Your Legal Eagle
The Written Separation Agreement
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Finding the right family law lawyer is very important. This person is going to help you understand your rights and obligations under the rules of Family Law. Talk to family, friends, co-workers and other family law professionals to get names of experienced family law lawyers. Then set aside time to meet with a few to interview them. During your initial consult meeting ask questions to ensure you feel comfortable with that person and understand them when they provide answers. Take along a friend or family member to help you remember all that was said. Often, when dealing with an emotionally charged situation people don't process all that happens during the meeting. When you have someone else in the room you have a second set of eyes and ears. Your relationship with your lawyer and the separation process will be built on trust, communication and compromise. You need a lawyer to tell you what you need to know not what you want to hear. If during your interview meeting you don't feel the fit is right, politely end the meeting and move on to another possible choice. The process of interviewing, and selecting the right lawyer for you is very important in avoiding a costly mistake and will ensure you have the right person on your team from the beginning. Helpful hints for your lawyer consultation: Ask about the family law practice: years of experience, specializations, success ratios, preferred methods of process, such as collaborative model or litigation. Ask about fees: retainers, hourly rate, work done by other staff, court costs, disbursement costs, additional costs, and ways to keep the overall costs low.
Ask about preferred ways to communicate, such as emails, phone calls, letters, face to face meetings and which of these methods are the most time and cost effective for you. Go to the initial meeting prepared. One way to do this is to work with Financial Divorce Solutions to prepare the required financial disclosure forms.
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