4 Things Many Divorce Lawyers Won't Tell Their Clients
Divorce Lawyer Secrets Revealed!
An estimated 1 million couples get divorced each year.
Because there is such high demand for legal advice in this area, the field of attorneys offering to assist divorcing couples has broadened considerably.
Many of these attorneys specialize in other areas of law.
They are drawn to divorce cases because such cases are oftentimes lucrative.
A divorce in which both parties are fighting about property division, custody rights, and child and spousal support can potentially cost tens of thousands of dollars.
Divorcing couples would be well-served learning what to expect during and after a divorce. The education might prove surprising.
The problem is, many lawyers are unwilling to share the details since doing so might adversely affect their practices.
That makes the information hard to come by.
Below, we’ll reveal several particulars that divorce attorneys rarely share with their clients – at least, not until they’re asked.
The more you know, the better decisions you can make regarding how to proceed with your own divorce.
#1 – “I’m Not An Expert In Money Matters”
Settlement negotiations typically involve analyzing each party’s income, assets, and investments.
Doing so often involves the use of complex financial formulas.
Some lawyers are familiar with such tools and know-how to use them to value assets.
Others are far less familiar to the point of not knowing how to use them at all.
This can lead to egregious errors when calculating the value of an asset or the projected return of a particular investment.
Couples with substantial assets should find out whether their attorneys have expertise in dealing with such matters. It may be worth hiring a financial advisor who can fill in the gaps.
#2 – “I Don’t Specialize In Divorce Cases”
Many lawyers specialize in a particular field of law.
For example, some focus on insurance. Others concentrate on personal bankruptcy. Still, others devote the majority of their time to cases that involve employment discrimination, medical malpractice, or real estate.
And of course, many focus on divorce.
A lot of attorneys don’t have a particular specialty.
They take all types of cases, which means they split their time among various areas of law.
As a result, these legal professionals lack the time to develop a high degree of expertise in any one field, including divorce.
It’s important to hire a lawyer who can effectively advocate for your legal rights. To that end, hiring someone who specializes in divorce law is usually advisable.
#3 – “Most Divorce Cases Are Expensive”
It’s not uncommon to see attorneys advertising low-cost divorces.
Some offer to handle the entire affair for less than a few hundred dollars.
In most cases, this is nothing more than marketing.
To be sure, there are exceptions.
If a couple is seeking an uncontested divorce, dissolving their marriage may be as simple as completing and filing a few documents with the courts.
This assumes both parties agree on how to divide their marital property, how custody of their children is handled, and whether support – child or spousal – will be paid by one spouse to the other.
Otherwise, lengthy settlement negotiations and nasty court battles can boost the final bill to thousands of dollars.
#4 – “Your Divorce Can Lead To Financial Problems”
Divorce can be tough on a couple’s finances.
One spouse might have relied on his or her partner’s income over several years while staying home and caring for their children. Or, one person may have worked part-time or devoted his or her time to start a business, while the other spouse paid the mortgage, bills, and household expenses.
After the two parties go their separate ways, the person with the smaller income might have trouble surviving.
This is a detail many attorneys remain silent about.
Not wishing to dissuade their clients from retaining their services, they refrain from bringing up the topic.
Unfortunately, this means many of their clients are unprepared for the financial dire straits that may await them.
Being aware of the four items above will help divorcing couples select the right lawyers and approach the divorce process with the proper expectations.
In many ways, those are the keys to ensuring that divorce – even an uncontested one – proceeds as smoothly as possible.
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