You have reached the point in the divorce process, that you need to hire an attorney. You just found out that your husband filed for divorce and that he is leaving you for his latest conquest.
With tears in your eyes, you pull out the phone book and head toward the yellow pages. The ads are frightening! Injury… Divorce… Wrongful Death… Slip and Fall… Arrested… Malpractice… Criminal Defense… You see full page after full page of advertisements for lawyers claiming to care about you.
You slam the phone book on the counter and start to sob. “What do I do now?” you think. Suddenly you remember that a friend of yours went through a divorce and you call her.
Shortly thereafter, you find yourself sitting in an attorney’s office.
Here are a few examples of things that might happen that should send up a red flag that this is not the attorney that should help you through your divorce.
- The attorney starts a speech about how great he or she is.
- When you ask about the retainer and how billable hours are calculated, the answer is, “Now don’t worry about any of that now.”
- The attorney tells you that he or she wrote the book and even takes a book off the shelf as evidence.
- The attorney tells you to make a “wish list” about what you expect to get when you receive the divorce decree.
- The attorney tells you that it will be in your best interest to delay the divorce as long as possible.
- The attorney tells you how high his or settlements have been in the past.
- The attorney demands that you state the fact that there is no way you will change your mind regarding divorce.
- The attorney attempts to put words in your mouth regarding the actual facts.
- The attorney asks you who is the attorney for your spouse and then informs you that your spouse’s attorney always looses.
You begin to fight back the tears again. All you can think is, “What do I do now?”
Photo by Mijoli
