Divorce is the last thing on the minds of those getting married, but when things turn sour it is the divorce lawyer called to pick up the pieces, rather than requiring the parties to sort out their own difficulties. As the old joke says, if those getting divorced could work things out for themselves, they wouldn’t need a divorce.
Mostly, people do not want to hire an attorney for a divorce and statistically family law actions have a high pro se filing rate. However few legal actions are as contentious as divorce lawsuits, with both parties frequently wanting to ‘win’ and to have their lawyer handle the battle for them.
Family – and divorce law – are one area of law that is never going to see demand fall away. The stream of new clients is continuing, never ending but making the decision as to when to call in the divorce lawyer is something that needs to be thought through carefully.
There are at least 5 key considerations anyone facing a divorce lawsuit needs to be aware of (although you can check articles like this in Huffington Post for additional divorce lawyer search tips)
1. Keep A Realistic Perspective
It’s not a key consideration when hiring a divorce attorney to have them listen to your anger and angst about your divorce.
You need to know that the purpose in hiring a divorce lawyer is to have your assets distributed and to resolve any issues there are about custody. When airing any number of issues with your lawyer will result in an increasingly frustrating, expensive and litigious process that will cost you money and emotional turmoil.
And you are, most of all, wasting your money by ‘sounding off’ about your partner or seeking some kind of therapeutic advice about how you should handle your divorce when there are key divorce issues to be resolved, which you need to keep firmly in mind when attending to to your divorce.
2. Keep a Clear Focus On What You Want to Achieve
Before you rush out to hire a divorce attorney, consider other alternatives to traditional litigation. If you aren’t completely entangled with children and finances, you could hire a mediator to help you negotiate the terms of your divorce.
Your last resort is a litigated trial. Typically, these are the cases when neither side will compromise. So you need to determine what type of divorce attorney you need based on your unique circumstances. Realize that any divorce attorney you talk to will try to steer you in the direction of their own specific expertise. It’s up to you to know what you want first, so you can make the right choice.
In most cases, it can be tempting to think of doing the divorce process yourself rather than hiring a divorce lawyer. But having an attorney on your side can make sure that you have crucial legal advice and you can have someone to lean on. An attorney can be there for you and can help you during this difficult time.
3. Consider Using Your Lawyer as a Mediator
When couples are going through a divorce process we know it can become increasingly acrimonious. Apart from parking those issues outside your attorney’s door, you can still use a good divorce lawyer as a mediator to prevent matters getting completely out of hand.
Keep in mind that in avoiding litigation you can also use a good divorce attorney to mediate, rather than litigate your case. There are options like a ‘collaborative divorce’ that can see the parties working to minimize cost and aggravation and (hopefully) achieve a quick result.
Besides, if there are bad terms between you and your spouse, you can decide to communicate through your lawyers. This reduces the amount of time you need to spend in awkward communication with the spouse.
Mediation is the fastest, cheapest way to get divorced. If your negotiation is more complicated, you’ll have to hire a divorce lawyer to negotiate a settlement with your spouse’s attorney. Or you could consider a collaborative divorce. A collaborative divorce is focused on negotiation with the goal of preserving a co-parenting relationship.
Remember that it can be hard for many people to remain detached and see things objectively while going through the divorce process. At this point, you need to hire a divorce attorney to guide you through this complex issue. attorneys can be an objective third-party who can assist you to make emotionless and rational decisions.
Another good thing of hiring a divorce attorney is that you can also get objective advice that comes from someone who has handled many cases similar to yours. An attorney also has the expert knowledge needed to make your divorce stress-free and as quick as possible.
4. Use The Expertise of the Lawyer
No matter how much you are think you may know about divorce, and depending upon your finances and family situation, the complexities of divorce frequently requires the assistance of an expert, experienced divorce lawyer.
And the stress of going through a divorce, on multiple levels, means that a good and experienced divorce lawyer will be able to assist in smoothing the process as much as possible.
There can be simpler ways of processing a divorce, but for those who are attempting to navigate the legal waters themselves there can also be numerous, expensive and time-consuming obstacles. Document filing and deadlines can lead to issues that create additional problems for those attempting their own divorces, quite apart from stress factors.
Having an expert lawyer will make the difference between the closest thing to a ‘happy’ divorce to an emotional and tumultuous breakup that can lead to ongoing problems for everyone.
5. Research and Interview Prospective Lawyers
You should undertake a legal search of a good lawyer to ensure you are happy with the choice you make, which may involve both word-of-mouth suggestions from friends and family, as well as using good legal sources to point you towards a divorce lawyer who can handle your work most effectively.
It is important that you feel comfortable with you lawyer and maintain an open and honest relationship.
Good lawyers will also work hard with a variety of those key people involved in the divorce process.
“I’ve worked with financial experts, psychologists, appraisers, accountants, and business evaluators to handle the most complex cases. When experts are needed in a case, we won’t hesitate to get them involved to insure you have the best outcome,” she says.
Whoever you choose, make sure you do so with some care as these decisions can have a major impact upon your future given custody, financial and other issues that revolve around divorce.
