Even if a marriage has failed, one has the option to start afresh after a divorce. This new start can significantly depend on the divorce lawyer whose services you avail. It’s a momentous decision and can affect your future life. Therefore, it’s crucial that you select a good, or more aptly, the right divorce lawyer.
Getting Started
So, how does one start the process of engaging a good divorce lawyer? The best place to start will be to ask someone among your family or friends who have gone through with it. You may be aware of the circumstances of their divorce and how much similar or different they were from yours. If they strongly recommend a divorce lawyer, it could, very well, be worth checking out. If there is no one you know of, you can start from simple yellow pages and advertisements. There are many attorneys who specialize in family and divorce law. Choose three or four of them and try to arrange an appointment with them. This checkout interview will allow you to assess the lawyer’s commitment, his negotiating skills, his charging rates and the level of understanding and comfort you can reach with him. Briefly, tell him the details of your case and note his response and plan. Once you have met all of them, you can compare them and choose the one who is particularly suited to your needs. It’s important to spend some time on you selection and haste may cost you dearly. The following criteria are helpful:
- Affordability - Although good things never come cheap, you should get the best you can afford in your budget. Lawyers usually charge per hour and thus, cases that involve a lot of litigation prove to be expensive. This is one aspect in your divorce where penny pinching can land you in serious trouble and you could end up losing your just share. Also, apart from financial damage, losing the custody of your children could not be compensated with all the money in this world. But if you are in serious financial mess, you can seek help from pro bono lawyers. Similarly, if you have been a victim of abuse, you can contact help groups who work for the welfare of abuse victims and provide them free or subsidized legal help.
- Credentials and previous experience - Apart from being affordable, the lawyer should be a divorce specialist. Check out his previous records and testimonials. He should be qualified in family law and all of its aspects like custody and abuse. He should be experienced and well versed with the divorce laws of the place where you reside. All-purpose attorneys may not suit you, especially if the case is very complicated.
- Commitment - Practically it’s true that a divorce solicitor will get paid for his services and thus, he will not be your friend. However, a good divorce solicitor should be able to show his commitment to you and your case. You should not feel coaxed or forced into a divorce if you are not hundred percent sure. If you want an uncontested and an agreement based divorce, he should guide you, though it may mean lesser fees for him. If you want this type of divorce, choose a lawyer with a previous record of mediation and out-of-court settlements. He should be available without any hassles and willing to explain to you in simple language any points you need to clarify.
- Rapport - After talking to a few solicitors, you will come to know what makes you comfortable talking to a particular solicitor. Divorce usually means ugly fights and sharing of dark secrets so the level of understanding and comfort with your solicitor is important. The point is getting your thoughts and expectations across without misunderstandings.
Other than the above mentioned points, it is obvious that each divorce case is unique. So a very good divorce solicitor who specializes in financial settlements and asset division may not be right for you if you need the skills for child custody and parenting. If your spouse is a person with an angry bent of mind and a violent predisposition, the lawyer who can give him that kind of drama in a court of trial will be the best. Otherwise, for a serious spouse who believes in negotiations, a manipulator of a lawyer would probably work.
Once you have chosen the right divorce lawyer, you should explain in length, the circumstances of your divorce and your expectations from the case and discuss with him the strategy to achieve that. If you have chosen right, most probably, the scars will be lesser.
