Married couples argue all the time. And while some do manage to solve their differences and problems, others don’t and when that happens the most likely outcome is a divorce.
If you do file for divorce, then you’ll need a family lawyer to assist you and guide you through the process. Divorces can be very damaging to your health, relationships, and finances, so your best course of action would be to hire a good lawyer. If you and your significant other have children, then they will suffer the most.
Family law is the part of the law that is responsible for anything related to family relationships. This takes into account divorcing, abuse, custody of children, and more. In the case of anything but child adoption, this experience will be very stressful and difficult for you and the people around you.
In this article, we’re going to be talking about the 6 questions to ask before hiring a family lawyer. This article will serve as a 2024 guide in the case of needing to hire a family lawyer for your planned divorce or any other case related to family law. So without further ado, let’s begin.
Contents
- 1. How long have you practiced family law?
- 2. How often do you take similar cases such as mine?
- 3. Will anyone else be working on my case?
- 4. How long does it take to return my calls and what methods of communication will we be using?
- 5. How do you charge clients and can you give me an estimate?
- 6. What approach are you planning on taking?
1. How long have you practiced family law?
Depending on the case you’ll need a more experienced or significantly less experienced lawyer. The more experienced a lawyer is, the more they will cost but we’ll get to that at a later point.
Everyone wants a positive outcome in any case, so it’s crucial to ask this question. This will also be one of the first questions to ask due to the importance of both yourself and the case itself.
The best way to avoid a negative outcome is to hire a more experienced lawyer that has years of experience in the industry. The experience will not only help out with the knowledge needed to tackle such cases, but it will also help out with the knowledge of the legal system.
2. How often do you take similar cases such as mine?
Heavy experience is one thing but having previous experience of similar cases is even more important. Since family law is a very broad term, you’d want an attorney that has had specific experience with similar cases such as yours.
So naturally, you’d likely want to know if your attorney is working or has worked on similar cases. If they’ve had hundreds of adoption-related cases but only a handful of divorce cases, then you might need to look for another attorney. You need to be absolutely certain that the lawyer specializes in your case since this will give you the best possible outcome in court.
3. Will anyone else be working on my case?
This question is closely tied to how complex your case is. Naturally, this means that each case is unique and sometimes your attorney might need additional help.
In the most likely scenario, your attorney will request the helping hand of additional associates and paralegals to help with logistics, research, or anything else. Some cases can be very unpredictable and complex, so your attorney might even request the helping hand of an investigator.
Again, if there will be other people working on your case then you’d want to ask how experienced they are and whether or not you can trust them. Also, it would be smart to ask if the company will charge you additionally for their services.
It’s always smart to look for an attorney that has the necessary resources if they do need it. Many of these cases are complex and will require additional assistance to give you the best possible outcome. So, if your attorney deems your case to be more complex but they don’t have to necessary resources to move forward, then you should choose another attorney.
If you’re interested in a dedicated family law attorney that has the necessary experience, knowledge, and resources to work on your case, make sure to give Adrian H. Altshuler & Associates a visit.
4. How long does it take to return my calls and what methods of communication will we be using?
Every client wants their lawyer to be available to them whenever they want. It’s important to ask this question as we all want to be kept up-to-date with any new developments related to our cases. In the worst-case scenario, you’d want your lawyer to call back at least in the next 24 hours.
Also, the method of communicating is very important as having multiple channels of communication will only make it easier for you to reach your attorney. We all want the fastest possible response to our calls or emails, and we all want an attorney that will do so.
5. How do you charge clients and can you give me an estimate?
It goes without saying that hiring an attorney will be one of the most expensive “hires” you can make. It’s not easy to win a case and it’s not easy to go through the process.
But all that costs money and you should be aware that this will hurt your finances. With all that set, we as clients are not entirely sure how much an attorney costs as everyone charges differently. So you’ll need to speak with your lawyer and explain the case before they could give you a response.
Another question to ask is how the lawyer plans on charging you and how often should you pay the bill. This could be on a month-to-month basis or through a single payment method.
6. What approach are you planning on taking?
Now that you’ve explained the case, you know how experienced the lawyer is, and you know how much is going to cost you, the final question to ask is how they are playing to approach it.
Asking this question will explain the strategy they plan on using to reach a positive outcome. They might take a more aggressive strategy or a more defensive strategy.
Naturally, some lawyers are more aggressive in court and this is solely based on what type-of-a lawyer they are. Depending on what the answer to each and every one of these questions is, you can determine whether the lawyer in question is good enough for your case. For more information on family law, visit koniceklaworlando.com.