Typically, coming up with a decision to get divorced from your spouse can be a difficult experience. Unless you’re a legal professional yourself, you need the assistance of an experienced divorce attorney to navigate the whole process, including the outcomes of a divorce. A good attorney knows the ins and outs of family law and can represent your interests to the best of their ability.
However, the process of looking for the right legal counsel can be daunting. With several lawyers to choose from, it’s much more difficult to pick the one who can handle the divorce proceedings more efficiently.
Thus, if you’re planning for divorce anytime soon, below are five tips to find the right attorney for your situation:
- Know What You Want From Your Lawyer
Before you start the search process, it’s essential to ask yourself what you want from your lawyer. Whether you’re looking for someone who’s emotionally supportive, impersonal yet focused, or someone who can provide a one-on-one personal experience, make sure you know what you want and expect from them before making a hiring decision.
For example, if you want to get personal experience for your divorce proceedings, then you may start your search by looking for a sole practitioner. However, if personal experience isn’t as important to you, you may consider working with family lawyers or a large firm in that case. Whatever your choice is, be sure you know what you really want to avoid working with the wrong divorce attorney.
- Ask For Referrals And Recommendations
There are different ways to learn about potential divorce lawyers. But one of the common methods is through referrals and recommendations. This means if you have family members, friends, or acquaintances who have undergone the path of divorce, they may refer you to the legal professional they’ve worked with before.
Since they have many positive things to share about their experience, their referrals and recommendations can be a good starting point in finding the right professional for your needs.
- Search Online
If you can’t get referrals and recommendations from your family and friends, another best option is to conduct a search online. Many divorce attorneys have websites that can give you a sense of their area of expertise, practice description, and what type of legal representation you can expect from them. For instance, you can check the client review section of their websites and see what their previous clients have to say about them.
Moreover, you can check many third-party review websites to get a list of prospective attorneys who can represent you in the divorce proceedings. These online resources can help you narrow down your options so you can pick the perfect legal practitioner for your situation.
- Interview Your Potential Attorneys
Now that you have a list of prospective divorce attorneys, it’s time to interview and get to know them better. In most cases, you may be unable to learn about your potential legal representative if you don’t sit down and talk to them. So, be sure to schedule a free consultation with your prospects. You can then ask the following questions to narrow your options so you’ll be able to find the right one:
- How long have they practiced? It’s best to know how long they’ve been in the practice of law so you have an idea whether they have experience in handling cases similar to yours.
- Do they have any particular specialties? To protect your interests in the divorce proceedings, don’t hesitate to ask your potential lawyer about their specializations. Whether their specialties include custody, property allocation, support, or even tax planning after divorce, make sure you know these things to determine if they’re the right fit for you.
- What fee arrangement should they anticipate? Unlike other legal practitioners who are paid on a contingency basis, most divorce attorneys charge their services per hour. Thus, to make sure you’re paying the right amount to the right person, ask about their fee arrangement before making a hiring decision.
- Watch Out For Red Flags
Another tip for finding the perfect attorney who can handle your divorce case is to look out for some red flags. These red flags are indications that the lawyers don’t know what they’re doing and they’re incompetent and unprofessional to handle your case.
Hence, to avoid working with the bad ones, be sure to watch out for the following red flags:
- Lack of interest in handling your divorce case, such as unfamiliar with the specifics of your case;
- Unresponsive to phone calls, emails, and even text messages;
- Lack of compassion toward you and your situation;
- Disrespectful attitude;
- Excessive billing of legal fees and other charges.
Bottom Line
Indeed, divorce can be a complicated process. As such, having the right divorce attorney can be a good idea since they can make the whole process more seamless. Therefore, if you’ve decided to take the path of divorce, keep these tips in mind so you can easily find the right legal representative who can help you navigate the entire proceedings. In doing so, you’ll have peace of mind knowing your rights and interests are protected from start to finish.