An initial divorce consultation can provide a toolbox of information that allows you to reflect on your situation before taking the next steps. Scheduling an initial divorce consultation is a great step, especially if your spouse is not seeking a divorce. However, this does not necessarily mean that you intend to appear in court anytime.
A divorce consultation can provide you with a toolbox of information that will allow you to reflect on your situation before deciding on your next steps.
How an Initial Divorce Consultation Can Help You Decide Your Next Steps?
Typical divorce issues include the division of assets and liabilities, child custody, child support, and spousal support.
If you decide to get divorced, fighting in court is just one option. In the consultation, you can learn about the litigation process. Also, you can learn about divorce mediation and collaborative divorce processes.
These processes provide out-of-court settlements. They are voluntary processes that generally cost less than litigation.
However, they require the consent of parties and, depending on your current situation, may not be suitable options. if you divorce now, you may consider waiting for the divorce until your children are alone. and custody is not an issue.
When ending a marriage, in most cases people end up hiring a divorce attorney. The do-it-yourself approach is easier and more accessible than ever, but for these things it pays to have representation. This means that at some point you will schedule an initial consultation with a divorce attorney.
These meetings often feel intimidating or overwhelming. Divorce tends to raise emotions, and people don’t always think clearly in these situations. But it is an important step in finding the best divorce attorney for your case. To get the most out of your initial consultation, here are some steps to prepare yourself for initial consultation with divorce attorney.
Collect Personal Information
This may seem obvious, but it’s surprising how often people miss out. There is a lot going on and there are other things to worry about, so sometimes the little things get left behind. But during your initial consultation, a divorce attorney needs all the basic information about your case.
Prepare Important Documents for Your Divorce Lawyer
Also, if you are considering divorce, you should begin the process of gathering some essential documents. This will help you prepare the financial statements and other forms of disclosure that are often necessary in the divorce process. It would also be helpful to bring some of these documents with you to your initial consultation.
Some of the most important documents to bring to your initial consultation with one of our divorce attorneys are:
- Tax returns. You are going to want to copy any tax returns, such as personal, corporate, partnership, joint venture, or other tax returns (federal, state, local), including W-2, 1099, and K-1 forms, into your possession or control for at least the last 3 years. If possible, go back 5 years.
- Business financial statements such as a Statement of Equity (balance sheet or a list of assets and liabilities) or a Statement of Income (“cash flow” or statement of expenses). Again, you should make copies of these statements and return all originals to where they typically are.
- Income information. You should try to obtain current income information for yourself and your spouse. This should include payroll receipts and any other evidence you may have that can demonstrate or establish income (for example, investment properties, rental / lease agreements, dividends, interest, royalties, etc. …)
- Personal property tax returns filed in California or elsewhere, from the date of your marriage.
- Bank information for you and your spouse. All monthly bank statements, check registers, deposit tickets, canceled checks for personal and business accounts. It should also include CD (certificate of deposit) accounts, money market and retirement accounts, savings and loan accounts, credit unions, or any other institution in which you and your spouse may be holding or have an interest in the assets. funds deposited there.
- Loan applications dating back at least 5 years.
- Statements that go back at least 5 years.
- Automobile registration. All financial agreements, loans, etc. for all motor vehicles during the last 5 years.
- Partnership or joint venture agreements, from the date of the marriage.
- Personal injury awards from the date of marriage.
- List of property, furniture and property before the marriage and personal property acquired during the marriage by donation or inheritance.
The above list is not a complete list, but you can start there. We understand that you may feel overwhelmed and the last thing you want to do is fill out a ton of forms. However, keep in mind if you take the time to prepare and allow divorce attorney to review these documents, you will not lose valuable time during your consultation.
Ask A List of Questions
Divorce has an air of mystery about it. As such, you probably come up with a long list of questions. Write them down and be sure to mention them during your initial consultation with your divorce attorney. These can be general questions or specific problems related to your case.
The cost of divorce and the length of the process are examples of common questions. It is important to have an idea of the financial investment, as well as a general time frame.
But be careful, both are highly dependent on the specifics of your situation and vary from case to case. The more complex and contentious, the more expensive and slow.
Your initial consultation is also the time to address any other concerns. You can talk about child custody, dividing property and debt, and more. If you are concerned about retaining assets acquired before marriage or maintaining an interest in a joint venture, bring up these topics.
Talking to a matrimonial lawyer during the initial consultation often takes some of the mystery out of the process. This can relieve stress and help you get a clearer idea of what to expect in the next few days.
Know What You Want from The Divorce
Your attorney cannot help you if you do not know what you want out of your divorce. It is important to seriously think about this in advance.
Maybe you just want it to end at once. It’s okay. But since divorce often has a huge impact on your life down the road, really take some time to figure this out.
If you have a significant amount of shared property, think about how you would like to divide it. Do you want the house, a specific car or a precious piece of furniture?
When you have children, consider what you want the parenting plan to look like. Do you want full or joint custody of the children? Knowing what you want helps lawyers plan the best strategy for your divorce.
The initial consultation gives you the opportunity to answer your questions. It provides an opportunity to ensure that a divorce attorney is the right fit for you and your case. An initial consultation does not mean that you have hired a particular attorney or that you have an obligation to retain their services.
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