Divorce Lawyer
In the unlikely event you have to retain the services of a divorce lawyer, you will need to know you have the right one; ensure they have at least the following abilities:
*A Specialist in this area *Have the right attitude for this work *Proven to be reliable
Ideally your divorce attorney should be spending half their time dealing with divorce cases and preferably one who is a good mediator. However, none of this will be any good without your complete trust in their abilities.
Adversarial attorneys will use the hammer to crack a walnut approach which often happens when these cases go to court whereas an attorney who specializes in mediation will take a much calmer approach. The most important thing is to be very well prepared whenever you contact your divorce lawyer so know your facts, what you want to ask about and exactly what you want the lawyer to explain or do for you.
This is best done by knowing exactly what you intend to speak to them about and write down questions and answers in addition to when, and the length of the conversation on each occasion. As all costs relating to law and legal advice are costly, try not to visit them at the office unless absolutely necessary; this can be achieved by using the phone or mail.
Regard your attorney as a resource, not someone you depend on for emotional support because they cost too much for you to use them for sympathy and consolation; besides, you have family and friends for that. Try always to stick to pertinent facts when speaking to your divorce lawyer, not general complaints about your spouse’s behavior as this is just a waste of your money if use them as a sounding board.
You really want your lawyer to know that you are in control and in charge of what is going on and that they are to help you with legal and technical issues and not to get your life straight. Your legal representative must be told up front that whilst his or her advice is essential, all decisions regarding the divorce will be made by you. You must also let them know that you expect copies of all correspondence to be sent to you for you own records and if you contact them by phone, you expect a reply within one working day.
Not all cases need a courtroom to be decided upon so you could employ a lawyer just to help you with a marital settlement, legal information or advice. In these circumstances you may only need to write down any issues you are unsure about and speak to your lawyer regarding those, and possible outcomes. If the break up is relatively amicable then a marital settlement might be the better option and the use of a divorce lawyer could be restricted to just help with this task.