Hiring an Attorney

Having an attorney can be a valuable resource as you pursue your divorce.  Besides knowing the law, being familiar with the courts, and having experience, attorneys are also trained to negotiate, argue, and write persuasively.  All of these skills will increase your chances of reaching your goals in your divorce.  At the same time, hiring the wrong attorney can hurt your case by causing delays, increased expense, and frustration.  Here are several tips to consider when deciding which attorney to hire:

Experienced in Divorce: This tip seems obvious, but you want to make sure your attorney has experience with divorce cases.  Whether an attorney has experience handling divorce cases does not always depend on how long they have been practicing law.  An attorney that has been practicing civil litigation or bankruptcy for ten years will be less experienced in divorce law than an attorney who has been practicing divorce law for two years.  Also, you need to look at what percentage of the firm or attorney’s cases are domestic cases (divorce, custody, etc.).  Compared to an attorney who handles predominately divorce cases, an attorney who handles a divorce case once per year will not have up-to-date knowledge to serve your legal goals.

Review The Attorney’s Free Pamphlet:  A great way to determine if an attorney knows what he is doing is by asking to review his free pamphlet on divorce.  The pamphlet should outline the general topics common in a divorce and give you suggestions on how to cope with the non-legal aspects of divorce.

Personality:  Make sure when you are interviewing attorneys to pay attention to whether you can get along with the attorney.  Handling any legal case requires a team approach between you and your attorney.  I often hear that people are looking for a “bulldog” attorney who will strike fear into the heart of the opposing attorney.  I have found that attorneys are not afraid of other attorneys, and a “bulldog” approach often makes your case cost more because not only does the opposing counsel not want to deal with your obnoxious attorney, but the judges are usually tired of that attorney’s “bulldog” tactics as well.  It is better to get along with your attorney, and to make sure your attorney has a good relationship with other attorneys to make sure your case can be resolved quickly and efficiently.

Price:  Most attorneys bill for their services by the hour and will require a retainer up front.  The current trend is for attorneys to request a lower retainer up front from clients because it gives the illusion that they are somehow cheaper than other attorneys.  While some attorneys might be slightly more quick at producing legal documents, you should know that overall you will likely spend much more than your retainer on your divorce.  The price you should look at is the hourly fee because that is the amount you will pay for each hour your attorney performs work.  For example, it is better to pay a $3,000.00 retainer to an attorney that bills $200.00 per hour than to pay a $1,000.00 retainer to an attorney who bills at $275.00 per hour.  If both attorneys spend thirty hours on your case, you will pay $4,500.00 to the first attorney, but $7,500.00 to the second, even though the second attorney only asked for a $1,000.00 retainer. A few attorneys are using flat rates for certain services.  For example (and I am making up amounts for illustrative purposes), they will do your petition for divorce for $500.00.  They will file for temporary orders for $3,000.00.  The positive side of this type of billing is that you know exactly what you will have to pay.  The negative side is that your attorney will not spend very much time on your case because the less time he spends, the more money he makes.  He may even give the work to his paralegal to do.

Who is Doing Your Legal Work?:  That leads me to the final tip.  Make sure you are hiring the attorney, not his paralegal.  In order to cut costs, and handle more cases, some attorneys employ a paralegal who performs much of the legal work and drafting of your legal documents.  The attorney just signs the documents.  Paralegals are trained to do basic legal work, like setting up files, coordinating cases with the court, writing letters, or helping clients on the phone.  Most paralegals have not attended law school, and most have not read or studied divorce law.  While it might be cheaper for you to have a paralegal doing your legal work, it could hurt your legal case.  Is saving a few bucks really worth the risk?  Make sure you find out from each attorney you talk to whether the attorney will be performing your legal work or whether he will pass it off to his paralegal.

Preparing for Divorce

            If you are considering a divorce from your spouse, you need to take a few steps to prepare for the actual process of getting a divorce.  You will need several things in place to make your divorce less stressful and place you in a stronger position in the litigation.  First, you will need a place to live if you are planning on leaving the marital home, you will need money to live on and pay for your attorney, you will need transportation, and you will need support from either friends, family, and/or professional counselors.

• A Place to Live:  If you will be staying in the marital home with your children, then you will need to figure out a way to keep paying on your mortgage at least for a few months.  Most spouses will not continue to pay for a house they are no longer living in without a court order, and it generally takes a few months to get a judge to order that your spouse help you with your expenses, if the judge orders that at all.  If you leave the marital home, you will need to find a place to live that has suitable accommodations for your children.  The Court does not like to have children sharing rooms with parents, and if the children are older, it does not like children of the opposite sex sharing a room.  The Court also does not like children going to apartments or houses where there are a bunch of roommates, because it is too difficult to gauge whether those roommates are appropriate to have around the children.  If you do have roommates, make sure your children have their own rooms with a private bathroom and living area.  Your best course of action is to get your own place.

