Qualities to consider when hiring a divorce attorney
Although divorce in Chicago might have special challenges, hiring a divorce attorney in any city requires an understanding of your personal goals, needs and objectives. Our goal with this article is to empower you as you seek legal counsel by sharing the qualities we feel are important for a divorce attorney to bring to you.
Each person contemplating a divorce has different needs and expectations. The divorce process can be intimidating and frightening.
When deciding upon a divorce attorney, your goal should be to retain someone who:
- has a proven history of being knowledgeable in the area of divorce law.
- who listens to your needs and the results you hope to achieve.
- who you can ask questions of, without feeling uncomfortable.
- who will include you in all decision making.
- who will keep you informed on a regular basis.
It is reasonable to expect your divorce attorney to give you personal attention and prompt responses to your inquiries.
Because you want to obtain the best result possible, you should look for someone who is pragmatic and able to creatively problem solve.
It is important that you interview the attorney in person and determine whether you will be working directly with that person or with another attorney from that firm.
It is also important for you to ascertain the attorney’s approach to a divorce case. A personal interview will allow you to decide, at the outset, whether you are comfortable with the attorney’s philosophy.
Some questions you may want answered during the interview process could be:
Does this attorney understand complex financial situations?
What kind of experience does this attorney have with diverse assets?
How will this attorney insure my interests are looked out for?
Make your own list of questions. Interview more than one attorney. You deserve to have the best representation available.
Chicago divorce lawyer helps uncover assets
As a Chicago divorce lawyer I see that, often times, one spouse alone manages the parties’ finances. Or, one party knows that an asset exists, such as a retirement account, but does not know where it is held or the value. The Illinois Supreme Court has given divorce lawyers tools with which to discover assets so that one party is not unjustly enriched to the detriment of the other. By way of example, the rules provide for the mandatory production of documents, accompanied by a signed affidavit stating that the spouse has produced all of the documents within his or her possession and control. In the vast majority of cases, there is usually a “paper trail”, which an experienced attorney can follow, to verify whether the disclosure of information is complete. If the other spouse withholds or hides information, a court has the authority to impose severe sanctions against that spouse.
An attorney is also permitted to take the deposition of a party, to obtain information. A deposition consists of the attorney asking the other spouse or a witness questions. The answers are sworn to, under oath, with a court reporter present to record the answers. Again, there are safe guards in the event that the party being asked the questions is not being truthful.
Also, an attorney has been granted the power to subpoena documents from third parties and to obtain testimony from third parties. Since most people are paid by check or their salaries are direct deposited into their bank accounts, and dividends and retirement contributions are documented, uncovering income or an asset can be as simple as obtaining the right document and following the paper trail, which is called “tracing”. Even if someone maintains a cash business, income and assets can be discovered. It may be more complicated but, nevertheless, it can be accomplished.
If you are in need of a Chicago divorce lawyer that understands divorce laws and how to use them to help their clients, please contact us.
Chicago Divorce Attorney Fees
Section 508 of the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act allows a party of a Chicago divorce without financial resources an “advance” of money to pay his or her divorce attorneys’ fees as the case proceeds, to allow that person to effectively participate in the divorce case. The purpose of the statute is to “Level the Playing Field”. It is within a court’s discretion to determine how much is advanced. In doing so, the court takes into consideration various relevant factors including how much the other spouse’s attorney has been paid, the complexity of the case, and which divorce litigant controls the financial information.
Attorneys fees are primarily the responsibility of the party incurring them. Nevertheless, at the end of the divorce case, either party has the right to ask the court to allocate the attorneys fees between them. The court does this at the same time it determines the division of property and debt, and any award of support. The party seeking the fees must show an inability to pay the fees and that the other spouse has the ability or, in some cases, a greater ability to pay them.