Getting a divorce is not an easy decision to make and selecting the correct divorce attorney to represent you can also be very stressful and time consuming. It is already an emotional time for you and your family, so you at least want to ensure that the divorce proceedings are taken care of by professional family law attorneys. We have put together some tips and advice to help you create the right partnership for you:
Do You Actually Need A Divorce Attorney?
It could be that you have an amicable relationship with your partner and have already been separated for a while now. You maybe have already arranged to split assets and made mutual decisions when it comes to the care of your children and wealth.
Although, you can set out to do a DIY divorce with the best of intentions, these things can still get messy. It is always a good idea to ensure that you have sought legal advice to cover all eventualities. If not for anything else, you will have peace of mind knowing you have a professional with experience behind you.
Make Sure Your Attorney Is Reliable
Divorce can end up more complicated than you originally anticipated, which means that you will need a high level of support from your chosen representative. This means that you will need to ensure that not only they are reliable, but can be available in short notice should you need them. It is also useful to select an attorney that is in fairly close proximity to you, so you can meet them face to face without any problems.
Make Sure You Research The Practice
It is important to check out the attorneys you are thinking of using online to make sure they have the relevant expertise to represent you and to see what experiences other clients of theirs have had. For example, the family law attorneys Herrig & Vogt have over 100 years in combined experience (shown on their website) when it comes to family law, which will immediately put you at ease when considering a firm like this as your attorney.
You can also look at online reviews and their social media channels to see how they respond to clients. This will give you an indicator as to their level of service and give you an idea of how responsive they are.
Create A Good Relationship With Them
Whoever you choose to represent you on this journey will be assisting you with one of the most difficult times in your life, so it’s important you have a good relationship with them. Usually you will get a consultation to start the process off. Use this time to get to know them professionally and personally to make sure it is the correct fit.
Do not be afraid to ask them questions to make sure that they know what your needs and expectations are ahead of time. It could be that the first attorney is not for you. If that is the case do not worry, you can carry on looking.
Prepare For Your Consultation
If possible, choose a time when you are most relaxed and not in a rush. This will put you in a good frame of mind to have a good conversation with them. They will require some basic information, so make some notes if you need to ahead of time if you think you may forget or get anxious at the meeting. This could be date of marriage, estimated value of property, income for both parties etc. When going through a divorce, preparation is key in terms of giving you a better idea of what kind of settlement you would like to achieve.
Find Out Costs Upfront
Divorce can unfortunately be a costly experience and you need to prepare for what the cost may be to you. Attorney’s are used to people to let them know what their services will cost and how that is structured. It could be that they charge out on an hourly rate or that they have a set fee. In any case, it is important that you budget for it.
You can look into the average cost of divorce in the US by visiting Divorce Statistics.
Stay Focused On The End Result
You will be on a bit of an emotional rollercoaster ride when getting a divorce, however it is important for you to stay as focused as possible on what you want to achieve. It may be difficult, but try not to bring any negative energy or hostility into proceedings, as it will only cause unnecessary anguish and distraction. It could not only make the process more fraught with emotion and more costly if it drags out.
Be clear about what you want with your attorney and try to make the information you give them as factual as possible.
