When you are going through a divorce, it can be an overwhelming process. You need a good divorce lawyer who’s experienced to help you work through the divorce process. In most cases, it’s best to work with a local divorce lawyer. Local attorneys not only know your state’s divorce laws but also the courts and judges you will face. Knowing what to expect in court will help you feel more confident.
When you go to your first meeting with your divorce lawyer, they will ask for details about your marriage and how long you have been separated. They will ask for information to determine which grounds you can use for divorce. You’ll need to give them financial information. Although giving personal information may seem embarrassing, it’s necessary so the attorney will know how to prepare the guidelines for your divorce settlement.
You may have many questions as you go through the months preceding your court appearance. Having divorce attorney advice will be invaluable for your peace of mind. You may still need support and advice if you are courageous enough to represent yourself in a divorce. If this is your situation, a divorce consultant can help you through your divorce process.
A divorce can be a tough event for everyone involved, especially if it’s not amicable or if it’s a contested divorce. Having children further complicates the situation. Asking for family law advice and hiring an affordable divorce lawyer can be important to remedying the situation fairly and relatively peacefully. One or both parties will certainly have legal questions about divorce and parental rights for fathers and parental rights for unmarried couples are often common questions. Many may worry about divorce attorney fees, but those are a relatively small price to pay for the expert knowledge you’ll receive in return. For particularly volatile cases, your attorney may even be able to arrange for mediation, which can help settle the dispute out of court, in terms of property division, child custody, etc. (This is often a better road to go down rather than letting the court prescribe a parenting plan.) So what do you need to know?
What Are Common Factors Leading to Divorce?
Many people believe that the key to not getting divorced is simply not to get married at all. However, it can often be even more difficult for unmarried couples to settle their relationship disputes if they’re unmarried and have finances and property together. Of course, each divorce is individual in its own way, since each relationship is unique. However, there are some common statistics available. The U.S. Census Bureau reports that most first marriages that end in divorce usually last about eight years. And marriages where the women are two or more years older than their husband are over 50% more likely to end than marriages where husbands or over three years older or a year younger than their spouses. Sweden conducted a study that found that people who spend over 45 minutes commuting each day are more prone to divorce. (Which makes sense, considering that communication — or lack thereof — is usually a contributing factor to divorce as well.)
What Are Some Questions to Ask a Divorce Attorney?
The chances are that you’re going to have an initial consultation with your divorce attorney before you hire him or her and this is a good place to ask some questions, such as what divorce attorney fees you can expect, what the divorce procedures in your state are, whether you can receive (or have to provide) alimony, child custody, and splitting money and property between each other. Divorce attorney fees can often differ depending on the attorney you retain — some will bill per hour, others will charge a fixed fee. You want to take the long view, especially since some divorce proceedings can take years to finally settle. You want to make sure that the divorce attorney fees aren’t astronomical by the end of the case. This is also the time to ask about the best plan for your children, if you have any, and what you can expect (or hope) the outcome will look like and how your attorney will handle things.
What About the Kids?
This can often be the biggest questions for parents who are getting a divorce. They want to make sure the right thing is done by their children and this can be especially difficult if one parent feels the other parent is unfit. However, mediation (a type of alternative dispute resolution, also known as ADR) can help resolve some of those issues, keeping it out of court. The two parties are represented by an attorney and a third-party mediator monitors the process. The divorcees are encouraged to work together to settle their issues outside of court, which is good, because most parenting plans, or spousal and child support orders from the court are inflexible and impersonal and may not work best for the families involved. Usually a collaborative approach will allow parents to work out a flexible and creative plan for their children.
Divorce can be an incredibly tricky process and it’s best to have good legal representation from Day 1, especially if you believe it’s going to be a nasty fight. You want to make sure that you’re being treated fairly and that your children (if you have them) are impacted as little as possible.
