Divorce Attorney
When choosing between mediation and hiring a divorce attorney, consider these factors:
1. Are you and your spouse in agreement over the fact that the marriage is over and that you need a divorce?
2. Would you rather save money over hurting your spouse?
3. Is your spouse unlikely to be hiding significant assets or income from you?
4. Do you have an idea of the provisions in place to protect you during divorce?
If both you and your spouse have answered yes to all the above questions, it is a good idea to forgo seeking a divorce attorney and to begin private negotiations or seek a mediator to help find common ground. Consider the amount of money you will save from not retaining a divorce attorney. If this is a substantial portion of any monetary gain you stand to receive from divorce, you probably dont need to seek a divorce attorney.
There are a number of other risks in retaining a divorce attorney. In the case you are not able to pay your attorney, in states such as California, the divorce attorney is guaranteed payment through equity in your property. What if they run up an immense amount of billable hours, then place a lien on your home, and force a sale at the end of the case to ensure payment? As sad as it sounds, oftentimes, a divorce attorney will simply play your worst instincts, the want to seek retribution through monetary gain, in order to keep a case open, and the “meter” ticking. These are issues you can completely avoid in an uncontested divorce by seeking out a mediator instead.
However, if you answered no to any of the above, and there is no foreseeable change in the future, it may be time to seek out an experienced divorce attorney. Remember, you can seek out a divorce attorney at any time during the divorce process. Try to keep costs down by doing as much as you can yourself. Leave the divorce attorney as the final resort when negotiations are going nowhere and the paperwork become just too much to handle.