4 Questions To Ask A Divorce Lawyer

If you and your spouse have decided to go your separate ways, you are probably already feeling quite emotional. When seeking a divorce lawyer, it helps to ease the stress if you already know what type of questions you should be asking. Use these questions to help you get started.

How Do You Charge for Your Services?

When seeking to hire a divorce lawyer, the first thing you should ask is how he or she determines what to charge you and how you will pay for the services. Some attorneys bill by the hour and include any time spent on your case, including answering questions. Other attorneys charge a fixed fee. Determine whether you will need to pay in advance, be billed monthly, or will pay for the services once your case is settled. Depending on how complicated your divorce is, you may be in proceedings for years, so be sure to prepare financially.

How Is Child Custody Determined?

If you and your former spouse have children together, chances are you both want what is best for them. Your lawyer should consider how much each parent earns, where they live, what type of school district they live in, and how often they work when determining who has custody of the children. In many cases, custody can be split evenly so that children have an equal amount of time with both parents. In some cases, one parent may have physical custody while the other has legal custody and makes decisions regarding education, religion, and medical care.

How Does Mediation Work?

Any lawyer you hire to help you with your divorce should be willing to work toward mediation before sending you to court. By sitting down with you, your former spouse, and his or her lawyer, you may be able to reach an agreement outside of court that saves time, stress, and money. During mediation, you should be willing to discuss how you will handle children, how you want to distribute assets between yourselves, and whether one of you will receive alimony payments.

How Can You Help With the Splitting of Assets?

In some cases, you and your ex may have trouble deciding how to split the assets. By bringing a full list of your family’s assets, including homes, cars, other types of property, bank accounts, credit cards, and so on, to your divorce lawyers in Sydney, he or she can help you and your former spouse determine how best to separate them so you each get an even share.

Remember, a good divorce attorney will make you feel comfortable. He or she should be patient and compassionate and always address your questions and concerns in a timely fashion.

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