family law attorneys

Family Law Attorneys: How To Find the Right One for Your Needs

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Are you or someone you love looking for family law attorneys? Family law is a complex law that has the potential to change not only your life but the life of your children. In these types of cases, you want to make sure you partner with an attorney that can sympathize with you and get you the justice your family deserves.

If you are looking for a family lawyer but you aren’t exactly sure what to look for in an attorney, you came to the right place. This brief guide will cover what you need to know about finding the right family law attorney and who you can reach out to for further guidance. 

Ask Friends and Family or Check Reviews

When you are looking for answers to something, you most likely turn to your best friends or family members to provide you with guidance. They tend to have the best advice, and if they’ve previously worked with family law attorneys, they can help point you in the right direction. 

If they don’t know any attorneys they can recommend, you can ask a lawyer’s previous clients about their experience. If you can’t directly reach someone, look at an attorney’s reviews on their website. Be sure to cross-check those reviews with those listed on third-party websites like the Better Business Bureau or Yelp. 

Make Sure the Attorney Is a Family Lawyer

It is important to note that not all attorneys practice family law. Some practice criminal or real estate law, which has nothing to do with family law.

When you create your list of lawyers, make sure their experience is in family law. If they don’t, they won’t be much of a help to you. 

Meet With Your Potential Lawyers

Meeting a family lawyer in person will provide you with more insight than receiving a follow-up email or a phone call from their law firm. Most reputable attorneys offer free consultations, giving you a better idea of how the law firm is and how the attorney interacts with potential clients.

While you are in their office, please pay attention to how you feel in the attorney’s presence and around their staff. Your attorney should make you feel comfortable and safe, especially in the case of family law. You want your attorney to be empathetic. 

Accessibility of Your Attorney

An excellent family law attorney is attentive to their clients and their needs. If you can reach out attorney promptly and they are able to help you in a timely manner, this is an excellent lawyer to have.

You also want to work with a lawyer that tries to avoid legal jargon as much as possible. Your lawyer should be able to meet you at your level and provide you with information in a way you can understand. 

The location of your attorney also matters. You want to be able to get to your attorney quickly or to have them readily accessible if you need to meet with them. Although attorneys are naturally busy, if they make it a point to reach out to you to give you a case update, they are excellent attorneys to have.

Keep an Eye Out for Warning Signs

If you at any point feel off about your legal team’s processes or you notice there are red flags in their behavior, you may want to look into a different attorney. A standard red flag you should look out for is if they have no personal connection with you. Family law is delicate; you want a sympathetic attorney who can see your side and sympathize with you. 

Additional red flags:

  • Pushing deadlines
  • Big promises made to clients
  • Unresponsive
  • Distracted by phone calls or other consultations
  • Poor reputation

A huge red flag you should look out for is if an attorney provides you with confidential information about previous clients. At no point should an attorney share the details of another client’s case with you. That is a significant breach of the attorney’s client/attorney confidentiality, and there is a chance they could do the same with your case. 

Review Their Payment Schedule

In general, family lawyers are expensive. Most lawyers come with their own high prices, but the result you receive at the end of the experience is worth it. Some attorneys offer lower rates, but their work may not be the best, nor will they give you the time and attention you deserve.

When researching attorneys, ask them about their payment schedules upfront. All reputable attorneys are upfront about their rates, and they will be honest with you.

Most attorneys are willing to work with their clients in regards to payment, but that varies across attorneys. This may not be the same with certain attorneys.

Be sure to note base your decision on the attorney’s cost alone. Instead, focus more on their expertise and previous case results. 

Get the Representation You Deserve

Family law is a complicated law that deals with family relationships and what is suitable for the parties involved. Family law attorneys have the expertise and knowledge you need to fight your side of the story and get you the justice your family deserves.

Choosing the right lawyer is detrimental, especially in family law. It could literally be the difference between winning the life your family deserves or having the family unit fall apart.

In complicated situations like this, you will want to make sure you have a knowledgeable and empathetic lawyer who can best help you. If you are ready to find a family law attorney near you, check out our website today!

Do Family Lawyers Near Me Take Payments?

Do Family Lawyers Near Me Take Payments?

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When someone finds out that they are going to go through a difficult child custody case. They often don’t know what steps to take to better their chances of getting custody of their child. It’s important to hire one of the many professional family lawyers that are available to help you with your case. He or she can guide you on the steps you need to take to prove that you are the best parent that you can be.

Unfortunately, the cost of hiring an attorney can be quite high. There are many people who are fearful to hire an attorney because they think that they can’t afford it. Fortunately, there are options when it comes to paying a family lawyer.

Minimize the Actual Cost of the Attorney

When you meet with an attorney for the first time, you won’t have to pay anything for the consultation. They will talk to you about your specific situation and let you know what they charge for their services. There are some family lawyers who are willing to minimize the cost of their services by providing you with a list of things that you can do yourself.

This includes gathering evidence that they can use in court and limiting phone calls and meetings as much as possible. Every minute that you spend on the phone with the family lawyer will cost you money.

Creating a list of what you want to discuss with the attorney ensures that you don’t get off track during the conversation. This will decrease the amount of time you are on the phone and thus decrease the charges you have to pay.

