The average divorce costs anywhere from $15,000 to $30,000, but it can cost you a lot more than money if you do not have a good attorney helping you through the process. And the first step to a successful and clean divorce process is that very first meeting.
Coming prepared to your first meeting is of the utmost importance. Without the proper information at the first meeting, you may run into problems in the future. To help you begin this process, here is a short list of everything you should prepare for your first meeting with a divorce lawyer.
Contact Information
The first thing you will need is all of your contact information, including your email, phone number(s) and street address. After all, it’s difficult to work with a family law attorney if there is no way for them to contact you. Specify whether you prefer to be contacted by email, text or phone.
Relevant Documents
Relevant documents can be anything from financial statements to people that you have been in contact with to discuss the issue at hand. If it is in any way related to your divorce, then it is something that your lawyer should absolutely be aware of. Correspondence is particularly important, whether it was with your spouse or with a colleague in relation to the divorce process.
Key Information About the Case
Before you go into your meeting, you should make sure you’ll remember all the details you need to communicate. To make your meeting as efficient and productive as possible, you should try to get all of the important facts down in as accurate of a timeline as possible. Names, dates, and the current status of your issue are all extremely important to include.
Consider Your Goals
Whether you hire an aggressive attorney or someone who focuses more on mediation in divorce law, it is important to establish some goals before you set foot into a law office. That being said, you should also take your lawyer’s advice into consideration, as they will be the expert in this field.
If you plan on meeting with a lawyer before your divorce, make sure you prepare all of these things to discuss first.