Before you choose your divorce lawyer, be sure to complete your due diligence and make sure they are the best fit for you and your situation. Our Firm recommends Abigail Trafford’s Crazy Life: Surviving Divorce and Building a New Life; which gives straight-shooter advice and tips on how to navigate the divorce process, including how to choose the right attorney.
Before your consultation, be sure to make a list of questions you want answers to, and topics you want more information about. Your lawyer or divorce coach can alleviate your anxiety by providing the answers and information you need during your consultation.
- Share what is the best case scenario with your attorney to give them a vision of what success looks like for you. Share your goals regarding your life post-divorce. This will give your lawyer a concrete idea about what you want to accomplish. Your lawyer can prevent you from having unrealistic goals, and provide realistic alternatives or solutions to your concerns and issues on the divorce process.
- Get organized. When you have filed for divorce or want to transfer your existing case to another firm, it is essential to file all pertinent documents in one place: a folder, binder, or a large envelope all work. Be sure you secure it in a place that is not accessible by your spouse. This will help you keep track of all your documents and storing them in one place will ease your access to them. All documents you have been served with or have served to anyone should be in one file, bring with you to your consultation. Your lawyer will be able to help you determine what your next course of action is.
- Keep your mind open and practice patience. We know you probably prefer to walk away with all the assets you hope to claim. But in many, if not all cases, you will have to come to some form of compromise. Be prepared to be challenged by some aspect or part of the process and be willing to make some allowances. At the end of the day, your lawyer has your best interests at heart, so try to heed their suggestions and recommendations. They have the best understanding of the divorce process.
Divorce is a stressful time. Our goal is to be there to make the process as painless and efficient as possible. Be patient with your lawyer, the process, and yourself. You will make it through in one piece, we promise. Embrace the virtues of patience and compromise and you will come out on the other end a stronger person.
