How to Avoid a Cheap Divorce Horror Story

“So I took this lawyer my friend recommended. She said his prices were some of the lowest she had seen. He settled everything fast and my ex and I even agreed to share or split certain parts of our estate. Because things happened so quickly I never had a chance to go over our ‘shared items’. I received books missing pages, sheets and tapestries with holes in them, and one item in particular, my son’s Bar Mitzvah album, had my picture cut out from all of the images. My lawyer said there was nothing I could do because none of this had been specified in the settlement.” 

We’ve all heard the stories about going the cheap route when it comes to divorce lawyers. Tragic results come when an inexperienced lawyer or paralegal is chosen over a seasoned family lawyer with a strong track record. And, each time, these unknowing individuals are left bewildered by court outcomes.

Just recently I heard of a situation that could have been totally avoided if the person had just hired a good, competent divorce lawyer. A divorced couple, with shared custody, had the ex-husband refuse his ex-wife custody over their children for a weekend for a school-sponsored field trip out of town. His reasoning: he feared she would take them and not return. Of course, the ex-wife thought this was ridiculous since she runs a medical clinic in town and has no reason to leave. 

What do you think happened?

The court sided with the ex-husband because of how the divorce was originally settled in his favor, where he was able to decide custody in “out of town” situations.

Do not underestimate the power of having a good divorce lawyer that can represent you, even when you want to just “get it over with” in uncontested divorce cases. Receiving high-quality professional legal counsel can be the difference between child custody, retaining a house, or exorbitant legal and court-ordered fees. Inevitably, having the support of a lawyer whether in fighting over negative assets or simply in escorting you on your path through the courts will be beneficial.

As you move through the divorce proceedings with your lawyer, we suggest that you follow these tips to avoid a cheap divorce horror story. 

• Be Open With Your Lawyer: Do not keep secrets from your lawyer that could harm you in the future. Likewise, do not share publicly, especially on social media, any information about your divorce.
• Create a Post-Divorce Budget: Work with your lawyer to consider your needs after the divorce and decide how to split your marital assets. Evaluating long-term financial needs and identifying which assets will ensure your financial security and help with your peace of mind.
• Avoid Emotions: Of course, this is a difficult time. But, allowing emotions to cloud your judgement will prevent you from getting the best settlement you can.
• Focus on Self-Care: It’s important that during this time you take care of your physical, mental, and emotional well-being. With that in mind, you’ll be able to take reasonable, logical steps and not act out of a feeling of instability.

Legal counsel is an invaluable asset for every individual going through  divorce proceedings. Without a good divorce lawyer, you risk putting yourself in positions of stress and weakness that could otherwise be avoided. If you can only take one thing away from this blog post it should be this: it is beyond important that you as a client understand that having a good divorce lawyer will guarantee that you stop from becoming another “cheap divorce horror story”.

Contact Us today and learn how the experienced lawyers at Quick Divorce, can help you with a simple and low-cost divorce quickly and affordably.