• Money:    Divorce is a very emotional separation. I recognize that in some situations, you just need to get out to protect your physical or emotional health, and there is no time to plan.  It’s ok, we can figure that out later.  But, if you are considering divorce, and you are still living with your spouse, you need to plan for how you will live.  Open a separate bank account at a new bank where neither one of you has an account.  Take some of the funds you and your spouse have earned during the marriage, and put it in that new bank account.  In order to know how much you will need, consider that you will need to pay for housing, food, gas, utilities, car payment, an attorney, credit cards, other monthly bills, and any other regular expenses.  If you are in a position where a court will award you alimony, you still need to have some money set aside because the court can take several months to hear your case for alimony, and even then, may not award you what you need, especially if you and your spouse are currently suffering financial hardships.  Deciding how much money to set aside is a difficult decision.  I cannot tell you how much to set aside.  I can suggest you consider two factors:  Number one, if you do not set aside money for your divorce, when you file for divorce your spouse will likely take you off of all the joint accounts and cancel your joint credit cards.  Number two, if you take all of the marital money, the court will likely be unhappy with you at some point.  You should consider speaking with an attorney to get an idea of how much money you can take without hurting your divorce case.  Finally, make sure you only spend money on essential items and services to avoid being accused of squandering marital funds.  If you keep an accounting of where the funds are spent, it will go a long way toward showing the court that you did not take the money with malicious intent.

• Transportation:  If you plan on keeping custody of your children while you are in the process of getting a divorce, make sure you keep the car that can transport all the children.  The court will ultimately divide all of your assets between you and your spouse, but you want to make sure you have reliable transportation sufficient to transport your children if necessary while the Court figures out who should have what property.

• Support:  Most people who file for divorce do not consider the emotional strain it can have on them.  If they do think about the emotional strain, they do not consider how those emotions can negatively affect their divorce.  Most attorneys do not provide resources to their clients to help them cope with the emotional aspect of a divorce.  Many people end up paying their attorney way more than they should because they use their attorney as a psychologist.  Unfortunately, their money is wasted because attorneys are not psychologists.  If you are already seeing a counselor or psychologist, continue seeing that counselor.  I like to give each of my client’s resources so that they can cope with the emotional strain of a divorce without negatively affecting the outcome.  I suggest exercise, psychologists, ecclesiastical leaders, spas, family, fun activities with your children, and other support that will help you cope with the emotional aspect of a divorce.  Let your divorce be the first step toward a brighter future, not the last step of an unsuccessful relationship.

Considering a Divorce

            Divorce can be a very difficult step to consider.  You are likely reading this Blog because you have reached a point where you can see no other way to continue in your marriage.  I have no doubt that at some point during your marriage you valued your relationship with your spouse.  Some of you reading this Blog have tried everything to save your marriage, others of you are reading this Blog because you are unsure whether divorce is the proper next step for you.  I value marriage, and I believe it is an important union that should be saved if possible.  At the same time, I am a divorce attorney, and I meet with people all the time who need to end their marriage and move forward with their lives.  As someone who values family and marriage, and as an attorney who recognizes the necessity of divorce in many situations, I have a few suggestions for you to consider before filing for divorce.  Some of you have likely tried these things, but I have listed them below in case you have not.

• Meet with a marriage counselor (Give me a call, I know a bunch)
• Have a weekly date with your spouse (Call and request my monthly newsletter, I have lots of great date ideas in there)
• Speak with ecclesiastical leaders
• Discuss your marriage concerns with your spouse

I understand that these suggestions require both parties in the marriage to participate.  If your spouse is unwilling to fully engage in efforts to repair your marriage, it is probably a good sign your spouse does not value your marriage the same as you.  However, if you are both willing to make an effort to save your marriage, and that is what you really want, then your marriage probably deserves your best efforts in doing so.  If this is the case, I wish you the best of luck!

If you are in an abusive relationship, where you are being abused either physically or emotionally, you must make sure you and your children are safe and engaging in efforts to save your marriage will not be effective or safe for your family.  If you have decided that your marriage is beyond saving, a divorce can be the first step toward a healthy, balanced, and new beginning for you and your family.

Divorce at first glance can seem like a simple matter, but in reality, divorce law in Utah is complicated.  It requires the application of numerous statutes and court decisions.  You are always free to handle your divorce yourself, but I strongly recommend hiring a competent attorney.  If handled properly, your divorce can be the first step toward a healthy and happy life.  Your attorney should provide you with free information, resources to help you maintain overall wellness in your life, and competent legal representation.  The Utah Guide to Divorce gives a general review of divorce law and what you can expect in your divorce.  It also has tips on choosing an attorney.  I give these Guides away for free. So give me a call, and I will send one your way.

My Phone Number is 801-668-2490 and my web address is www.ammonnelsonlaw.com