You may be able to negotiate with the attorney about what the fees are. While most family lawyers have a flat rate for their services, they may be able to work with you depending on the severity of your case. There are many family lawyers who are willing to work with their clients if they feel that children are put at risk or if the case is high profile and could boost their overall reputation in the community.

Be sure to let the family lawyer know every detail of your case. They can decide if they want to reduce some of the rates that they charge.

Pay the Retainer Fee

In order to hire an attorney, you need to put down a retainer. The retainer is a small portion of the total amount that is paid to them in the end. The retainer is important because it ensures that your ex cannot hire the attorney you've chosen to represent them in court.

Before you sign an agreement to hire the family lawyer, they will tell you what the retainer is. Many family lawyers require the retainer to be paid in full before they will do any work on the case. Be sure to talk to your attorney about how much of the retainer needs to be paid for them to handle your case.

You May Not Have to Pay for the Services at All

If you have minimal money readily available to you, there is a chance that you could qualify to hire the attorney for their pro bono services. Most family lawyers try to do pro bono work on a regular basis.

This means that you don’t have to pay for their services or only have to pay for a portion of their services.

There are certain stipulations that you have to meet in order to qualify for pro bono services though. You may have to prove how much money you make each year or your expenses. The attorney needs to be able to know that you actually cannot afford to pay for their services.

Regular Payments Need to be Paid

While you don’t have to pay for all of the services the attorney does for you at one time, you do have to make regular payments. If you fail to make the payments on time, you can be in breach of contract and the attorney could drop you as a client. Being able to find a new attorney to take on your case will be more difficult if you get a reputation that you don’t pay your attorney fees.

If something happens and you cannot make a payment, you need to talk to the attorney. They may be willing to work with you to lower the payments or take a portion of the payments until you can get on your feet. Avoiding them is not the right answer though.

You’ll be Billed for the Fees at the End of the Trial

At the end of your trial, you’ll be billed for the rest of the fees that are due. The fees will be detailed so that you know what you are being charged. Even though you will owe a large amount of money, more than likely you will still be able to pay for it over time.

If you fail to make the payment, the lawyer can submit the bill to a debt collection company, and they can come after you for the money. Again, it’s important to be upfront and honest if you fall into hard times financially and cannot make the payments.

Most family lawyers would rather get a portion of the money that they are owed rather than no money at all from their clients. If you don’t pay the bill, the likelihood of you hiring them again in the future will be very minimal.

Lawyers are often reasonable people. They don’t want to take every dime that you make, but they also have to make a living too. It’s important to keep the lines of communication open at all times.

If you start to feel stress because of the money that you owe the attorney, talk to them about it. You need to focus on your custody case and being able to not worry about the money can give you the peace of mind that you can focus on the important things in life.

Five Tips for Hiring a Family Attorney

Five Tips for Hiring a Family Attorney

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You and your spouse have been having issues for a while. One day it comes to a head and you both decide it would be for the best to get a divorce. Family matters like this can be sensitive. That’s why you need a family attorney who can work with you during this difficult time. Not make things harder.

There are a wide variety of family-related law issues. It’s important that you find an attorney who can handle your specific situation. To help you pick the best attorney for you, check out the following search tips.

Look for Referrals

The first thing that you should do is ask your family and friends if they have either been in the same situation as you or know someone who has. They can tell you what attorney that they went through to resolve their case. If you've had to go through a law office for something completely different in the past they will be knowledgeable about other offices in the area. They may be able to give you a few referrals.

Do a Background Check

Once you have a few names that you can work with you'll want to do a thorough background check on them. You'll be giving them a lot of confidential family information after all. If you can, try to get some information about their past cases to get a feel for their methods. This will be a good reflection for how they will handle your case.

Check for Professional Experience

Make sure they have the proper certifications to take on your case. After you've determined that, it's only a matter of finding out how many cases like yours that they've won. Make sure you look or ask for specific numbers. Find out how many years that a particular practice has been around before you hire them. You can sometimes find this information on their website or by calling and asking directly.

Determine Charges and Rates

Some attorney's rates can get expensive even for small family matters. It's up to you to decide if the attorney's experience and services match up to the cost. Make sure that the expense is in your budget at all. If it is then get a full list of the attorney's services and the charge for each service.

Don't Be Afraid to Ask Questions

Do not be afraid to ask questions. You're giving someone a lot of money to perform a service so you should be treating it like a job interview in a way. Here are some of the basic questions that you should be asking when you call.

