5 Questions a Divorce Lawyer Will Ask You
Here is a list of the 9 things you should never do during a divorce:
Becoming a divorce lawyer takes seven years of formal higher education, including a four-year bachelorâs degree and a three-year law degree. Read on to learn more about required education, skills and career statistics. Is becoming a lawyer difficult? 1. The challenging years of law school. The process of becoming a lawyer isnât for the ...
Top 10 Things to Do Before You File For a DivorceNever Threaten to Divorce Until You Are Ready To File. ... Organize Your Documents. ... Focus on Your Children. ... Make Sure You Have Three Months of Financial Resources. ... Obtain the Best Legal Advice You Can Get. ... Make Sure You Have Available Credit.More items...
Questions to Ask Your Lawyer During a Consultation1) What kind of experience do you have with similar cases?2) What would be your strategy for my case?3) Are there any alternatives to going to court?4) What are my possible outcomes?5) Who will actually handle my case?6) What is my role in my case?More items...â˘
12 Tough Questions to Ask a LawyerWhat's your opinion of the probate process?Under what conditions do you recommend a Living Trust?How do I protect my children from abusive relatives if something happens to me?Can I keep my kids from controlling their entire inheritance at 18?More items...â˘
10 Things You Should Know Before Contacting a LawyerHave Your Documents Ready. ... Research the Elements of Your Case. ... Don't Call if You Just Have a Question. ... You May Not Speak to a Lawyer Right Away. ... Do Not Ask the Legal Support Staff for Advice. ... Don't Provide Too Much Information. ... Answer the Lawyer's Specific Questions.More items...â˘
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 isnât a right answer, but itâs good to know in advance what the scope of communication will be.
Alimony is a numbers game. Sometimes the best way to prepare and present the back alimony case is to play the numbers game using experts. For example, forensic accounting experts and vocational rehabilitative experts can help support or defend an alimony claim.
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.
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 youâre meeting with think that this is a reasonable possibility in your case? Why or why not?
Divorce cases are âsingle potâ cases, where the monies spent on the case can correspondingly lead to a decrease in money available for the parties. Cost-benefit analysis is required at every stage of the game.
Even if your case does not step foot in a courtroom, itâs 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 spouseâs 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.
When discussing with your divorce lawyer for the first time, itâs crucial to ask for testimonials from past clients.
An experienced divorce lawyer should show you how much you can discuss with your spouse and examples of off-limit discussions.
If an attorney has a high caseload, it may put you in the backlog, leading to negligence and jeopardizing the divorce process.
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 youâre unable to hire a good lawyer, youâll struggle to make a case, and the divorce may end up unfavorably.
Collaborative divorce is mostly an out-of-court agreement to dissolve a marriage on peaceful terms.
The divorce attorney is offering a service. Most service providers donât get it right at the first attempt. While they get better over time, you donât want to be a source of experience to the lawyer.
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 theyâve 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. Thatâs why I highly recommend interviewing at least 2-3 attorneys before selecting one. Donât let anyone pressure you into working with them, either. This process is going to get harder before it gets easier, so itâs important that the lawyer by your side â the lawyer who is going to be learning a lot about the inner workings of your marriage, your finances, and more â is someone that you trust, respect, and actually like.
Before you pull into the attorneyâs parking lot, repeat this mantra: No two divorces are alike! No two divorces are alike! Having an open mind about the hard thingsâ 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 summerâ will help your prospective attorney come up with a strategy that meets your long term goals and makes sense for your unique circumstances.
For many women, the âgoalâ of hiring an attorney may simply be âget me outta this marriage!â But honing in on what you want your life to look like after the divorce dust has settled can be a useful tool for identifying how you want to work through the process of ending your marriage.
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.
For Christy, receiving this information allows her to give the most bang for a potential clientâs 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.
You can cut down significantly on fees by forming a relationship with team members who bill at a lower hourly rate.