Why should I hire a divorce attorney?

According to the Pew Research Center, 50% of Americans that were over the age of 18-years-old were married in 2017. Additionally, the study revealed that divorce rates have increased among older Americans in 2015. In 2015, for every 1,000 married adults ages 50 and older, 10 had divorced. Among those ages 65 and older, the divorce rate roughly tripled since 1990.

Hopefully, you can see that you are not alone. There is a certain comfort just knowing that you are not alone and that you will get through the divorce.

Below are some facts about divorce attorneys.

1. Divorces can only be handled by an attorney licensed in that particular state. In the United States, there are federal, state, and local laws. Attorneys can handle cases that involve federal laws no matter which state they received their law license. This means that attorneys can handle immigration, bankruptcy, Social Security, patent/copyright, etc. cases in any state. However, attorneys can only handle cases that involve state laws in the state where they have a law license. At our office, Attorney David Nguyen is only licensed in Texas. This means that he can handle an immigration case in California, but cannot handle a divorce case that is outside of Texas.
2. You should hire an attorney that lives in your county/city. Every county/city has different local laws that will impact how cases are handled. For example, the City of Galveston requires all filings to be done in-person or by post; whereas, the City of Houston prefers electronic filings. Attorney David Nguyen accepts family law cases that are in Harris, Montgomery, or Fort Bend counties.
3. Attorneys usually charge a flat fee for uncontested or agreed-to divorce cases. If both parties agree to be divorced and agree to the terms of the divorce, we recommend that you hire an attorney that charges a flat fee for his/her services. Flat fees are designed to save you money. Experienced family law attorneys will agree to handle these types of cases for a fixed fee, because they already know how much time is required. If you hire an attorney that charges you an hourly rate, you will likely receive higher fees.
4. Generally, attorneys will only offer an hourly fee for contested divorce cases. When parties do not agree on the divorce terms, there are too many variables that will make it impossible for an attorney to predict the number of hours required to complete the case. For this reason, most attorneys do not provide a fixed fee for contested divorce cases. Sometimes, the parties will resolve their differences before trial; and sometimes, the parties will need to go to trial.
5. If you and your partner are still amicable, do not hire an attorney that tells you that s/he is a fighter, especially if the case is contested.

In our experience, when the couples are amicable, the divorce terms can be settled without having to go to trial. However, if an attorney is litigious, it is often difficult to settle the case. Litigious attorneys usually bill the client hourly, which gives them the incentive not to settle the case. The case will drag on and so will the attorney fees. If you are not ready to pay $5,000 to $40,000 for attorney fees related to a contested divorce case, please try to settle your divorce amicably.

Hiring a litigious attorney not only will drain your bank account, it may lead to a deterioration of your once amicable relationship. If you have children, you must be very careful when hiring an attorney. Remember, after the divorce case is over, you must co-parent your children.

For more information on Why should I hire a divorce attorney a free consultation is your next best step. Get the information and legal answers you are seeking by calling (281) 777-1236 today.