  • Do You Handle Family Issues Regularly? – Ask this question in the event that your situation is rare. While the attorney may not have seen a situation like yours before if they've handled a bunch of different family cases, they may know enough where they can figure things out.
  • For What do You Charge? – If you can get a complete walk through of what you're being charged you can determine if their services are worth the money. Their charges may include long distance telephone calls, postage, research fees, mileage, and time spent in general. These may be all little charges for the most part but they will add up quickly.
  • Do You Provide a Detailed Bill or a General Bill? – This can be important for budgeting purposes because you'll know exactly where your money is going.
  • Who Will be Working with Me? – Larger practices will have several attorneys that handle cases. It's important that you ask the person on the phone if you will be working with them or someone else. You need to find out who you will need to contact specifically. Sometimes, if your case is more complicated then others, you work with a team of individuals. If they feel the need to put a private investigator on it, you may work with them too. Make sure you get names and find out how experienced they are.
  • How Does Someone Contact You? –In order to get the best response time, it's best to know how you can contact your attorney. Ask what the attorneys preferred form of communication is. Some prefer emails and some prefer phone. Sometimes they prefer both but their response time is much faster depending on their case load.
  • How Do You Handle Issues When They Arise? – As much as you would like for your case to go as smoothly as possible, there is always some sort of issue. You want to ask this question because if the attorney can't give you you the bad news then that should raise some flags. They need to be able to tell you any potential problems and how they plan to try and work around them.

Hire the Best Family Attorney for Your Case

Are you about to go through some type of divorce? Want to get custody of your children? No matter what your situation is, you're going to need the best family attorney to help you solve it. As long as you know what to be looking out for and what questions you should ask, you should be able to find one to suit your needs. Don't let just anyone take your case. Take the time to do thorough research and work with an attorney you feel that you can truly trust.

5 Things a Family Attorney Can Help You With

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There are many reasons why a person might seek the help of a family attorney. The aim of this article is to inform you of five things a family attorney can help you with.

1. Divorce

When two people get married there is a legal relationship between them according to the state. When two people decide that they no longer want to be married there are legal proceedings that must take place.

Depending on what state the two people get married the rules and paperwork required for a divorce will vary. All states in the United States do allow a divorce under what is called a no-fault divorce. Some states do require that two people are separated for a specific length of time.

Additionally, several states have something called a residence requirement. A residence requirement helps to prevent people from looking for the best divorce law in different states.

Also, each state does have certain guidelines for the division of assets and debt in the process of the divorce. Issues such as domestic violence and infidelity can influence the decision of the divorce made by the court. There are many aspects and factors to consider when filing for a divorce. Many of the factors can be overly emotional and stressful. For this reason, having a family attorney in a divorce process can be extremely helpful.

2. Alimony

Another aspect of divorce that a family attorney can help with is alimony. Along with the issue of alimony, spousal support it’s also common in divorces. Various states have a method to help determine the amount of spousal support that is required.

This is not always the case, though. Sometimes, it can be up to the discretion of the judge. In the circumstances that a court uses a method to determine a support amount, it’s important that the court has all the correct information they need. When it comes to spousal support, the length of time that two people are married is a consideration made by the court.

Another factor also depends upon whether a parent has the ability to pay for the care of the children, as well as any level of debt that was accumulated with joint effort.

In such situations, the court will look at the age of both people requesting the divorce to determine whether they’re able to work or not. One of the final considerations made is any misconduct that occurred from either of the people within their relationship. A family lawyer can work to offer evidence of various aspects needed to influence the court’s decision. Evidence and influence of the court allow for the best possible outcome that a person is looking for.

3. Child Custody

A highly debated form of law done by family attorneys is child custody. Many states will make the decision on child custody and the amount of time a parent gets with the child based on what is best for that child.

In such a situation the court will consider factors such as which parent is the one that has a better bond with the child as well as whether a parent can provide a stable home for the child.
If two parents can agree on a custody agreement the court will usually allow for it. But if the parents are unable to come to an agreement in the presence of a family lawyer is needed. Family lawyers are able to provide evidence about what is best for the child to the court. Evidence can include the child’s school records, letters by a psychologist or counselor, medical records and more.

A family lawyer will work to get all of the evidence needed for the court. Another thing is that family lawyers are knowledgeable about the rules of each state. When dealing with child custody, they have to be considerate of the rules regarding evidence and what is applicable or not within the jurisdiction.

4. Child Support

Aside from the child custody issues, child support is another area where family lawyers come into play. This is because children have a right to receive support from both parents.

The overall aim of child support is to give children whose parents are no longer together the ability to live with the same financial stability that they would have if both parents were still living together. Additionally, the courts generally decide that the parent caring for the child gives direct support to them.

When deciding the amount of child support that will be paid the court considers things like income, tax deductions, insurance, and childcare costs. A family lawyer will work with you to ensure that the amount of child support being paid is correct. The lawyer can do this by making sure the other parent does not hide any income or employment records.

 

5. Domestic Violence

The last thing that family lawyers are able to assist you with is issues with domestic violence. Domestic violence situations happen when threats or abuse occurs between two individuals’ in a relationship.

When this happens, a family lawyer can help you to navigate certain avenues necessary to keep yourself safe. Lawyers help people to get orders of protection or restraining orders against people committing acts of domestic violence.

On the other hand, family lawyers can also help to stop any false claims of domestic violence between two people. A common belief is that domestic violence is only physical. But this is not true, domestic violence may be emotional, mental, physical, sexual, and even financial.

Finding a Family Attorney

For many, getting a family attorney is the best option to provide safety and stability to the home. If you think you might be in need of a family attorney, you should contact a family law office.

Dealing with legal issues and court proceedings without the help of a family lawyer is tiring and can sometimes be devastating.