What Do You Need to Know Before Meeting With Your Divorce Lawyer?
Meeting with your divorce lawyer for the first time can be an intimidating process. You’re about to start out on a new phase of life, and a person that you have never met before is going to help you do it. While meeting with your lawyer can be scary, it doesn’t have to be. There are a few things to remember first before you have your first meeting.
Know What You Want
The first thing to remember when going to meet your attorney for the first time is to know what you want. Your attorney is there to help you draw up the terms of your divorce. A way to help speed this process along is to already have an idea of how you want to separate your assets. This does not have to be completely taken care at the beginning. You can go in with just an idea. It’s better to have an idea than nothing at all. Your attorney can help you with the specifics at your meetings. But having an outline of what you want beforehand will help tremendously when planning the terms of your divorce.
Have Financial Information Ready
Financial records are crucial to separation. In order to be able to divorce without much problem, you need to have all of your financial records available. This includes all bank accounts, credit cards, retirement savings, stocks, the last three years of tax returns, pay stubs, etc. Gathering all of these before meeting with your divorce attorney will be helpful to the process. The attorney will be able to have all of your records at the beginning and can reference them throughout the process while you both work to divide the assets evenly.
Don’t Be Afraid to Ask Questions
It’s perfectly fine to ask questions when you meet with your attorney for the first time. They expect that. Divorce can be hard and confusing. Attorneys understand this and they want to make the process as simple as they can. They understand that you are feeling confused and unsure of what to do next. They want you to ask them questions and they are more than happy to answer them for you. Having a list of questions already prepared can help you when you talk with your attorney. It is perfectly fine to ask questions that you think of as they come up. However, going into the meeting with prepared questions can help both of you. You already have an idea of how the process might work and can clarify anything you don’t understand. And when you ask a question to your attorney, it might be about something that they might have forgotten to go over.
Meeting your divorce lawyer for the first time can be a bit scary. But it does not have to be. If you or someone you know is looking to divorce, contact Christine Howard today. Christine or one of her team will be glad to answer any questions you may have about the process. Christine can be reached at info@christinehoward.com or by phone at (864) 282-8575.
Referenced from “5 Steps to Take Before Meeting Your Divorce Attorney for the First Time” by Weinberger Divorce & Family Law Group.