If you and your spouse are ready to end your marriage, there are several important reasons to put an experienced divorce lawyer on your side. When you hire a divorce lawyer, you will be paying for your legal representation; and, as a client, you are entitled to certain expectations.
What All Spouses Should Be Able to Expect from Their Divorce Lawyers
What can (and should) you expect from your lawyer during your divorce? Here is what all spouses should be able to expect from their divorce lawyers:
Your Lawyer Will Help You Get Ready
Once you hire a lawyer to represent you, the next step will be to start getting ready for your divorce. Getting ready for a divorce is a process in itself; and, while there is legwork involved, taking the necessary steps to prepare will help the process move forward more efficiently and more smoothly.
It will also help you know what to expect along the way. By gathering all of the information you will need and thinking critically about the issues you and your spouse will need to address, you will be prepared to tackle these issues head-on when the time comes. You will know what options you have available, and you will know what constitutes (and what doesn’t constitute) a reasonable compromise under the circumstances at hand.
Your Lawyer Will Help You Make Informed Decisions
During your preparations and throughout the divorce process, your lawyer will help you make informed decisions focused on the future. This includes, but is by no means limited to, making informed decisions about important issues such as:
- How to approach the divorce process as a whole
- How to approach specific issues like property division and parenting time
- When you should (and shouldn’t) be willing to compromise
Informed decision-making is crucial. Far too often, divorcing spouses rush through the process and make uninformed decisions based on an incomplete or inaccurate understanding of the circumstances at hand. This can prove very costly, and it is a mistake that your divorce lawyer will help you avoid.
Your Lawyer Will Help You Avoid Potentially Costly Mistakes
Your divorce lawyer will help you avoid other potentially costly mistakes as well. The divorce process is complicated—and there’s a reason why divorce lawyers exist. If you don’t know what you’re doing, and if you don’t know what you need to do, you could very easily find yourself in an unfavorable situation that could (and should) have been avoided.
When you hire a divorce lawyer to guide you through the process, your lawyer will help make sure this doesn’t happen. While your lawyer will focus much of his or her representation on helping you decide what to do, your lawyer will advise you regarding what not to do as well.
Your Lawyer Will Help Keep the Process Civil
Even when divorcing spouses are largely on the same page, it is not unusual for disagreements to arise. When divorcing spouses are not largely on the same page, even coming to terms on relatively mundane aspects of the divorce process can prove challenging.
When disagreements arise, your lawyer can help keep the discourse civil. Your lawyer can help everyone remain focused on the end goal of reaching an amicable resolution that allows both spouses to move on. There are several strategies for relieving tension and finding a path forward when disagreements threaten to derail the process—the key is knowing how and when to leverage these strategies to maximize their effectiveness.
Your Lawyer Will Offer Suggestions for Conflict Resolution When Necessary
Even with everyone’s best efforts and the best of intentions, sometimes, divorcing spouses’ long-term interests won’t align. When this is the case, some form of formal conflict resolution may be necessary.
Relying on his or her experience, your divorce lawyer will be able to assess when it makes sense to pursue formal conflict resolution rather than continuing with unproductive negotiations. Your lawyer will also be able to recommend the form of conflict resolution that makes the most sense under the circumstances at hand. In many cases, this will be mediation.
Mediation can be a highly effective means of resolving disagreements during the divorce process. Crucially, pursuing mediation does not involve going to court. Instead, if you and your spouse need to pursue mediation, you and your spouse (and your respective attorneys) will work with a neutral third-party mediator whose role is to offer unbiased insights and help you find a way to come to terms.
Your Lawyer Will Advise You with Your Best Interests in Mind
When you hire a divorce lawyer to represent you, your lawyer will advise you with your best interests in mind. Your lawyer will put your interests first, and your lawyer will focus on helping you achieve a well-rounded outcome that provides certainty and stability for the future.
Everyone’s circumstances are different; and, when going through a divorce, it is important to focus on what is best for you. An experienced divorce lawyer will offer advice that is custom-tailored to your personal goals, wants, and needs. Â
Your Lawyer Will Help You Feel Confident in the Outcome of the Process
Finally, and perhaps most importantly, your lawyer will help you feel confident in the outcome of the process. When your divorce is over, it is important that you are able to move forward without constantly looking back or wondering what might have been. By helping you get ready for the process, providing personalized advice, and helping you make informed decisions every step of the way, your lawyer will help ensure that once your divorce is over, you are truly ready to move on.
Ready to Get Started? Schedule a Call with a San Antonio Divorce Lawyer at Roberson Duran Law
Are you ready to start the divorce process? If so, we invite you to contact us so that we can guide you forward. To schedule a confidential consultation with a San Antonio divorce lawyer at Roberson Duran Law, please call 210-224-4077 or request a call online today.