| Jean
Mahserjian
Selecting a divorce attorney is a critical decision
making process. The person who you hire will be responsible for
obtaining or maintaining your custody rights to your children,
your property interests, and depending upon the side you are one,
either minimizing or maximizing your support rights. In reality,
selecting a divorce attorney is also an incredibly stressful experience.
Do it right and you can breath easy. Do it wrong and you will
spend years making up for losses that might have been prevented.
There are a few tried and true tactics that you should be using
when you select a divorce attorney. Before you even begin, you
need to identify the type of case that you will be involved in.
Will you be mediating your divorce? Will you be negotiating? Or,
will your case be one of those cases that goes to court and becomes
a knock down, drag out divorce litigation? There are divorce attorneys
who specialize in these different types of cases and you need
to hire the type of divorce attorney who is best suited to the
type of case that you have. If you need to deal with a knock down,
drag out litigation, you do not want a mediation attorney trying
to protect your interests. Likewise, if you are going through
mediation, the last thing you want is a divorce attorney who will
try to create issues and move you towards litigation.
So, step one in the process of selecting a divorce
attorney is to identify the type of case that you have. Next,
start asking people for help. Since the divorce rate in the United
States is at about 50%, chances are you know at least several
people who have been through a divorce. Ask about their process,
how they selected a divorce attorney, and how their attorney performed
for them.
AFter you have received the names of several divorce
attorneys that you received from asking other people, go online
and start researching those attorneys and others. Many divorce
attorneys have websites, write articles, and advertise on divorce
portal websites. You can get quite a bit of information about
how an attorney approaches cases and treats clients by reviewing
their website.
After you have reviewed the divorce attorney websites,
make a list of at least two and as many as five divorce attorneys
who you think you will be comfortable speaking with. Call the
offices of those divorce attorneys and schedule consultations.
Some of those attorneys will charge you for a consultation; the
more experience the attorney has, the more likely that you will
have to pay for time with that attorney.
When you attend a consultation with a divorce
attorney, be prepared. Make an outline of the history of your
marriage and the problems facing you now. If you or your spouse
has filed any papers in court, make sure you bring them with you.
Bring one or two years tax returns or a recent financial statement
so that the divorce attorney can review some of your financial
data before being asked questions about "results".
Make sure you ask each divorce attorney questions
about how that attorney's office operates in response to client
phone calls, emails, or other inquiries or needs. If you will
be working with a divorce attorney who has no other attorney in
their office, be prepared to wait in line when you have a need
for a response. That attorney will have other clients who have
needs just as significant as yours, and an attorney can be responsive
to only one client at a time. Even with that drawback, there may
be a divorce attorney who you feel is just right for you who is
also a solo practitioner. That is a trade off that you may have
to get comfortable with.
After you have completed all of the consultations
and reviewed the answers to all of your questions, decide which
divorce attorney you felt most comfortable with and which one
you believe will work with you to get the type of results that
you want.
For more help and information on this topic, visit our site at:
http://www.millenniumdivorce.com About the Author Jean Mahserjian
has been practicing law for almost two decades,
| 
Overview
