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When you’re going through a divorce, you’re riding an emotional roller coaster with significant family, legal, and financial consequences.
It’s essential to have an experienced divorce lawyer who can help you navigate this time of uncertainty and achieve the best outcome for you and your family.
You should ask a divorce lawyer specific questions during the initial consultation to determine whether they’re a good fit for your situation.
What to Ask a Divorce Attorney at Consultation
Here’s are a few important questions for divorce lawyer candidates:
#1. Establish the Communication
Ask your divorce attorney how you’re going to communicate throughout your case. The attorney client relationship is vital, and you'll need to effectively find a way to understand each other.
Regularly communicating with your lawyer is necessary in a successful case and your lawyer should let you know their communication habits.
Ask them things like:
How they prefer to communicate (email, phone, in-person, video call, etc.),
How long you should wait for a response from them,
If they like to follow up after a meeting via email, phone call, etc.
If they’re going to regularly inform you of changes to your case,
If you’re going to be communicating with the legal team like the support staff, paralegal, secretary, legal assistant, etc.
If you are going to be communicating with the support staff, ask about their credentials and how they’re going to handle different aspects of your case.
If your attorney prefers to email while you prefer to call, they may not be the best fit for you.
A great lawyer will be willing to customize their communication style to their clients’ preferences and what is appropriate for each specific situation. In some situations, for instance, a short, updated email may be more efficient than a face-to-face meeting.
Communicating with your divorce lawyer also depends on the complexity of your case. If your case isn’t as severe as others, they may only contact you once a week, as opposed to every other day.
You should also ask the lawyer working on your case if you should communicate with your spouse. In some domestic violence cases, for instance, there are temporary orders for no communication between spouses.
#2, Ask About the Lawyer’s Experience
One of the first things that you should address during your consultation is your divorce lawyer’s experience.
Ask them if they specialize in divorce cases or in various other areas?
You’ll need a lawyer like us who understands the divorce processes in New York, and who can handle the severity of any family law case.
If you have children, ask your divorce lawyer how familiar they are with child support and child custody cases.
A successful lawyer will understand filing for divorce in New York from start to finish for a seamless case.
#3. Fee Structure
Lawyers typically charge an hourly rate, but the fee structure can include other possible costs that vary by law firm.
You should ask your lawyer how much their charge is before you begin working, so you can decide if you’ll be able to afford their legal representation.
The initial consultation is the perfect time to ask if their legal advice and services are in your budget because if they’re not, they may not be the fit for you.
#4. Duration of the Case
No lawyer can guarantee how long a case will take, but an experienced one will have an approximate duration of your case similar to others.
Factors that may influence how long a divorce takes:
Alimony & Spousal Support
Separation of Assets
#5. Reviews & Testimonials
If your candidate doesn’t have reviews and/or testimonials on their website, ask them for a few from their past clients.
You may be able to find reviews/testimonials on other digital platforms like Yelp, Google, or even on social media.
If you want to read the truthful reviews about the Law Offices of Karl Brodzansky, just scroll to the bottom of our homepage!