02 | 4 | 2007 Posted By Michael Sherman

Preparing for a Divorce: Step 1 - Find a Wise Guide

This post will be the first in a series that addresses the steps to take when it becomes apparent that a divorce may be imminent. Understand that I am not encouraging divorce. I am, however, encouraging you to protect your interests and make prudent preparations if a divorce is going to take place.

Step 1: Find a Wise Guide

An experienced divorce lawyer I know is fond of telling his clients that you don't need a lawyer to get a divorce, but you need them for the consequences of your divorce. He is right. You can likely get a divorce by finding some forms on the internet or hiring a lawyer that advertises for cheap uncontested divorces. If you have no children, a marriage of only a year or two in duration, no assets or debts have been accumulated during the marriage, and you and your spouse agree on everything, then you probably don't need a divorce specialist.

Look for a lawyer that has at least 5-10 years experience practicing primarily divorce and family law. Find out the lawyer's philosophy regarding litigating cases versus settling them. My personal opinion is that you should want a lawyer who makes it a priority to attempt to acheive a fair settlement for you, but who is capable and willing to litigate the case before a judge.

Written By:Ben Stevens On February 7, 2007 7:45 AM

Michael:

You make excellent points in this article. I have seen far too many cases where people tried to cut corners and do it themselves, only to find themselves with serious problems later as a result.

The money spent on hiring a qualified family law attorney is an investment not only in addressing the obvious issues at hand, but also in avoiding and preventing problems down the road.

Finally, I echo your sentiments about looking for areas in which the parties agree while being prepared to litigate if forced to do so. I wish that more attorneys had that outlook, because the clients benefit much more from that than from a "slash and burn" outlook.

Nice to have you posting regularly again. I look forward to reading the rest of your series.

Ben Stevens
www.SCFamilyLaw.com

Written By:Camille On February 12, 2007 2:24 PM

Do you practice in military divorce?

Written By:Michael Sherman On February 27, 2007 11:15 PM

Hi Camille,

Yes, we have represented spouses on both sides of divorce cases where one or both of them are in the military.

Thanks for stopping by the site.