After you’ve made the decision to separate from your partner, the next step is to choose a divorce lawyer who will look after your interests during the proceedings. But if you’ve never done this kind of thing before, where do you start? How do you go about finding the best divorce lawyer chester has to offer? Relax: It’s not as difficult as it seems. When choosing the best lawyer for the job, you need to figure out what you’re looking for in an attorney. Do you want to be represented by someone who will get you what want, or someone who will just do an okay job? Are you looking for someone who’s going to really fight for you or someone who will simply navigate a mostly amicable separation? Only you know what’s best for your needs. But when it comes to finding the right divorce lawyer, here are a few things you should focus on before making your final choice.
1. Your Budget
When hiring the best attorney for the job, you don’t want the cost to be a huge motivator, especially if your budget is standing in the way of hiring someone who you trust and get along with better. Realistically, however, you don’t want to be pulled in by the promise of someone who’s going to get you everything you want for an extremely high hourly rate. Before choosing an attorney, you’ll need to take a serious look at where your funds stand once you and your partner have officially cut ties. If you’ve been in the dark about money up until this point, you might find that you don’t have much choice when it comes to finding the best lawyer. However, even if your divorce has left you in dire straits, that’s all the more reason to commit to hiring someone who’s going to advocate for you getting the best possible settlement. Even if it means you’ll be paying your lawyer more, you’ll still come away with what you’re owed.
2. Your Needs
During divorce proceedings, a lawyer can provide many functions. In addition to filling out the necessary paperwork and fighting for you in court, they’ll also exist as emotional bedrock and a life coach for the moments when you’re feeling the most down and out. Because of this, you want to choose someone you get along with. After all, you’ll be spending a ton of time together until the divorce goes through. If you know you’re going to need a lot of emotional support, hire someone who has a great bedside manner. If you feel like you’re adjusting well to the idea of a separation, you might not want or need to hire someone with a lot of emotional availability. Whatever your needs are, be sure to make them clear at the outset. Your lawyer is charging by the hour, so if you need someone you can call round the clock. Make sure you express that early on so everyone knows exactly what’s expected.
3. The Recommendations
When you first bring up the subject of divorce, chances are your friends, family, and community will have some recommendations to make on the subject of family lawyers. Referrals and recommendations can be a great way to find legal counsel, especially if you don’t know where to look first. However, it’s important to get a balanced, objective opinion from a number of different clients before deciding to choose one lawyer over another. If you’re looking for the best divorce lawyer in town, don’t go with the most expensive choice. Ask around and see what you can find out from at least a few previous clients.
4. The Hours
Again, knowing exactly what you expect from your lawyer will help you figure out what you want and what you’re willing to pay for. If you’d prefer to set clear boundaries for this relationship, you should explain that during your first consultation. If you know you’ll need a lot of emotional support and check-ins, that’s also something that’s important to express early on. Whatever you do, don’t go into it underestimating the level of communication or the amount of face time you’ll actually need with your lawyer. As the case develops, you’ll probably need to do a lot of one-on-one work with your lawyer and you need to make sure they’ll be available to meet with you at short notice. Remember, your lawyer has a bunch of other clients to consider, so if you need a lot of time, hire one who isn’t dealing with as large a workload. Ask your lawyer what their availability is before signing on to avoid any conflict early on.