Five Things You MUST Know Before You Hire a Divorce Lawyer

Divorce can be one of the most stressful events in your life. Dealing with divorce for the first time can seem extremely overwhelming and stressful. If you are going through a divorce usually you feel uncertain about the future because you don’t have any experience with divorce or how it works. The internet is available to most people, so you can research divorce until you realize that you are in way over their head, and that you need some help. Let’s face it, divorce requires knowledge about child support, physical custody, legal custody, retirement plans, real estate, finance, tax law, and child safety laws, which lawyers spend years studying in law school. But how do you know which attorney to choose from? Here are five things you must know before you hire a divorce lawyer:

Attorney Personality

Many people go into hiring a divorce attorney with the misconception that they need a very aggressive, angry attorney in order to get the best deal in their divorce. These attorneys are sometimes known as “Bull Dog” attorneys. You should not hire a “Bull Dog” attorney for your case for two very good reasons: First, you have to work with this attorney. Your divorce is going to last at least three months, most likely it will go on for four to six months if not longer depending on whether you can reach an agreement or not. If you hire a “Bull Dog” you will have to deal with a “Bull Dog.” A lot of times this results in less communication from your attorney, less information about your options, less involvement in the strategy of your case, and less satisfaction with the result at the end.

Second, attorneys are all trained to negotiate and advocate. Family law is extremely broad and allows for a tremendous amount of flexibility to negotiate and settle your case, which in turn saves you money. When an attorney is too aggressive at the outset of the divorce case, it results in more arguing, more legal work, more hearings, and ultimately much higher fees. In the end, the result is the same as if you had just gone to mediation and resolved the matter there. Most attorneys are happy to go to court for you and advocate extremely well for you, but you also want an attorney who can negotiate a great settlement for you for the least amount of fees possible so you can move forward with your life.

Billing Rates

Attorneys usually bill their time in six (6) minute pieces. This is pretty common among all attorneys. What varies is their hourly billing rate and their initial retainer. These amounts are very important because they can have a huge effect on your case. A retainer in Utah means a deposit. The attorney takes this money up front, and then earns it over time. For example, if Attorney A bills $250.00/hour for his/her work and requires a $2,000.00 retainer, the attorney would need to work eight (8) hours to earn the full retainer. Because the retainer is more of a deposit, how much an attorney requires is not really that important.

What you need to know is that if you hire an attorney for $250.00 per hour, and your case takes 20 hour to complete, you will have paid $5,000.00 for your divorce. But, if you hire an attorney that bills $225.00 per hour, and your case takes 20 hours to complete, then you will only pay $4,000.00 for your case. That is a difference of $500.00. Keep in mind that the attorneys who charge you a higher hourly rate are not necessarily better attorneys or more experienced. They simply charge more for the same, or sometimes worse, service.

Experience

Experience is extremely important in a divorce case. Divorce law changes frequently, and because it is based mostly on fairness, the only way to know how a certain commissioner or judge will rule in a given case is to have argued in front of those commissioners and judges in the past. Many attorneys who are just starting out practice divorce law and many firms that claim to handle divorce law take the cases only because they need the income, not because they specialize in divorce cases. When you are interviewing attorneys, make sure to find out how much of their practice deals with family law, specifically divorces. An attorney who has practiced for thirty (30) years but only handles a couple divorces a year will be less qualified than an attorney who has practiced for five (5) years but has spent their entire career handling divorce cases. For example, at Ammon Nelson Law, PLLC, family law is all we do, and divorces make up a large percentage of our case load.

Free Informational Guide

When you are interviewing attorneys for your divorce case, make sure to ask them for their free informational guide. Don’t take their word for it that they know what they are talking about. It is easy to fake it for a thirty (30) minute consultation. If they know what they are doing, they will have a free guide that they can give you that reviews what you have discussed in the consultation or gives you additional information about divorce. Don’t take their word for it, get their informational guide.

Firm Structure

Divorce lawyers handle their offices differently. Some do not have secretaries and handle all of the work themselves keeping them so busy they are unable to keep in touch with their existing clients. Other lawyers have paralegals that end up handling most of your divorce case, while the attorney plays golf. Other lawyers are so busy practicing different areas of law, they forget all about your divorce case. Look for an attorney who handles all of his/her cases without the assistance of a paralegal, but who manages a smaller case load so that they will be accessible to you. You do not want a paralegal doing all of your legal work; otherwise you wouldn’t have hired an attorney. You don’t want an over-loaded attorney, because you want your case to get the attention it deserves. You don’t want an attorney who is busy handling cases other than divorce cases because you want to be a priority. It is better to get a voice mail once in awhile when you call your attorney with a return call from your actual attorney, then to have a paralegal answer your call every time just to tell you they can’t give you legal advice.

Remember these five tips when you are interviewing your divorce lawyer so that you hire the right attorney for you and for your case.

