Think over a list of questions that you want to ask a lawyer in advance. Thus, you will significantly save time and increase the efficiency of your meeting.
If you already finally understand that the decision to get a divorce is irreversible, you need to enlist the support of a strong lawyer who will help you argue your interests. But, in order for your work to be effective, you need to be as prepared as possible for your first meeting. In this article, we talk about what points you should pay attention to.
Start By Calming Down Your Emotions
It is possible that you decided to fill out the divorce packet under the influence of emotions. But before the first meeting with your lawyer, you need to try to pull yourself together and start thinking soberly. Plus, the longer you pour out your emotions and move away from the essence, the more time you spend on consultation.
As a rule, the first consultation may be free, but it still has a time frame. Therefore, you need to get the maximum benefit from the free opportunity, and this is possible only if you calm your emotions and talk about the essence.
Be Prepared to Be Honest
Perhaps this is the most important thing that you need to know before starting any action, starting with choosing divorce document preparation services and ending with obtaining a court decision. All the information that you try to hide from a lawyer and from your ex will still be discovered and will be used against you. Plus, it will be a dark spot on your reputation and decency in the eyes of the judge, and he will make a decision even more balanced in relation to you.
Therefore, it is important for you to remain extremely honest and tell all the information that you have. Even if you yourself have made a good contribution to the destruction of your family, and you are now ashamed to talk about it, it’s better to tell everything as it was anyway. Then, you will at least have a chance to get a quick divorce because lawyers will not spend time looking for evidence, and save your money.
You Will Be Asked a Lot of Personal Questions
Be prepared for this. Lawyers, like doctors, have the right to ask personal, or even too personal questions that you may not be comfortable with answering, especially to the person you are seeing for the first time. But, you need to overcome yourself and help your lawyer immediately form a holistic picture of your situation. Just imagine that you came to see a doctor, and the success of your treatment will depend on how clearly and in detail, you describe all your symptoms. Won’t you be shy about the doctor? By analogy, do not be shy about the lawyer; he’s probably heard stories that are worse than yours.
Prepare Your Documents and Questions in Advance
It is highly recommended that you come to the first meeting with a ready-made package of documents, which consists of at least the basic securities that you will need in any case. These are your personal documents, documents of your children, documents confirming that you are employed and that you have paid all the necessary taxes, plus documents for real estate, business, your personal property, loans, and deposits.
Also, think over a list of questions that you want to ask a lawyer in advance. Thus, you will significantly save time and increase the efficiency of your meeting.
In addition, be sure to make a list of what you want to get after the divorce, or describe what your ideal picture of the final process looks like. In this case, the lawyer will immediately be able to assess the adequacy of your requirements and even offer the first stages of your defense strategy in court.
You Will Not Be Able to Find out the Total Cost of Divorce Immediately
Unfortunately, this is impossible, since no one can predict how the divorce process will unfold. However, if you follow our previous recommendations, you will at least be able to simplify its launch and give your attorney the maximum of valuable information. All you can find out for sure is the cost of a lawyer per hour, or at best, the average price of a divorce if your lawyer has already encountered such cases.
You Are Free to Have One More Consultation with Another Attorney
Just keep this in mind before and during your meeting. If you feel that this lawyer is not professional enough, you are too uncomfortable to communicate with him, or he does not follow the rules of legal ethics, you can always get advice from another lawyer. By the way, it’s always a good idea to get the opinions of several experts before making a final decision.
Join the conversation!