Family Law, Advice

How to Find a Good Divorce Lawyer

How to Find a Good Divorce Lawyer

Finding the best lawyer in your state is one of the first steps in getting a divorce. It is going to be the most important thing and outcome of your case depends largely on this step.

It is also good to know couple of pointers to keep costs down and get everything exactly the way you want, child custody, child support, financial settlements etc.

Here are few things to look for when you are looking to hire a local professional

Experience

One of the most important parameters is attorney’s experience in Family Law. Choose lawyers who expertise specifically in Family Law. These are the people who have important connections with local judges and authorities in your state.

Best way to make sure your targeted attorney is up for the job, is to ask him questions about amount of previous similar cases he has handled, and other specific questions that are important to you.

You are likely going to spend lot of money, so make sure you hire an expert with whom you can easily communicate. These tips have been adapted from Topohiolawyers.com – divorce law – mistakes moms make.

Questions to Ask

Good way to filter out the right person for the job is asking your attorney everything you would like to know about him or your case. Make sure you understand important details about the process, make yourself clear on what you expect and want out of the divorce process. Here are some examples that you can use.

  • Do you specialize in Family Law? How long have you been practicing in this field? How many divorce cases have you handled in the state?
  • What is your typical strategy in cases like mine?
  • Approximately how long will this process take?
  • How will you charge me? What is your hourly rate?
  • What additional costs are usually involved and how will you charge them?
  • What’s your estimate of the total cost?
  • Do you encourage direct contact with my spouse or should it be avoided?
  • Based on your previous experience, what kind of outcome you expect out of this case? How would you predict a judge would rule on it?
  • What is the fastest way to contact you?

Average Cost of a Divorce Case

Costs largely depend on whether you have already agreed on the terms with your spouse or there is a disagreement between the two of you. If everything is harmonized then costs will not get too high, all you need is a lawyer to do the legal paperwork. In this case you might get everything done with roughly $1000.

However, if you are going into an aggressive war against your spouse, then you can expect spending anything from $15,000 to $30,000 and that is just a rough estimate. The expenditure could go all the way to six figure amount, depending on the details of your case.

For example, let’s look at the breakdown of costs and fees in Ohio:

Attorney’s fees

  • Initial consultation $200-$300 (per spouse)
  • Initial retainer fee to start the case $3,500-$5,000 (per spouse) fee per hour $275-$375
  • Custody evaluations and trial $10,000-$20,000
  • Discovery Proceedings $3,000-$4,000

These do not apply for all cases. However, these are also not all expenses and additional costs may apply The list can go on for much longer, for example if there is real estate involved. And this is why you need to know exactly what you want, so you could ask estimates on possible extra fees.

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