Representing Your Interests: 5 Reasons You Should Consider Hiring a Divorce Attorney
Divorce can be a painful experience, emotionally and financially, but there are ways to lessen the impact and find a way to move on with your life in a more settled way.
One of those ways is to get some professional help with all the negotiations and calculations required when you are going through a divorce.
There are online resources that you can use such as Maples Family Law’s child support calculator to help you, but there are plenty of other aspects associated with a divorce that need resolving too, so here is a look at some solid reasons why you might want to hire an attorney.
In at the deep end
Unless you are a seasoned divorcee who has been through the process a few time before, which is not a great strategy for learning all about divorce laws, you will find yourself in unfamiliar territory when you have to negotiate a separation.
You can always represent yourself in court if you want to, and that will save you some legal costs, but that is not really a sensible course of action when you consider that it could end up costing you a lot more if the judge doesn’t cut you much slack as a rookie DIY lawyer.
You should note that you won’t get special dispensation if you represent yourself so it makes a lot of sense to use a lawyer who knows what to say and when to say it.
You need to be on your A game
Getting divorced is like riding an emotional rollercoaster and having many aspects of your personal life aired in court is likely to trigger some raw emotions.
It doesn’t pay to get angry or upset when you are negotiating a divorce settlement. This is why you should hire a lawyer, who can take a detached and objective view of the situation and provide guidance that is not influenced by emotions.
You are unlikely to be in the right frame of mind to achieve the same result yourself.
Cover all the bases
Another solid reason for getting a lawyer on your side is that they will be familiar with all the angles and options open to you.
Being able to offer you a choice of acceptable options could make the divorce proceedings more palatable.
Are you prepared for all the paperwork?
Getting divorced generates a lot of paperwork and there are often many complicated forms that need to be filled in correctly and filed within a certain time limit.
Trying to keep on top of this requires a certain amount of diligence and know-how, which your lawyer is likely to have.
Filling out a form with the incorrect information could be costly. Do you want that stress and responsibility?
A chance to move on with your life as quickly as possible
Finally, it can be so easy to become embroiled in all sorts of trivial disputes where you could end up fighting over an issue that is not really that critical when you look at the bigger picture.
Using a lawyer will mean that you have someone who doesn’t have that emotional investment and that means they will be more focused on getting a quick and fair settlement.
It also means that they will probably tell you to avoid wasting money on aspects of your divorce that will become irrelevant when the parting becomes official.
A divorce lawyer should help show you the way to closing this particular chapter in your life and resolving any issues as quickly and painlessly as possible.