunting when there are children involved. So, if you are feeling uncertainty and denial as you prepare to meet with your divorce lawyer for the very first time, know that it is not unusual and that it happens to everyone.
The entire process of getting a divorce is stressful, complex, and extremely difficult for all parties involved. However, by talking to your lawyer and asking them the aforementioned questions, they’ll be able to explain what you’ll have to expect during the process, as well as how it will look like.
A lawyer can advise you on the ways to protect yourself and your assets. These can save you a lot of money and aggravation down the road, as your divorce proceeding continues.
Some divorce cases can be settled out of court, so there is not always a need for a trial.
Your first meeting with a lawyer might be with a single person or multiple people, but do not be alarmed if you are told multiple people are working on your case. Different lawyers with ranging skill levels and experience will usually work on your case. Achieving a favourable ruling is a collaborative effort. Typically work is driven to the person with the lowest hourly rate who can do the work that is necessary. This may include: associates, clerks, assistants and students.