The Divorcerer Speaks: Top 5 Reasons to Hire a Divorce Attorney
Often times, friends and prospective clients alike ask the question, “Why do I need to hire a divorce attorney?” In these instances the parties are usually amicable and have worked out the settlement terms of their divorce on their own and feel like since there are unlimited resources online, including forms, books and documents that they could be in a position finalize the entire divorce process without an attorney.
Here are the top 5 reasons to hire a divorce attorney:
Professional education of the law – it is a J.D. degree, after all. Knowing the details of the law, which can include local, state and federal statutes, supreme court rules, county laws and filing processes and procedures can be very helpful in mitigating the risks and spotting the issues that will most likely come up down the line. An attorney should also know the right questions to ask in order to provide legal guidance and clarifications in regards to the settlement terms reached and how they can be implemented and subsequently enforced.
Experience and expertise in family law. Having an attorney draft the documents, including the settlement terms, incident to the divorce should allow clients to avoid pitfalls in court filings, legal processes and procedures.
Engagement Letters and Ethics. Attorneys are under very specific ethical guidelines and at the commencement of the attorney-client relationship, you should expect an engagement letter or contract that outlines all of the aspects of the representation, including fee structures, that you should read and understand, with signatures. In Illinois, you should also receive a “Client’s Rights and Responsibilities” document outlining additional information for consideration in representation. This contract and document allows for a clear understanding of the rights, responsibilities and obligations of each party as it pertains to the representation and should allow for a smooth management of your case since both parties have an understanding at the onset of the case.
Less Stress Usually Means Less Conflict. When you are uncertain of laws, procedures, guidelines or realistic outcomes from settlement, it can be added stress to an already difficult time – the breakdown of the marriage itself. When turning over the legal aspects of the dissolution of marriage to a professional in the field, you should be selecting someone that you trust who also understands your goals and plans in order to implement a strategy that will work for you. This should create less stress, which often time leads to less conflict in other aspects of your life.
Not having a lawyer can actually cost you more. Many cases are brought to my office after-the-fact, where the level of conflict due to poor drafting, misunderstanding, misinterpretation and countless other issues that arise now creates a case where court intervention is imminent and will be costly. Often times there were drafting mistakes, items left off or forgotten, vague language, unknown tax ramifications or other well-known pitfalls that will now cost more in time and money to hire an attorney to remedy. Often times, the issues could have been handled easily at the onset with professional, legal guidance.
I am writing a review because I think a lot of times people make the same mistake that I did at the beginning of my case. I had a wonderful talk with Jennifer before my case started and I was very comfortable with her demeanor and her explanations of the Chicago Divorce process. I decided to go with another lawyer because the retainer was a little lower. Big mistake. I didn’t really like the lawyer when we spoke but I was more focused on the money instead of the big picture. I felt like there was no communication during my…
Chris J.
My Husband, now ex, and I wanted a friendly, fast divorce. We had nothing to fight about and nothing really to divide. We thought that would make it easy but when we saw all the paperwork we knew that we needed help. It takes one piece of paper to get married and 100 pieces of paper to get divorced in Chicago!! Ward Family Law made the divorce a smooth process for us and got it done faster than we thought. If you want to be friends with your ex but still want the divorce then look no further and call…
Allie J.
I had a very complicated divorce with a lot of family-owned businesses and assets. Jennifer and her team of professionals help navigate the formal discovery and litigation process with great knowledge, strategy, and patience with all our questions. My family was very concerned about the impact and outcome and we are all pleased with the results. From the appraisers to the business valuators, Jennifer utilized the right people at the right time to shore up our case for the best settlement position at pre-trial. We were happy with the Judge's recommendations, we believe, based on all her hard work and…
Alin M.
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