To Download the FREE Utah Guide to Divorce, CLICK on the Guide Below!

TOP TIPS FOR APPLYING FOR SOCIAL SECURITY DISABILITY

Applying for Social Security Disability can be an extremely daunting task. The process can require up to five different reviews, the last being a lawsuit against the Social Security Administration in Federal Court. Almost every person who calls me to help them with their Social Security Disability claim expects to be denied on the first application. Social Security denies roughly 60% of the initial applications. That means that even though the odds are against you, 40% of people who apply are accepted on their first application. Here are seven tips to improve your chances of being approved the first time:

List All Disabilities: Social Security has made the application process much simpler by making the application electronic through their website. However, the online application only allows you to list a certain number of disabilities. Don’t just leave off the rest of the disabilities, keep track of what disabilities you haven’t listed and list them at the very end of the application where the application asks for any other information that you would like to provide.
Collect All Medical Records: When you apply for Social Security Disability online, there is not a place to submit medical records. Sure, you list all of your doctors and all the facilities where you have received treatment, but that may not be enough. Social Security is supposed to request your records, but they may miss a doctor or facility. Also, your doctor may not respond to the request for records made by Social Security. You should collect your medical records and mail copies to your local Social Security office.
Ask for a Doctor Letter: Social Security processes thousands of applications, and even though their analysts and medical experts are supposed to review all of the medical records, it makes sense that they would miss key information. If your doctor’s notes are in messy hand-writing, then it is even more likely. Ask your primary care physician to write you a letter explaining your disabilities based on the tests that have been performed and the effects of those disabilities on your life and your ability to work. Then submit that letter to Social Security.
Be Clear: Like I mentioned earlier, Social Security analysts have to process thousands of applications. When you have any opportunity to explain your disability or the effect of your disability, be specific, be clear, and be brief. Sending Social Security pages of explanation may actually hurt your claim. Don’t leave anything important out, but be brief.
Find Your Medical Listing: The first test to determine if you are disabled is to see if your ailments meet what is called a medical listing. You can make this step really easy for the analyst if you look up the medical listings, and find the one that fits your ailments. Then use the exact language for the medical listing when writing your disability in the application.
Do Your Own Research: When you are listing your doctors and the medical facilities where you have received treatment, make sure to fill out the full name, address and contact information for each provider. If you don’t have the information, look it up online. If you leave it blank there is a good chance the records from that provider will not be reviewed.
Show Up For Appointments: If Social Security doesn’t feel like there is sufficient medical evidence to make a decision on your application, they might request that you see their contracted doctors. They will send you a letter stating the date and time for the appointment. Respond to that letter. If you can’t make the time listed, call your local office to reschedule it by the deadline on the letter. The evidence from that appointment can actually get your application approved your application is not approved, don’t despair. Call a qualified Social Security Disability attorney to help you with the next phases of the process. Even though many people are denied on their initial application, an additional 20% to 40% are approved in the phases of the process that follow the initial application.

Since opening my practice in September 2013, I have met with many people who are unhappy with the terms of the divorce that they negotiated themselves or because they feel they used the wrong attorney to represent them for their divorce. Many of these clients have very convincing emotional arguments as to why it is unfair for them to have to abide by the terms of the divorce decree. Unfortunately, the Court, in most cases, could care less whether these clients feel their divorce decree is fair, or whether they are upset about the terms of the divorce or the way in which it was decided.

A divorce decree can only be modified if a substantial change in circumstances occurs after the divorce decree is entered and if the change was not contemplated by the divorce decree. While there are a few exceptions to this rule, in most cases a person must wait for that change in circumstances even if they are unhappy with the terms of their divorce decree. However, even when there has been a substantial change in circumstances, often the modification is limited to a few of the terms of the decree, and the person seeking the modification will have much less negotiating power because of the limited scope of the modification proceeding. Not to mention, modifying a decree can cost as much as the original divorce.

So here are a few tips for ensuring you are happy with your decree of divorce into the future:

Never Negotiate Your Own Decree
Research multiple attorneys before hiring one
Keep your attorney informed as to your goals, needs, and expectations.
Perform a personal financial review and figure out exactly what you need to live (including any possible future expenses) before settling your divorce.
If necessary, or helpful, get counseling for emotional and mental issues early in your divorce to avoid adverse effects.

If you have children, your divorce decree will govern your relationship with your ex and your children until all of your children have turned 18. The best way to ensure your decree of divorce serves your needs and protects your interests into the future is to hire an attorney who will help you reach your goals in the divorce and who understands the terms that need to be in place to protect you in the future.

« Previous Page
1
…
3
4
5
6
7
…
12
Next Page »

Monday	9:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Tuesday	9:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Wednesday	9:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Thursday	9:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Friday	9:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Saturday	Available for Emergencies
Sunday	Closed

Five Things You MUST Know Before You Hire a Divorce Lawyer

Ogden Location

Directions

Navigation

Follow Us