When it comes to divorce, you require an attorney who will fight hard for your rights – be it custody, alimony, or the division of assets and debts.
At the end of the day, it’s important to feel like your attorney has your undivided attention. They should have a manageable caseload and strong knowledge of local divorce laws.
You Need a Legal Professional
Divorce can be an emotional time, yet also presents crucial decisions that must be made. A professional can assist in prioritizing what matters most and guide you through the process, as well as help protect your rights through negotiation or litigation if needed.
Hiring a lawyer can help protect against making costly errors and delay in your divorce case. A good attorney will manage all the details involved with filing documents, meeting deadlines and more; they can even help with collecting evidence that will support your claim, which could take up much of their time depending on your individual situation. Moreover, their advice regarding issues like child custody, property division and spousal support can prove invaluable.
Hiring an excellent divorce lawyer is critical to your case, but choosing one should not be done hastily or on price alone. Finding an attorney you feel at ease with and who has expertise tailored specifically for your unique situation will allow for easier communication, discussion of sensitive topics and ultimately reaching a desired resolution more smoothly.
As part of your research process, it’s also crucial to take note of an attorney’s approach to your case. Some may utilize more collaborative methods of resolution in an effort to stay out of court proceedings while others might advocate more aggressively on your behalf in trial proceedings. Find a firm and attorney whose philosophy best aligns with yours on how best to navigate divorce.
Engaging a knowledgeable divorce attorney can save you time, money, and stress. They’ll handle the legal details while leaving you free to focus on what’s most important: your family.
Hiring an experienced divorce lawyer is worth your while – whether it be to draft a separation agreement, ensure fairness in the divorce, or simply get some support through sharing emotions and fears with someone. A good attorney could make all the difference when it comes to winning or losing your case.
You Need a Game Plan
An experienced divorce attorney will help guide the legal side of the process; however, it’s crucial that you develop your own game plan on how best to proceed.
Establish your goals, define what you desire from a divorce settlement and understand what’s most important to your spouse. While emotional circumstances may obscure our vision of reality, taking time out to understand deeper issues will make reaching a mutually satisfactory solution easier.
As soon as your assets remain marital, it’s advisable to complete any unfinished business – for example, maintenance on the house or car that could become more challenging after divorce – such as taking care of any maintenance items that will become more challenging once separate finances come into play. You might also consider setting up an “Armageddon Fund.” Create discreet means of stashing away money that you can use post-divorce to manage on tight budget.
Finally, it is equally essential to mentally prepare for divorce. Divorce can be an emotional rollercoaster; your emotions could fluctuate widely as the days unfold and it could impact both your mood and ability to think clearly. Seek professional assistance such as therapy from mental health providers so they can assist in helping manage any difficult emotions in this difficult period of life.
At this stage in your marriage breakdown process, it’s wise to avoid any drastic lifestyle changes, like moving out or quitting a job, that might hinder the likelihood of getting an equitable divorce settlement and could create tension with your former partner. Also try staying as much in your children’s lives as possible both for them as well as custody reasons; and remember not quitting work to conceal assets or avoid paying spousal support as this could end up costing more in the end anyway if such plans or strategies come to fruition – make sure they’re discussed beforehand with an attorney.
You Need Realistic Options
Your first priority as a client should be for your divorce attorney is helping you understand all your legal options and expectations of the process. While you may have experienced your marriage breaking up without guidance or knowledge from anyone, their vast experience should provide invaluable advice as to what should happen during this process.
Your lawyer can also offer guidance about what reasonable requests to make from your spouse; therefore it’s crucial that you heed his or her advice and carefully consider the repercussions of any choices made. It is also essential that both parties work towards reaching a fair compromise that allows both of them to walk away feeling like some part of what they wanted was accomplished.
Becoming an active client can save both time and money, so ensure you respond promptly to your attorney and their team in order to keep your case running smoothly and avoid missing deadlines imposed by the court.
Finally, be wary of adding any new debt to your credit card accounts during this process, as doing so can damage your credit and delay your divorce settlement. While you may need credit cards for bills and living expenses during a divorce proceeding, try as much as possible to do this with caution to prevent creating unnecessarily additional debt.
Remember, however, if you hire an attorney solely to punish your spouse this can be harmful in several ways. First of all, most courts do not reward bad behavior with extra spousal support or financial damages; additionally if adding more attorney hours trying to punish your partner will cost you over time as it forces more of their valuable time on your case and reduces what should have been a fair settlement of marital assets and cash assets for you in your divorce settlement agreement.
You Need a Fight
Your lawyer should work for your best interests. If yours seems passive or is miscommunicating with you, or does not seem to have an approach tailored specifically to your case, try speaking up. If it continues, perhaps its time to look elsewhere.
However, it’s best not to fight in public as doing so could damage both parties involved over time. Sharing details of your fight on social media or leaking out publicly could do serious damage to both relationships involved and make reconciliation much harder.
Fighting with your lawyer could damage your case in court. Most experienced divorce attorneys only go before the judge when there is clear and compelling reason to do so, otherwise looking for alternative settlement solutions outside the courtroom if feasible.
Engaging in combative behaviour with your lawyer may make them believe you will be easily pressured into making concessions during negotiations, rather than protecting their legal rights and negotiating for optimal results in a timely fashion. It is up to the lawyer to protect his or her client’s legal interests while simultaneously working toward finding positive resolution.
If you feel your lawyer is failing to represent your interests in an ethical and professional manner, filing a formal complaint with your state’s bar association is the way forward.