A common question in beginning divorce proceedings is this: “How do I pick a good divorce lawyer?”

While a “good” divorce lawyer is subjective and will be different for everyone, there are a few questions that you can ask yourself in order to find the right divorce attorney for you.

The first question you should ask yourself is: “Should I be looking for divorce lawyers near me?”

The answer to this question might seem obvious, but there are a couple of caveats. You may not need your divorce attorney to have an office that is extremely close to where you work or live. Ideally, the lawyer you choose will have an office within driving distance of you. However, hiring an attorney that’s really close to where you live could be of detriment to you if you live far away from where your divorce case will actually be heard.

For example, if you live in City A, but your divorce case will be heard at the courthouse in City B and City B is 4 hours away, you may want to consider hiring an attorney in City B so that you won’t be billed for unnecessary travel costs.  Alternatively, if you hire an attorney whose office is far away from where your case will be heard, you may incur additional costs because your attorney will need to travel to you for the hearings.

A question that men might ask is, “should I be looking at divorce lawyers for men?”

Generally, you don’t need to look for attorneys that are gender specific, unless you have a preference. Whatever attorney you hire will do the best job they can in providing you with the desired outcome of your case.

Thirdly, you may have heard of a term called “collaborative divorce”.

If you’re wondering if you should hire a collaborative lawyer, it helps to know that a “collaborative divorce” is when both spouses hire their own attorneys and agree to work out the terms of their divorce without taking their issues to court. Essentially, both parties agree to work together to resolve the issues that come up in the divorce process.

Ultimately, you should do your research and hire an attorney that you feel comfortable in working with. For additional questions, you can review our common questions webpage here.

Call or text Intermountain Legal for a $75 family law consultation at 801-990-4200.

Attorney fees and expenses can quickly accumulate to overwhelming amounts in contested divorce cases. Each week, I will provide you with a tip on how to reduce the cost of your divorce.

TIP #2. HONESTY IS THE BEST POLICY.

Clients are understandably reluctant to reveal their secrets to an attorney – a person they likely met and hired just ten minutes ago.  However, the divorce process is intrusive.  Your spouse will conduct thorough discovery into your financial situation, personal beliefs and history.  You can be certain that nothing will remain secret in a contested divorce case.

By disclosing all relevant facts and information from the outset of your case, you can ensure that your divorce attorney is adequately prepared to respond to potential claims and allegations.  You will also eliminate the need to spend time and money filing amended pleadings to clarify or resolve inaccuracies.

Pursuant to Rule 26.1 of the Utah Rules of Civil Procedure, you will be required to provide a detailed accounting of your finances in the form of a verified Financial Declaration.  You can find a sample Financial Declaration on the Intermountain Legal website.  Don’t manipulate the numbers.  Your attorney will need to know exactly how much you earned last year, how much debt you have accumulated and how much money you have saved or invested.  All the information that you provide will need to be verified through bank records, account statements, monthly bills, tax returns and pay stubs.

You should also be prepared to disclose information relating to your marriage, your background and history and your spouse’s background and history.  Your divorce attorney should be informed as to any criminal convictions, affairs or allegations of domestic violence that may be relevant to your case.  Keep organized records and be prepared to verify any claims you make against your spouse.  Provide your attorney with copies of police reports, child abuse findings, phone records or photographs that may assist in resolving your case.

Don’t be shy.  The family law team at Intermountain Legal has handled hundreds of cases, involving everything from child abuse to drug dependency issues to open marriage.  Hailey Black has the knowledge and experience to advise you on the proper ways to handle difficult issues.

Attorney fees and expenses can quickly accumulate to overwhelming amounts in contested divorce cases. Each week, Inetermountain Legal will provide you with a tip on how to reduce the cost of your divorce.

TIP #1.      GET A HANDLE ON YOUR FINANCIAL SITUATION BEFORE FILING FOR DIVORCE.

In Utah, marital property and debts are generally distributed equally between the parties.  Resolving property issues should not be difficult.  However, sorting through financial records can be one of the mosttime-consuming steps of the divorce process.  This is particularly true where one or both parties came into the marriage with substantial premarital assets.  Accounting may also be difficult where one party has been primarily responsible for finances, leaving the other party in the dark about what assets and debts have been accrued.

To streamline your divorce and limit the time you will spend conducting discovery, you should learn as much as possible about your financial situation before filing.  Run a credit report on yourself.  Collect your most recent statements from bank accounts, retirement accounts and credit card accounts.  Open the bills and mortgage statements that are delivered to your home.  Make separate files for marital property and separate property.

If possible, minimize the number of joint debts, assets and expenses you share with your spouse.  Pay off joint credit cards.  Open your own separate checking and savings accounts.  Take half of the money from joint accounts and then stop using those joint accounts.  Take your spouse’s name off the loan for your vehicle.  If you are worried about alimony, limit the amount of money you contribute to your spouse’s expenses and debts.

The family law team at Intermountain Legal is experienced in discovering financial assets.  Our family law attorney, Hailey Black, can advise you on the issues and options that relate to your unique case and your specific set of financial circumstances.  If the financial issues in your case seem overwhelming, contact Intermountain Legal for a free divorce consultation.