Meeting a lawyer is often the first step of initiating divorce proceedings. If you’ve never been in this position before, you might be nervous or unsure about what’s expected of you. You might be navigating a difficult emotional landscape since the matter is so personal. You might even be wondering if a divorce lawyer is necessary at all.
Are you splitting from your spouse and wondering what’s next? Consider this your guide to consulting a divorce attorney.
The Purpose of a Divorce Attorney
To get the most out of your meetings with a divorce attorney, you should know why you’re going to them in the first place. Once you have a foundational understanding of their purpose, you can figure out the scale and scope of how you’ll utilize them. You can also narrow your shared focus to your most pressing needs, and you can make use of their time, knowledge, and resources to your fullest benefit.
Knowing Your Rights
The biggest advantage of having a divorce attorney is that they’ll know your rights during your separation. You might be entitled to certain things when dividing your assets, sharing custody of your children, or requesting or providing spousal support. If you aren’t aware of these laws, your ex’s lawyer might take advantage of your ignorance.
Preparing the Paperwork
There can be a lot of paperwork during a divorce, including:
- Court filings, including petitions and orders
- Financial disclosures
- Asset division agreements
- Subpoenas for documents and records
- Settlement arrangements
- Custody or visitation plans
A good divorce attorney will help you with everything: filling out the documents, filing them by the deadlines, and responding to similar paperwork from the other side.
Negotiating With Your Ex
It’s a good idea to have an intermediary when dealing with your soon-to-be ex. Especially if tensions are high, negotiating with them can be a mental and emotional minefield. It might also be an extended battle: You’ll have to settle all kinds of time-consuming matters regarding money, custody, property, debt, and spousal support. Their lawyer will be looking at you as their opponent. Having your own champion in the courtroom can really ease your burden.
Good Questions to Ask a Divorce Attorney
Hiring a lawyer is a two-way street: You both need to choose each other. This means getting to know them, establishing trust in their services, and feeling confident that they’ll successfully represent your interests in court.
To properly vet your lawyer, here are a few background questions to ask them:
- How long have you been practicing family law?
- How many divorces have you handled?
- Have you worked in this state or county before?
- Are you fully licensed? Do you have any special certifications?
- Can you provide any references from previous clients?
Once you’ve established their general competence in the field, you can ask more specific questions about how they’ll handle your divorce:
- What do you think is the most realistic outcome for my case?
- What’s your fee structure? How much will you charge me?
- How often will we meet or communicate?
- Do you foresee any problems with my case right now?
- What do I need to prepare next?
Getting Ready For Your First Meeting With a Divorce Attorney
Divorce consultations don’t follow a set pattern. Since every case is different, every approach will be different as well. This is especially true when things get complicated with assets or child custody.
Despite the individual nature of divorces, however, you can follow some general guidelines when preparing to meet a lawyer for the first time.
Make a Folder of Your Documents
Documentation is key during a divorce. You’ll need records of everything. Your paperwork might include pay stubs, debt statements, property records, marriage licenses, birth certificates, and temporary orders for support or custody. Put it all in a folder and let your prospective lawyer take a look.
Establish Your Goals
What are you hoping to accomplish during your divorce? What matters to you? If you have kids, maybe your priority is obtaining custody or securing regular rights to visitation. If you’re wealthy, maybe you want to protect certain assets or incomes; if your spouse is wealthy, maybe you want to negotiate for alimony. These ambitions are important to discuss with your lawyer. You want to be on the same page regarding your hopes and dreams for the future.
Write Down Your Questions
Do you remember all of those questions about the lawyer’s experience, background, and fee structure? Write them down. Type them into your phone. Make sure to have some way to record their responses, too. It’s easy to forget an important question when you’re nervously sitting in a law office for the first time.
Hiring a Divorce Attorney After Your Consultation
Congratulations! Everything went well, and you want to hire the lawyer for your divorce. Before you shake hands, there are a few more things to figure out.
The first is paperwork. Typically, lawyers and clients sign what’s known as a “retainer,” or a contract for legal services. Retainers usually include information on services, prices, and rates. You might also be asked to sign client information forms or authorization forms so that your lawyer can obtain records on your behalf.
You’ll also want to discuss your next meeting. This might be scheduled in advance, or it might happen whenever your lawyer has news or additional questions for you. Either way, you should talk about how and when to follow up.
It isn’t easy to choose a divorce attorney. It isn’t easy to have a consultation about a matter so sensitive and potentially complicated. With the right mindset, however, and a diligent and practical approach, you can secure the services of a good divorce lawyer like the attorneys at Davis & Associates.
